Hamilton Public Library (Ontario)

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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
Branches23
Collection
Items collectedBooks, DVDs, Blu-ray DVDs, Music CDs, Audio Books, E-books, Video Games, Archival materials related to the region, Artwork and Ephemeral
Access and use
Circulationover 7 million items circulated
Other information
Budget4.6 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

The first branch of the HPL, designed by William Stewart, opened in 1890. It was demolished in 1955. Hamilton Public Library.png
The first branch of the HPL, designed by William Stewart, opened in 1890. It was demolished in 1955.
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
Mount Hope3027 Homestead Drive Mount Hope
Parkdale256 Parkdale Ave N. East
Red Hill695 Queenston Rd. East
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

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References

  1. ↑ "Community Highlights for Hamilton (City)". 2001 Canadian Census. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. 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.
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