The accessible washroom at Barton Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
Barton Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order
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Published:
Saturday, November 15, 2025 - 9:15am
Large Format Printer Currently Unavailable
The Large Format Printer is not working at Dundas Branch. We aim to fix it as soon as possible.
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Published:
Friday, November 14, 2025 - 4:30pm
Bookmobile Service Modification
Please note the Bookmobile will be attending the following community events.
Saturday, November 15:
- Hamilton Santa Claus Parade, 2-4pm
Saturdays, November 22 and 29:
- Hess Village Winter Market, 10:30am-4:30pm
- Regular Saturday Visits cancelled for both dates.
Saturday, December 6:
- Stoney Creek Santa Claus Parade 2-4pm
- Millgrove Visit is cancelled.
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Published:
Friday, November 14, 2025 - 1:00pm
Kenilworth Branch Reopening
Noise and limited parking continue at the Kenilworth Branch this week as renovations wrap up. Thank you for your understanding.
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Published:
Monday, October 27, 2025 - 3:00pm
Delayed Branch Openings
The following locations will open later than scheduled to allow for Staff training drills.
Monday, November 24
Mount Hope, 2pm
Thursday, November 27
Stoney Creek, 10am
Please visit nearby branches. www.hpl.ca/hours
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 - 2:00pm
Replacement and Damage Fees
Bring back your borrowed library items (due Oct 1 or later) within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 3:00pm
Research Your House
New House in Westdale
Various sources can be used to document the history of a building. Except for well-known Hamilton-area homes, most do not have a ready-made history to consult. Therefore, the researcher must construct a history from scratch using available sources. This process can take time, and unfortunately, some properties may have very few, if any, historical records. To support your research, please refer to the Houses and Property Research Guide.
Local History and Archives contains various potentially useful resources to research houses. These records include:
These directories show names, addresses and telephone numbers for the Hamilton-Wentworth region.
Researchers and genealogists use city directories to trace individuals, families and businesses. They usually include an alphabetical listing of adult residents, with their occupations and addresses.
Tax assessment records help accurately date a building's construction and disclose its original owner and list of occupants.
These records detail the chain of ownership of a property using plan and lot number.
Local History and Archives has several large scale maps that show the shape, size and exact location of individual buildings.
If your building was known by a name in addition to its address, you can search under that heading in our card catalogue. In the Local History and Archives reading room, check the Where-to-Look card catalogue under Hamilton – Street Address and Number or Hamilton – Name of house for a citation to the Image Collection. You can also check photographs of the street the house is located on to see if your building is shown.
There are also specialized finding aids for other collections available in Local History and Archives.
To obtain more information about the people associated with the building, you may wish to check family papers, clipping files, census returns, genealogical indexes, funeral home indexes, cemetery indexes, promotional booklets, photographs, local publications and other sources within Local History and Archives.
Check in the Where-to-Look under the surname or ask for assistance at the Local History and Archives Information Desk.
There are also invaluable records that can be requested through the City of Hamilton's Property Record Search and through the Ontario Land Registry (OnLand).
