# Hamilton Public Library

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This article is about the library in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. For other libraries, see [Hamilton Library](/source/Hamilton_Library_(disambiguation)).

The **Hamilton Public Library** (**HPL**) is the municipal [public library](/source/Public_library) system of the city of [Hamilton](/source/Hamilton,_Ontario) in [Ontario](/source/Ontario), Canada.[1]

## Services

HPL services include the Local [History](/source/History) and [Archives](/source/Archive) department (formerly called [Special Collections](/source/Special_Collections)), which houses an extensive collection of local [history](/source/History) resources and government documents from the City of Hamilton, and the Learning Centre, which provides access to [language](/source/Language_education) materials for [new Canadians](/source/Immigration_to_Canada). In recent years, the HPL's collection of online resources has expanded rapidly, and now features more than 30 [databases](/source/Database) covering a great variety of topic areas.[2]

- Information and reference services
- Access to full text databases
- Community information
- Internet access
- Reader's advisory services
- Programs for children, youth and adults
- Delivery to homebound individuals
- Interlibrary loan
- Free downloadable ebooks and eaudiobooks
- Multi-purpose rooms including the Hamilton Room at Central Library
- Free musical concerts and dance performances
- Six art galleries across the systems that exhibit local artists, artisans, archival displays and organizations

## History

Public libraries have operated in Hamilton since the 1830s, although the first branches were privately operated and tended to be ephemeral in nature.

Hamilton and Gore Mechanics' Institute was one of a series of [Mechanic's Institutes](/source/Mechanic's_Institutes) that were set up around the world after becoming popular in Britain. The [Mechanic's Institutes](/source/Mechanic's_Institutes) libraries eventually became public libraries when the establishment of free libraries occurred.[3]

Hamilton city council voted to publicly fund the construction and operation of a library in 1889. This building opened in February 1890. Hamilton was the first city in Canada to erect a new building for the express purpose of housing a library. A HPL branch opened on Hamilton's Barton Street in 1908.[4] [Andrew Carnegie](/source/Andrew_Carnegie) funded a new main library, which opened in 1913. This was in turn replaced by a new, six-storey central library in 1980. Today, only one half of the building houses public collections. Once restricted to the city of Hamilton, the HPL service area was expanded when the outlying townships were [amalgamated](/source/Amalgamation_(politics)) into the City in 2001. The now-amalgamated City of [Dundas](/source/Dundas,_Ontario) had had its own library in operation since 1822.[4] The outlying rural towns had previously been served by the Wentworth Libraries system. In 2001, the Wentworth and Dundas libraries amalgamated with the HPL into a single system with 22 branches,[5] 34 [bookmobile](/source/Bookmobile) stops, a virtual online branch and a Visiting Library Service for the homebound.[4]

## List of branches

Branch Name Address Location within city Ancaster 300 Wilson St. E. Ancaster Barton 571 Barton St. E. East Binbrook 2641 Highway 56 Binbrook Carlisle 1496 Center Rd Carlisle Central Library 55 York Blvd. Downtown Concession 565 Concession St. Central Mountain Dundas 18 Ogilvie St. Dundas Freelton 1803 Brock Rd. Freelton Greensville 59 Kirby Ave. Dundas Kenilworth 103 Kenilworth Ave. N. East Locke 285 Locke St. S. Downtown Lynden 110 Lynden Rd. Lynden Mount Hope 3027 Homestead Drive Mount Hope Parkdale 256 Parkdale Ave N. East Red Hill 695 Queenston Rd. East Saltfleet 131 Grays Rd. Stoney Creek Sherwood 467 Upper Ottawa St. East Mountain Stoney Creek 777 Highway 8 Stoney Creek Terryberry 100 Mohawk Rd. W. West Mountain Turner Park 352 Rymal Road East South Mountain Valley Park 970 Paramount Dr. East Mountain Waterdown 163 Dundas St. E. Waterdown Westdale 955 King St W. West

## See also

- [Freda Farrell Waldon](/source/Freda_Farrell_Waldon)
- [List of Carnegie libraries in Canada](/source/List_of_Carnegie_libraries_in_Canada)

## References

1. ["Community Highlights for Hamilton (City)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190107073100/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/Profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3525005&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=hamilton&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All). *2001 Canadian Census*. Archived from [the original](http://www12.statcan.ca/english/Profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3525005&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=hamilton&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All) on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2006-12-04.

1. ["Hamilton Public Library Home"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070217171818/http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/LibraryServices/). *Hamilton Public Library website*. Archived from [the original](http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/LibraryServices/) on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-15.

1. Harris, Michael. History Of Libraries In The Western World. 4th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 153.

1. ["History of the Hamilton Public Library"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120524141831/http://myhamilton.ca/articles/hamilton-public-library-history). *Hamilton Public Library website*. Archived from [the original](http://www.myhamilton.ca/articles/hamilton-public-library-history) on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2010-10-09.

1. Dongen, Matthew Van (2017-01-27). ["4 million: Visits surge to Hamilton's 22 library branches"](https://www.thespec.com/news-story/7087236-4-million-visits-surge-to-hamilton-s-22-library-branches/). *The Hamilton Spectator*. [ISSN 1189-9417](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1189-9417). Retrieved 2019-03-07.

## External links

- [Official website](https://hpl.ca)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hamilton Public Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Public_Library) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Public_Library?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.