HPL's access to Ancestry.ca is not working. We aim to restore the service soon. Thank you for your patience.
On Thursday, May 15, the library reopens with normal hours but with the following service limitations:
- 1st Floor is closed to the public
- Limited browsing collections of Express Adult Fic and Express DVDs are available on the 2nd Floor
- Holds pickup is available on the 2nd Floor
- Reduced number of public computers on 2nd Floor
- Printing and copying available on 2nd Floor
- Seating capacity is reduced
- All 2nd Floor collections (teen, children, and graphic novels) are available
- Parking, washroom and elevator access are not affected
Please refer to hpl.ca/events for up-to-date program listings. Most programs will continue as normal on the 2nd Floor or in the basement.
All HPL Branches are closed on Friday, May 30 for Staff Professional Development Day. Bookmobile is off the road and Extended Access service is not available. Our Virtual Branch is open at hpl.ca. Regular service hours resume Saturday, May 31. Thank you for your understanding.
The Friday May 30 Bookmobile visits to Huntington Park, Winona and Maplewood Avenue are cancelled.
Due to the ongoing roof repair project, noise and parking disruptions are expected to continue until the end of June. Thank you for your patience.
From Monday, May 5 to Saturday, May 31, the Ancaster Branch will be temporarily closed due to a roof and HVAC replacement. During this time, service hours will be available at the Ancaster Rotary Centre, 385 Jerseyville Road West, Ancaster. The last day to pick up your Holds is Thursday, May 1st. Thank you for your understanding.
The digital microfilm machines at Central Library are not working. A single analog machine is available, but it doesn't print. We aim to have the digital devices repaired as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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.
Top 10 Borrows at HPL in 2024 Inspiration for 2025
HAMILTON, ON – Jan 9, 2025 – Hamilton, if you need inspiration for your 2025 read, watch, listen lists, check out the top borrows from 2024.
Classics such as Anne of Green Gables were as popular among HPL cardholders last year as superstar Taylor Swift’s music and books by Jeff Kinney and Sarah J. Maas.
For proof that Hamilton supports its local talent, look no further than Hamilton Reads 2024 author Anuja Varghese’s Chrysalis. The collection of short stories was the second most popular book borrowed, next to international heavyweight Lee Child’s The Secret, and third among eBooks The Women by Kristin Hannah and It Starts with Us author Colleen Hoover.
Swifties borrowed their beloved icon’s CDs so much in 2024 that her albums held six Top 10 spots.
Like Swift, fantasy author Sarah J. Maas dominated the Top 10 Young Adult Fiction eBook list, holding first, third, fourth, fifth and tenth most circulated spots.
Prolific writer Jeff Kinney held five of the 10 top spots in the Juvenile Fiction eBook category, and curiously, Kinney captured first and second in the Juvenile Non-Fiction list, too.
It’s been more than 115 years since Canadian treasure LM Montgomery published Anne of Green Gables, and it still ranks among the Top 10 eBooks read by young readers.
Young Adults were also drawn to Anne Frank’s Second World War memoir Diary of a Young Girl in 2024, which captured the top spot in the eBook category. Memoirs by Britney Spears (The Woman in Me) and Matthew Perry (Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing) were the first and second most circulated books last year as were summer blockbuster movies Oppenheimer and Barbie respectively.
With more than 183,000 active library card holders in 2024—the highest in 12 years—borrowers are tapping into HPL's myriad genres and platforms. This year, get a library card, borrow the 2024 top titles and check out the new additions to our collections to read (fiction and non-fiction), watch and listen.