Hamilton Public Library (Ontario)

Last updated
Hamilton Public Library
HamiltonPublicLibraryA.JPG
Hamilton Public Library, view from top of Stelco Tower
Hamilton Public Library (Ontario)
43°15′33″N79°52′13″W / 43.259160609618206°N 79.8704048290868°W / 43.259160609618206; -79.8704048290868
Location55 York Blvd, Hamilton, ON L8N 4E4, Canada
Type public library system in Hamilton, Ontario
Branches22
Collection
Items collectedBooks, DVDs, Blu-ray DVDs, Music CDs, Audio Books, E-books, Archival materials related to the region, Artwork and Ephemeral
Access and use
Circulationover 7 million items circulated
Other information
Budget31 million dollars
DirectorPaul Takala, CEO & Chief Librarian
Website Hamilton Public Library website

The Hamilton Public Library (HPL) is the public library system of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. [1]

Contents

Services

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

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 that were set up around the world after becoming popular in Britain. The 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 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 into the City in 2001. The now-amalgamated City of Dundas 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 stops, a virtual online branch and a Visiting Library Service for the homebound. [4]

List of branches

Branch NameAddressLocation within city
Ancaster300 Wilson St. E. Ancaster
Barton571 Barton St. E. East
Binbrook2641 Highway 56 Binbrook
Carlisle1496 Center Rd Carlisle
Central Library55 York Blvd. Downtown
Concession565 Concession St. Central Mountain
Dundas18 Ogilvie St. Dundas
Freelton1803 Brock Rd. Freelton
Greensville59 Kirby Ave. Dundas
Kenilworth103 Kenilworth Ave. N. East
Locke285 Locke St. S. Downtown
Lynden110 Lynden Rd. Lynden
Millgrove (Closed as of November 2015)857 Millgrove Sdrd. Millgrove
Mount Hope3027 Homestead Drive Mount Hope
Parkdale256 Parkdale Ave N. East
Picton (Closed as of June 2009)502 James St N. Downtown
Red Hill695 Queenston Rd. East
Rockton (Closed as of December 2012)795 Old Highway 8Rockton
Saltfleet131 Grays Rd. Stoney Creek
Sherwood467 Upper Ottawa St.East Mountain
Stoney Creek777 Highway 8Stoney Creek
Terryberry100 Mohawk Rd. W. West Mountain
Turner Park352 Rymal Road EastSouth Mountain
Valley Park970 Paramount Dr.East Mountain
Waterdown163 Dundas St. E. Waterdown
Westdale955 King St W. West

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancaster, Ontario</span> Community/former town in Ontario, Canada

Ancaster is a historic town in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. Founded as a town in 1793, it immediately developed itself into one of the first significant and influential early British Upper Canada communities established during the late 18th century eventually amalgamating with the city of Hamilton in 2001. By 1823, due to its accessible waterpower and location at the juncture of prehistoric indigenous trading routes, Ancaster had become Upper Canada's largest industrial and commercial centre. Additionally, Ancaster had at that time attracted the 2nd largest populace (1,681) in Upper Canada, trailing only Kingston, but surpassing the populations of nearby Toronto (1,376) and Hamilton (1,000). After this initial period of prosperity in the late 18th century, sudden significant water and rail transportation advancements of the early 19th century would soon better benefit Ancaster's neighbouring towns nearer the Lake Ontario waterfront. Stationary steam engines for industries rapidly developing in the 19th century would eventually make Ancaster's water-powered industries less vital. As a result, after the 1820s, Ancaster's influence would begin to wane during the remainder of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottawa Public Library</span>

The Ottawa Public Library is the library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The library was founded in 1906 with a donation from the Carnegie Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Public Library</span> Public library system of Houston, Texas

Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glanbrook, Hamilton, Ontario</span>

Glanbrook is the south-western district of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It was first created as an independent township in 1974 through the amalgamation of Mount Hope, Binbrook, Glanford, and other nearby communities. In 2001, Glanbrook became a dissolved municipality after it was amalgamated with Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Dundas, Ancaster and Flamborough to become the present city of Hamilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Public Library</span> Public library system in Toronto, Canada

Toronto Public Library is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2023 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system internationally, making it the largest neighbourhood-based library system in the world. Within North America, it also had the highest circulation and visitors when compared to other large urban systems. Established as the library of the Mechanics' Institute in 1830, the Toronto Public Library now consists of 100 branch libraries and has over 26 million items in its collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Public Library</span> Public library system in British Columbia

Vancouver Public Library (VPL) is the public library system for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2013, VPL had more than 6.9 million visits with patrons borrowing nearly 9.5 million items including: books, ebooks, CDs, DVDs, video games, newspapers and magazines. Across 22 locations and online, VPL serves nearly 428,000 active members and is the third-largest public library system in Canada.

