The St. Catharines Public Library offers a wide range of programs and services to meet the informational, educational and recreational needs of the citizens of St. Catharines.
Services include, Book Clubs, Class/Group Visits, Computer Services and Training, Interlibrary Loans, Library Outreach, Meeting Room Rentals, Photocopiers, Printing & Scanning, Proctoring Services and Visiting Library service.
The St. Catharines Public Library provides and facilitates regular book club sessions for registered participants from the community. Book club sessions meet monthly at their home branch location and discuss a selected book from an annual rotation list and are intended to foster a friendly, social atmosphere amongst book-lovers. The St. Catharines Public Library strives to provide fiction and non-fiction selections that highlight Canadian literature and authors, current events, and a wide variety of perspectives, including (but not limited to): Indigenous, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC communities. The Library also strives to take into account participant requests for selections and holds regular surveys and voting for book selection inclusions.
The St. Catharines Public Library has seven adult book clubs. Each club meets once a month at its home location to discuss the selected monthly title. The Central Library has three book clubs, the Dr. Huq Family Branch has two book clubs, the Merritt Branch has one book club and Port Dalhousie Branch has two book clubs. For more information or to register, please call 905-688-6103.
Book Club Kits consist of a bag with 10 copies of one title.
Click here to see the titles or Click here for a printable list.
Any customer with a valid adult/senior SCPL library card.
Customers can place a hold on a specific Book Club Kit. The kits cannot be reserved in advance, they are first come, first served. The loan period is 42 days, with no renewals. The entire kit must be checked out. You can choose which branch to have it sent to, but bear in mind that it may take a couple of days to get there.
Book Club Kits that have been placed on hold will be under the cardholder’s last name. They must be checked out on the same card that was used to place the hold.
The entire kit must be returned in person to any SCPL branch. They will not fit into the book drops. Any lost/damaged books will be charged to the cardholder’s account. The fees will be $15.00/book or $150.00/kit. The cardholder who checked out the kit is responsible for the entire kit.
Visiting Library is a free service that brings the pleasure of reading to individuals living in St. Catharines who are unable to come to the Library themselves. The Visiting Library Service is made possible by the generosity of dedicated volunteers who want to help others enjoy reading. Library materials can be delivered to your home by volunteers through the Visiting Library Service.
Any resident of St. Catharines who is house-bound due to illness (minimum of three months), physical disability or age, and who is unable to obtain materials from the Library, may request this service.
If you are interested in receiving the Visiting Library Service, call the Central Library at 905-688-6103. Staff will request your name, address and telephone number and discuss your reading and/or listening preferences. This confidential information will be kept on file so that appropriate materials may be selected. There may be a waiting period during which staff will be trying to match you with a volunteer.
Adult and children’s materials may be requested through this service. These materials may include:
Staff will select material and attempt to fill any requests for specific authors and titles. Since there is an extended borrowing period, we DO NOT send out materials with a 7 day borrowing limit.
Volunteers interested in the well-being of their fellow citizens have offered to deliver these materials. When your volunteer visits, please remember that they are not a Library employee but a public-spirited friend. Please contact us at 905-688-6103
You can convert your personal VHS tapes to DVDs at the Central Library. The entire VHS tape or selected segments can be converted. Please note that the equipment will perform the conversion but it cannot change or improve upon the image on the VHS tape. Commercially produced tapes cannot be converted.
Bring your own DVD-Rs or purchase them from the library for $1+HST each.
Use the online tool to book your VHS to DVD Converter appointment (maximum 3 hour limit), or call us at 905-688-6103.
The St. Catharines Public Library offers a proctoring service in order to support our role of helping members of the St. Catharines community achieve their educational goals. Students and professionals who agree to the following policy may make use of this service.
The fee to use the library’s proctoring service is $ 25.00 + HST per student, per exam. The fees owing will be collected by the proctor on the day the exam is written. Fees may be paid by cash or debit and a receipt may be provided for institutions willing to pay for students’ exam fees.
For more information or to book an appointment, please call 905-688-6103, ext 211 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to schedule an exam.
View a printable copy of the Proctoring Policy here.
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