Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Sheldon has two public libraries, Hamilton Public Library - Turner Park Branch and Hamilton Public Library - Mount Hope Branch
Hamilton Public Library serves the whole of Hamilton, so the library figures on this page are the city’s: 592,000 people, Sheldon among them. Loans ran to 4.1 items per person served in 2024. Like every Ontario library, it reports one typical week of visits, and the year is that week times 52: an estimate.
C+Civic life#337 of 866 in OntarioWhat Sheldon’s civic life grade weighs
Civic life in Sheldon grades C+: #337 of the 866 towns graded in Ontario. All three civic life inputs exist for Sheldon: library visits per resident, charities per 1,000 residents and the provincial volunteering rate.
Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.
Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.
Hamilton mailing addresses hold 891 registered charities
There is no count for Sheldon on its own: the charities are those of all of Hamilton. That is 1.4 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in the typical Ontario town and 1.4 across Canada. Counting by mailing address favors a service town, where the surrounding area’s charities get their mail, over the suburbs and countryside around it.
32.1%
Across Ontario, 32.1% of people volunteered through an organization in 2023, a provincial estimate with a likely range of 31.0% to 33.2%; the lowest province sits at 25.2% and the highest at 40.3%.
Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.
Ahead of most of Ontario’s town libraries on all 3 measures
Measured per person served against the 195 town libraries of Ontario’s 2024 statistics.
Town libraries only; regional systems left out.
About 52,610 visits in a typical week
What Hamilton Public Library counted in 2024, as the library reported it.
2 public libraries in Sheldon
Nearest first, measured in a straight line from the centre of Sheldon.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Visits count everyone. The visit count makes no difference between Sheldon’s residents and everyone else who walks in.
Questions about the library and civic life in Sheldon
Does Sheldon have a public library?
Yes, 2: Hamilton Public Library - Turner Park Branch and Hamilton Public Library - Mount Hope Branch.
How busy is Hamilton Public Library?
The 2024 totals: 2,735,720 in-person visits, 2,435,516 loans.
Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).