Ancaster Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order

The accessible washroom at Ancaster Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.

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Published:
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 3:00pm
Central Library - 4th Floor Closure

Due to an all-day special event, the 4th Floor is closed on Saturday, October 25, from 8 am to 5 pm. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 are available for study and workspaces. www.hpl.ca/central

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Affected Branch: Central Library
Published:
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 11:00am
Delayed Branch Openings 

The following locations have upcoming delayed openings due to Staff training drills. 

Monday, October 20 
Ancaster Branch, 10 am 

Tuesday, October 21 
Central Library, 10 am 
Sherwood Branch, 10 am 

Thursday, October 23
Locke Branch, 10am

Thursday, October 30
Parkdale Branch, 9:30am

You may visit nearby Branches for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 - 2:00pm
Interlibrary Loan Service on Pause

Interlibrary Loan (ILLO) service will be temporarily paused starting Friday, September 26, due to continued negotiations between CUPW and Canada Post. We apologize for the inconvenience.

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Friday, September 26, 2025 - 1:00pm
Replacement and Damage Fees

Bring back your borrowed library items (due Oct 1 or later) within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items. 

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 3:00pm
Kenilworth Branch - Temporary Closure (Sept 2 - Oct 27)

Due to roof repair maintenance, the branch is temporarily closed until October 27. Please visit the Red Hill, Parkdale and Barton branches.

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Published:
Monday, August 11, 2025 - 8:00am

Discovery Space

graphic of kids with text discovery space

Explore. Discover. Learn. Visit.

Discovery Space is currently closed. Expected reopening is unknown at this time.

Discovery Spaces are fun, hands-on learning spaces created for you and your child to explore and enjoy STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math) activities together.

Explore.

Research shows visiting a public library as a child is a wonderful and easy way to nurture a lifelong love of reading and learning. The more kids read, the more successful they are in school and in life.

For every DIscovery Space theme, you can access a list of great books to borrow from our collections.

Discover.

Play. The art of play helps children put thoughts and words together and connect spoken and written words with real objects and experiences.

Explore. Kids are natural explorers. At the Library, our goal is to nurture curiosity and wonder.

Explore our Discovery Spaces and have fun completing the activity sheets and engaging hands-on, creative activities. Each space has a unique theme and invites families to explore, discover and learn together.

Local History & Archives. To celebrate the City of Hamilton and all our diverse communities, we've included images from the Local History & Archives (LH&A) collection in our Discovery Spaces. LH&A has thousands of historic images of Hamilton available online.

Learn. 

Discovery Spaces use STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math) activities to explore, discover and learn. 

moleculeScience activities use experiments to look at our natural environment and space.computerTechnology activities focus on digital literacy, robotics and coding by exploring simple machinesbook Reading activities explore and writing through basic literacy skillscogs and pencil Engineering activities look at understanding space, planning and design structures and movements.drama masksArts activities celebrate culture and creativity through music, storytelling and visual arts.various computations symbolsMath activities use shapes, patterns and counting to make numeracy fun.

Visit.

Discovery Spaces are designed to be inclusive of developmentally appropriate activities for kids (birth - 12 years) that support the development of literacy, learning, and motor and cognitive skills.

Each Discovery Space has a theme that highlights Hamilton's history, culture or natural environment. Themes rotate regularly across branches, with new ones always being added. 

Discovery Spaces are available at the following branches and each branch has a different theme:

  • Central Library - Storytelling & Theatre
  • Dundas - Health Sciences
  • Red Hill - Sports
  • Sherwood - Natural Environment  
  • Turner Park - Market
  • Waterdown - Manufacturing

Discovery Spaces are open when the branch is open.