The Hamilton Public Library is located on the southern side of Garden Place, between Alexandra and Victoria Streets. The library has excellent selctions of CDs, DVDs and magazines available for borrowing. Since 2005 the library has held an annual event to coincide with NZ music month, Soundz Like Hamilton, where local performers play gigs in the library.
The CD selection is very wide-ranging and up to date. It is divided into several categories including Country, Blues, Pop/Rock, Folk, World, Jazz, Classical, Instrumental, Soundtracks and Comedy. New Zealand music is especially well represented. CDs can be borrowed for up to one week for $1.50, incurring charges of 20cents per item per day after that. The DVD selection is much smaller but contains many 'live in concert' or music video collections by a range of artists from Billie Holliday to Outkast.
The music books held by the library also cover all tastes, from Classical and Jazz to Punk and Hiphop, from method and theory to biography and fan books. In addition to the books the library holds a number of magazine titles, including Rolling Stone, Q, Mojo, Wired, The Source, Uncut, Real Groove and New Zealand Musician.