The accessibility door at Ancaster Branch is not working. We aim to fix it quickly.
Concession Branch's children area is closed for renovations. Please use the temporary space. Public computers are also affected. There are currently three available. We aim to have the branch back in order as soon as possible.
Members visiting the Carlisle Branch may notice an unpleasant odour. We are working to identify the source and hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
HPL's WiFi, Catalogue and online resources will undergo network maintenance on Wednesday, November 12 from 5-8am. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Noise and limited parking continue at the Kenilworth Branch this week as renovations wrap up. Thank you for your understanding.
The following locations have upcoming delayed openings due to Staff training drills.
Monday, November 10
Concession Branch, 10am
Thursday, November 13
Binbrook Branch, 10am
Friday, November 14
Valley Park Branch, 10am
Monday, November 24
Mount Hope, 2pm
Thursday, November 27
Stoney Creek, 10am
You may visit nearby Branches for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours
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.
Peer Support Workers Help Struggling Members at Central Library
HAMILTON – Wed Jan 22, 2025 - Hamilton Public Library (HPL) recently welcomed four new Peer Support Workers, Misty Thaler, Mike Lavelle, Paul Dolhun and Harrison Wheeler to Central Library.
The workers from Canadian Mental Health Association Hamilton (CMHA) began their work of helping Members with mental illness and addiction struggles on Jan 13.
Misty, Mike, Paul and Harrison will support Members in many ways, including counselling, helping them connect with local financial, housing and food resources and completing referral forms as needed.
The Peer Support program is a one-year pilot. Getting to this launch date took a year. Throughout the year, HPL and CMHA will measure the success of this partnership through testimony and data to determine potential expansion.
Peer support is an evidence-based, essential core service for addressing the complex needs of people with mental health and addictions concerns in community spaces like libraries.
“This partnership is an example of how HPL is working with partners to support residents in our spaces, while we focus on providing public library service. A special thank you to Dr. James Gillet from McMaster University and his team. Our research partnerships with them resulted in facilitating this shared effort between HPL and CMHA Hamilton,” said HPL CEO Paul Takala.
“CMHA Peer Support Workers leverage their lived experience, deep empathy and expertise in navigating Hamilton’s health and social services and will provide easily accessible support to people in need at Central Library,” said CMHA Hamilton CEO Sue Phipps.
HPL and CMHA are grateful to McMaster University’s Community Research Platform for facilitating the partnership and their evaluation of this innovative collaboration.







