Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Janesville’s library is a branch of Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Janesville’s library is the Janesville Public Library, a branch of Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library, which serves 48,249 people and lent 209K items last year.
Janesville’s library, in brief
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Janesville branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Janesville Free Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 1,152 square feet. The building ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Janesville’s library is a branch of Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (48,249 people), not just the Janesville branch.
What’s behind Janesville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Janesville is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Janesville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Janesville’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Janesville
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Janesville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Janesville’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Janesville Public Library, 102 W Second, Janesville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library branch.
New in Janesville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Janesville Free Public Library
Janesville Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 19, 1982. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical.
The Janesville Free Public Library is the public library in Janesville, Minnesota, United States. It is housed in a Carnegie library building constructed in 1912. It is part of the Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System, which is a participant in the Traverse des Sioux Library System.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library serves 48,249 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
209K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
24,586 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 13 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Janesville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 9,436 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janesville | Janesville Public Library fine-free | — | 19 | B+ |
| Janesville Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Janesville Public Library is one branch of Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 48,249 people it serves.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Janesville
Does Janesville have a public library?
Yes: Janesville Public Library, 102 W Second, is a branch of Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library, which serves 48,249 people. The branch is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Janesville’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Janesville’s civic life grade?
B+ Janesville is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Janesville.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.