Hedberg Public Library welcomes Janesville Area Stories to the Janesville Room.
Staff Contributor:
Mary B., Public Services Librarian
Janesville Area Stories was originally created as an online project by Teresa Nguyen with a mission to share inspiring stories of people who have contributed in big and small ways to the history of Janesville, Wisconsin and the surrounding area. When the website shut down in 2024, copies of the collected stories were printed and donated to the Hedberg Public Library. HPL librarians and volunteers compiled the stories – 103 in all – into three-ring binders and cataloged them for the collection. The stories have been indexed in Hedberg’s Local History Database (call number J Room 977.587 NGUYN).
HPL hosted a reception on October 10, 2025, to welcome this new resource to the collection. Interviewees, their family members, and members of the general public viewed the print version of Janesville Area Stories and Teresa Nguyen shared information about the project. She made special recognition of people she’d interviewed who have since passed away. Having Janesville Area Stories in the library collection will help keep their stories and contributions alive in our community memory.
The Janesville Room houses books, articles, maps, reports, directories, and indexes related to Janesville and Rock County History. These materials are Reference only and do not check out. Circulating copies of some titles are available elsewhere in the library. HPL also carries microfilm of Janesville newspapers from 1845 to 2024. Newer issues are available in The Gazette (Janesville, WI) online database.
Do you have items to donate to our local history collection? Contact us to discuss possibilities.