With the Steel Town Love special event taking place on Saturday, July 11, the Fourth Floor at Central Library will be closed for set-up all day on Friday, July 10. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open.
The Fourth Floor will reopen its study spaces on Sunday, July 12, Noon-5 pm.
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
The entrance to the Barton Branch's parking lot off Milton Street is currently inaccessible due to construction. Please use the alley entrance off Fullerton Street.
Please be aware of online phishing attempts impersonating Hamilton Public Library and Library Staff. HPL does not solicit paid freelance opportunities through social media or other messaging applications. HPL does not request personal or banking information through social media or require financial compensation when reviewing job applications. Please report phishing schemes to communications@hpl.ca. If you think you are a victim of fraud, please call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
The early 1980s did not bode well for Gore Park. On July 19, 1983 a city crew started the first phase of the Downtown Action Plan approved by council. Chainsaws were brought in and all the trees were removed from the park. What had taken nature 100 years to create took man several days to destroy. The public reacted with shock, outrage and anger and the community development office was flooded with calls protesting the tree removal. One woman told a police officer that "the city should be charged with murder to the environment” (52).
In December of 1982 the Du Toit firm of Toronto presented their final plan. It "called for the creation of a distinctive urban park, complete with a major sculptured fountain, a waterfall and pool, paving stoned areas for pedestrians, and substantial areas of grass, shrubs and shade trees”. The plan was approved but council, looking to save the $84,000 cost of having Du Toit supervise implementation of their plan, decided to use in-house staff. Staff’s interpretation of the plan diverged from the concept that the Toronto firm had advocated. Their changed recommended plan was passed by the planning and development committee and unanimously passed by council. The planning refinement process "that would have created an urban park in Du Toit's hands, created something entirely different in city staff's hands".
The outcry which began with the removal of the trees was nothing compared with the reaction when two concrete block buildings began construction. Tony Butler, of the Hamilton Historic Board and a local architect, attacked the plan. He reviewed the designs and stated "(t)hey are totally inappropriate to the character of the city...I'm ashamed to see what's happening in Gore Park." He believed the drawings developed by city staff had not followed the concept for the area developed by du Toit Architects of Toronto (53). Council members were caught off balance by the vehemence of the protests and, while some of them staunchly defended the plan, others "called the buildings too overpowering and monstrosities...[and] urged scrapping present plans and starting over" (54).
