Upsala’s library is a branch of Great River Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 65% of systems its size
Upsala’s library is the Upsala Public Library, a branch of Great River Regional Library, which serves 515,855 people and lent 2.8M items last year.
What stands out about Upsala Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Upsala’s civic life grade
Upsala isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Great River Regional Library serves 515,855 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Great River Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
478,063 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 32 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.
Find it
Upsala Public Library, 117 N Main Street, Upsala.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Great River Regional Library branch.
New in Upsala? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Upsala cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.8M 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 101,699 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Upsala Public Library is one branch of Great River Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 515,855 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 Upsala
Does Upsala have a public library?
Yes: Upsala Public Library, 117 N Main Street, is a branch of Great River Regional Library, which serves 515,855 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Great River 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 Upsala’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Upsala’s civic life grade?
Upsala isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Upsala.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.