One of the first things I do when I move somewhere is go to their local library and see what it's like. Coming from an actual city, and being in Janesville, I was prepared to see a few copies of a phone book, someone's yearbook from the '70s, and maybe a few old Dean Koontz novels with the jacket cover taped back on, and some pages missing. I was definitely in for a pleasant surprise. While they don't always have all of the latest books you'll have on your GoodsRead list, and they aren't open on Sundays, this is a very nice little library, and definitely the best community asset to Janesville. When you get a library card you get to choose between white or teal cards. The ground floor is a cafe, with seating where people are sometimes seen playing chess with strangers, or enjoying books that they've purchased, or picked up for free, as you can just drop off books there for people to grab, and also the "community room" which can be reserved for large meetings/gatherings. Other, smaller rooms are available on the second floor for anyone to reserve or request, as well. The second floor has a hold shelf for reserved books (you can put a hold on books online or at the library), self check out stations, an employee recommends section that lists what genres those employees are into so you know if their likes are a good fit for you to choose from, and all the the books. There's also a bulletin board with a listing of all sorts of local events going on in Janesville, and some going on in the library. There's a table with hand sanitizer and lotion. The real thing here is the events. This library hosts so many events and does so much for the community. It's truly impressive. The only thing I dislike about this library is that the return slot inside the library is not clearly labeled at all, and I wandered around like a fool until I saw other people slowly putting their items one at a time into a small, unlabeled, conveyor belt hole in the wall one at a time, and asked them if that was it. Haha. All the employees are hella nice. According to the website, there are other return sites for the books, including Woodman's, which I've also done a review on. Woodman's is open 24 hours a day, so if you're out getting your groceries in the middle of the night and need to return your library book, you can kill two birds with one stone, theoretically. I've yet to do so. I have attended a writing workshop here, an open mic event, a support group, and picked up a free craft project. I've only lived here a couple months. read more

This place was fantastic. Not only was the building architecture lovely you can really tell that the community cares and puts money into this place. The self service kiosks were awesome, we'd never seen those before. There were loads of tables, computers, and seats to sit in where you could read. All of the windows are fantastic and the view overlooking the river makes those reading places super idealic. Outside there are places to sit and sculptures to enjoy as well as read again over looking the river. Also the book clubs in a bag are also a fantastic idea. This place made us really jealous of the people in Janesville, we wished our local library was even half as nice. read more

I have visited many libraries across the country but Hedberg is the best. How can a big library with so many services to assist the community can operate such a budget, including a vastly wide selection of resources on top of the books and dvds, from a small, and I really mean small, town of Janesville? It puts many others, especially those in the big city, to shame. Sorry, but I digress, that's a topic for another time in other forum. After many years in private business, I now had much time on my hands. M is a big fan of libraries and when I told her about this library from my previous recon trip, she could not wait to get here. There is ample parking any time you decide to come. However, during the winter, everyone is trying to get covered parking just to get away from the snow and be able to walk on solid ground. The 1st floor you will find books for sale by friends of the library. Volunteers work the little cafe where people can pick up coffee to keep warm or stay awake, maybe both. There are tables to sit and plug your device, whatever it may be. However, you may be asked to move if you have not purchased anything. I loved coming here to start reading a new book while sipping coffee. When you get upstairs, 2nd floor, to the left is the young readers area from toddlers to young readers. Towards the back, from the entrance is young teens area where you can find manga, comics and graphic novels along with books. Before you get to that area, you will pass two rows of current or new books, that can get checked out frequently. It made it easy to see what is hot. The dvd collection is extensive carrying everything that ever came out. If a copy goes bad, they will replace it just so they have it. You could get the latest dvd releases and it would still be free to barrow. However, there is a limit you can barrow. I believe it was 14 at the time. I made sure everyone had a library card. I tried to get the dogs one but they didn't have social security numbers. There were so many dvds I wanted to barrow. What made it more interesting is dvds from other countries. Korean, Mexican, Japanese to name a few. And they were subtitled. When I found Ran's Seven Samurai I was shocked and so impressed. Is there any other library in the United States that actually had this gem in their inventory? Not even the libraries in large asian communities have I seen this. There would be many more treasures I would find during my stay here. Their dvd collection was my greatest joy. The books were in very nice shape. And, it seemed if they could keep the hard cover they would. Not like other libraries carrying many books in paperback. I found several sets to The Dark Tower all in hard cover. I don't know if it's true for all libraries, but here if you did not find the book you were looking for you could request it and they could barrow it from another library that could be in another city in another state. They may even just buy it so it will be part of their inventory. I remember M wanted a book for a series she was reading. She put in the request and suggested it be bought to complete the series they already have. They called her in about a week to pick up the book. When she did she was shocked it was a brand new copy. They actually bought it. During the depression the library was a great resource to get retooled, find another job and study for exams. There were many computers to use for the internet. Computer classes were offerred free to attain the skills needed to get job placement. Staff could help you if you were stuck doing a resume or job application. Many signs, and information pamphlets to help guide one to resources to get a job. This area was always full right from when they opened. The young reader section was huge. That section alone was larger than all the libraries I've been to in the San Gabriel Valley of California. The programs they offerred to help turn your toddler into a reader was so extensive and free. I am so thankful for that because I do have a son that loves to read. There were also many other things there you could do to help develop your child, mentally and some physically. We loved this little room you could play games. Just have to check it out for free. Taught my son to play checkers there. I'm about to reach the word limit here. Let me just finish with... check this library out!! read more

