Mount Hope Branch - Photocopy and Scanning Unavailable
Photocopying and scanning are currently not available at Mount Hope Branch. Printing is available. Estimated time of disruption is unknown. Thank you for your patience.
Printing Unavailable- Concession branch
Printing is not available at the Concession Branch today, Tuesday March 11. Estimated time of disruption is unknown at this time. Thank you for your patience.
Phishing Scheme
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.
Turner Park Branch - Large Format Printer Unavailable
The large format printer at Turner Park is currently unavailable. Please utilize our other Makerspace locations if needed. We will advise once it is restored to service.
Roadwork near Barton Branch
Starting Monday March 17, the City of Hamilton begins roadwork on Wilson Street and Sherman Avenue. The construction will be completed in stages until December 2025. There may be traffic delays if you are planning to visit the Barton Branch.
Hamilton Spectator Collection

In 1978, the Executive Editor of the Spectator newspaper arranged to begin transferring their reference files of photographic negatives and news clippings to Local History & Archives [then Special Collections]. The arrangement was that the Spectator would only hold the most recent five years worth of negatives and all negatives older than that would be transferred.
Over the years other material has been transferred including:
Hamilton Spectator Daily Negatives
The negatives taken by staff photographers for the daily edition of the newspaper. They are filed chronologically by the date the photograph appeared in the newspaper. There is no master index; therefore, to find the image required, you must know the day the photograph appeared in the newspaper. Many of these daily negatives have been printed and added to the mounted photograph collection by subject.
These files start in 1955 and continue until 1998 with gaps.
"S" Files
These are special negatives which were removed from the daily files because of special interest or subject matter, and filed separately by title (ie. Football, Politics, People, etc.) or date range.
Murdoch Collection Listing
From November 4, 1950 until August 28, 1965, Bruce Murdoch (ca1893-1966), a Spectator photographer, wrote and illustrated a weekly series of articles about small towns in Ontario. There is a complete index of this part of the collection.
Spectator Collection Antiquarian Photographs
40 antiquarian photographs (most late 19th and early 20th century) of Hamilton and area. All have been copied and added to the mounted picture collection.
Finding Aid: R019 HOU CESH