Hamilton Central Library to close Sundays amid downtown safety concerns

Hamilton Public Library’s Central Branch will be closed Sundays starting next month due to an increase in overdoses and mental health challenges downtown.

The Sunday closures will begin Feb. 1 and are expected to be temporary, until more resources are available.

Non-profit groups and public health services that the library partners with don’t operate on Sundays.

The library’s CEO and chief librarian says the decision is to make sure the library is adequately able to support everyone.

“We can do everything we can at the central library to try to make it safe, but if people are walking – trying to get into the library and people are consuming drugs around them – this is what’s been happening, it really is undermining our ability to provide library service,” says Paul Takala from the Hamilton Public Library.

Sunday hours will continue at six other Hamilton Public Library branches: Dundas, Red Hill, Terryberry, Valley Park and Waterdown.

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