To avoid a replacement or lost fee, please return library materials due October 1st or later within 28 days. Replacement fees are intended to encourage Members to return items on a timely basis so everyone in the community can enjoy them.
From Thursday, September 11, until 5 am on Monday, September 15, road closures for SuperCrawl will be in effect in and around James Street North from King to Wilson/York to Cannon to Barton Street. Additional closures will take place on King William, Rebecca, Vine, Mulberry, Colbourne and Murray Streets. If you are planning to visit Central Library over the next few days, we suggest taking HSR for a convenient route to downtown Hamilton. www.hpl.ca/central
Central Library's Fourth Floor is closed on Tuesday, September 16, from Noon to 6 pm due to a special event. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 are available as study and work spaces. www.hpl.ca/central
Kenilworth Branch - Temporary Closure (Sept 2 - Oct 10)
Due to roof repair maintenance, the Branch is temporarily closed from September 2 until October 10. Please visit the Red Hill, Parkdale, and Barton locations as your nearest branches for your library needs. On August 28-29, there may be some noise disruptions and limited parking spots while the roof repair set-up begins. Thank you for your patience.
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.
Minute of Silence Tuesday, September 30, 2:15pm
HPL will observe a moment 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.
Events
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.
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.
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:
Indigenous opening and closing
Remarks by Elder Norma Jacobs
Keynote by residential school survivor Leo Nicholas
Drumming and reflection with Ninjiichaag
This gathering is supported by community partners who bring opportunities for learning and connection:
Hamilton Public Library – Team HPL will be on site for an Orange Shirt Day button “make and take” activity
Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund – Sharing resources and initiatives that continue the work of reconciliation
The City of Hamilton issituated 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.