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I love this library! I recently signed up for a library card and I am so glad I did. I got to sign my 11 month old up for their, "1000 books before pre-k" program. The goal is obvious, but along the way, you can earn little prizes. I am so excited that I can help make reading fun for her. Anyway, This library has covered parking, a café with treats and coffee, a nice computer area, a HUGE children's area, self check out kiosks, and a great teen area. I like the children's area so much. Along with books, they have a lot of space for the littles to crawl around and a bunch of toys and cute little tables and chairs. The staff members have always been helpful and sweet. read more

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This library is AMAZING!!! I take my family here often. Every one enjoys themselves. My teenage daughter loves to find teen romance novels. My preteen son loves to go on the computer and play video games and watch clips of Godzilla movies and shows. My wife usually finds 2 to 5 novels each time. I love the blu-ray and dvd section. My toddler daughter LOVES to play in the children's section. She loves the little kitchen toys & the wooden dollhouse. Today she was able to color a cat, I cut the sections apart, and we glued all the cat sections together. Today we took out almost 20 items. We love the Hedberg library. read more

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The Hedberg Public Library is one of the best things about Janesville. The range of services, and the quality of them, is impressive for a library in a city of this size. In fact, it must compare favorably with the best public libraries anywhere. I have lived in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC, and have been to the main libraries in numerous other cities and I think Hedberg Public Library is better than any I have seen. They have an impressive music and video collection, audio books, book club kits, scores of newspapers and periodicals, computers and computing classes, lectures, movie nights, concerts, writing classes, art exhibits and much more. The only possible criticism is that the collection of older books, while large, could be larger. But even this criticism is somewhat blunted by the fact that they will quickly get almost book you want from another library, and even buy it for their collection if it is available. It's also a pleasant place to spend time with comfortable chairs looking out at the river, a coffee shop, and really friendly, helpful librarians. read more

This library has a lot of great features to it. The ground floor has a coffee shop which sells a variety of drinks both hot and cold, along with some food items. There is seating around the coffee shook for those not needing to go all the way into the library to get work done. You also get the wi password at the coffee shop. They have lots of workshops and activities for kids running all the time, way to many to mention all here. They also have computer classes for adults or anyone looking to learn more about computers. Large selection of CDs and movies to rent out for a quick night in. A great place to just take the kids and hang out for a while as they have age specific sections with stuff to do in each one for the kids. So head on down, and check out this nice library. read more