The Saint John Free Public Library incorporated in 1883, was the first tax-supported public library in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, hence the inclusion of "Free" in the title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board</span> Public school board

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 21 prior to 1999, is the public school board for the city of Hamilton. Established on January 1, 1998, via the amalgamation of the Hamilton and Wentworth County school boards, the board currently operates 93 elementary and secondary schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Bay Public Library</span>

The Thunder Bay Public Library serves the citizens of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Public Library</span> Library system in London, Ontario, Canada

The London Public Library (LPL) is the public library system of London, Ontario, Canada. All 16 locations city-wide offer services and programs for adults, teens and children residing in London and the surrounding counties of Oxford, Middlesex, and Elgin. The branches includes art exhibits, author readings, a summer reading program, and health-oriented activities. As of November 26, 2020, the London Public Library does not charge fines for overdue materials.

The Montreal Public Libraries Network is the public library system on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is the largest French language public library system in North America, and also has items in English and other languages. Its central branch closed in March 2005 and its collections incorporated into the collections of the Grande Bibliothèque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halifax Public Libraries</span>

Halifax Public Libraries (HPL) is a Canadian public library system serving residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the largest public library system in Nova Scotia, with over 2.8 million visits to library branches and 172,520 active registered borrowers or 44% of the municipality's population. With roots that trace back to the establishment of the Citizens' Free Library in 1864, the current library system was created in 1996 during municipal amalgamation, and now consists of 14 branches and a collection of almost 1 million items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lethbridge Public Library</span>

The Lethbridge Public Library is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It was established in 1919. While it has had as many as three branches at one time, the library currently has two branches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peterborough Public Library</span>

The Peterborough Public Library is a public library system in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitby Public Library</span> Public library in Whitby, Ontario, Canada

The Whitby Public Library is a public library that serves the town of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, with three branches. The library is governed through a ten-person library board appointed by the town, and operated by a staff of more than 80 full and part-time employees. As of 2016, there were over 1.4 million items circulated and the system had a CA$5,700,000 budget.

Windsor Public Library is a public library system in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It has ten branches and serves the city of Windsor through Children's, Young Adult, and Adult programs, services and collections. The central branch is located at the Paul Martin Sr. Building on Ouellette Avenue in downtown Windsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auckland Libraries</span> Public library in New Zealand

Auckland Libraries is the public library system for the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It was created when the seven separate councils in the Auckland region merged in 2010. It is currently the largest public-library network in the Southern Hemisphere with 55 branches from Wellsford to Waiuku. Currently from March 2021, the region has a total of 56 branches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Street, Dundas, Ontario</span>

King Street starts off as a collector road in the east-end of town in Dundas, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada beside Cootes Paradise and the Desjardins Canal at Olympic Drive and switches to an arterial road at York Street and cuts through the town of Dundas where it ends in the west-end by the CN railway tracks at the base of the Niagara Escarpment. It is a two-way street throughout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halton Hills Public Library</span>

Halton Hills Public Library (HHPL) is the public library system for the Town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. Through its two branches and its website, www.hhpl.on.ca, the Halton Hills Public Library provides a range of services for Halton Hills residents. There are approximately 17,000 active cardholders, most residing in the communities of Georgetown, Acton, Limehouse, Glen Williams, Speyside, Norval, and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Hope Public Library</span>

The Port Hope Public Library is a public library system with two branches that serves the town of Port Hope, Ontario, Canada.

References

  1. "Community Highlights for Hamilton (City)". 2001 Canadian Census. Retrieved 2006-12-04.
  2. "Hamilton Public Library Home". Hamilton Public Library website. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  3. Harris, Michael. History Of Libraries In The Western World. 4th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 153.
  4. 1 2 3 "History of the Hamilton Public Library". Hamilton Public Library website. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  5. Dongen, Matthew Van (2017-01-27). "4 million: Visits surge to Hamilton's 22 library branches". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN   1189-9417 . Retrieved 2019-03-07.