As of July 1st, partner library Members can no longer borrow HPL Express items via Overdrive. More to Borrow partner libraries will be offering Lucky Express (Skip the line) titles to their cardholders only. This will help manage wait times for popular titles. Lucky Express is a collection of in demand titles with a seven-day loan period, available with no wait.
Our partners will still be able to borrow titles from the rest of our collection.
www.hpl.ca/more-to-borrow
The What's Happening Guide has been retired and replaced with different communications channels and tactics. You can find the new Summer Reading Flyer here. Watch for future communications updates.
Sunday hours return to Central Library. Beginning July 5, Central is open Noon to 5pm. Dundas, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Valley Park and Waterdown branches are also open Sundays, 1 to 5pm. hpl.ca/hours
After Hours Study Hall is not available in July and August. Hours will resume Tuesday, September 8. www.hpl.ca/study-halls
September 30 is Orange Shirt Day. Wear an orange shirt to honour the lost children and survivors of Canada’s residential schools.
Hamilton Public Library encourages the community to learn the stories, experiences and legacies of the children, families and communities forever impacted by those forced to attend Canada’s Residential Schools.
We have assembled a collection of books, movies and more focused on Indigenous voices, authors, storytellers, musicians, and artists.
Learn Their Stories. Respect Their Legacies.
HPL will observe a minute of silence at 2:15 pm on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. The time chosen reflects the discovery of the remains of 215 children in a mass graveyard on a former residential school site in Kamloops, BC, in May 2021.
Celebrate Indigenous history and culture in September and October with HPL.
Attend a live reading with Norma Jacobs (September 18) as she discusses her novel 'Odagahodhes: Reflecting on our Journeys'.
Learn about treaties from a historical and practical viewpoint in a discussion (September 26) with local artist and educator Jim Adams commemorating upcoming Treaties Recognition Week.
Register for the Indigenizing Ontario Archaeology (October 1) talk presented in partnership with McMaster University to learn about a collaborative archaeological field school at a mid-seventeenth-century Neutral village near Hamilton.
Attend a Solemn Ceremony at the Seven Grandfathers' Teaching Mural (576 Concession Street) by local artist Kyle Joedicke on Tuesday, September 30, from 4-5 pm, commemorating Truth and Reconciliation Day.
This will include a reading with Jim Adams (aka Many Hats), and a drumming circle provided by the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC).
We have recommended reads and eReads about the residential school experience. Also, check out HPL’s Staff Picks: #Indigenous Reads and Indigenous Reads for Kids and Teens.
Stream documentaries, educational videos and audio on Summa with your HPL library card.
Watch encore performances of Noon Hour Concerts by Lacey Hill, Rod Nettagog, an Indigenous Artists and Mohawk College Student Cultural engagement, and an Indigenous Dance and Song with Adrian and Ascension Harjo. Learn more about Indigenous musicians and storytellers through their music and legacies.
Cherokee is an Iroquoian language, and the only Southern Iroquoian language spoken today. Visit Mango Languages with your HPL Library card to start learning the language and culture.
Learn more about the 94 Calls to Action listed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report.
The City of Hamilton invites community members to gather in reflection, remembrance, and learning for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30).
Begin the day in a good way with a Sunrise Ceremony at 6 am at West Harbour James Street Plaza (at Guise Street) and teachings to honour Survivors and remember the children who never returned home. Then return for an Afternoon Gathering from 1 to 4 pm for a community event of reflection, awareness, and learning featuring:
This gathering is supported by community partners who bring opportunities for learning and connection:
For additional resources, visit the City's website.
The City of Hamilton is situated upon the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas. This land is covered by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, which was an agreement between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek to share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. We further acknowledge that this land is covered by the Between the Lakes Purchase, 1792, between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Today, the City of Hamilton is home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island (North America) and we recognize that we must do more to learn about the rich history of this land, so that we can better understand our roles as residents, neighbours, partners and caretakers.
