30Y.30L Tour (#8): Elk Township Library

Image by Andy Thompson

On Tuesday, November 29, thanks to Director Janet Dyki, I was able to tour Elk Township Library which is one of the closer-to-home rural libraries being toured for the 30Y.30L Campaign.

Location
Elk Township Library is located in the Village of Peck, Michigan in Sanilac County. Peck is about 12 miles south of the county seat Sandusky. M-90 and M-19 intersect in the westside of Peck.

For those not familiar with the area, Peck is 74 miles northeast of Purdy-Kresge Library, home of the School of Library and Information Science, on Wayne State University's downtown Detroit campus -- about 2 hours away.

History
As you may or may not know, I work with the Sanilac County Historical Society. Earlier in the summer, I was working on organizing the contents housed in horizontal filing cabinets in the archive room. As you can imagine, I found many gems; however, a document titled History of the First Library in Elk Township caught my eye. Naturally, I had to check it out and read it cover to cover. After reading the document, I ended up digitizing it and sending a copy to Dr. Robert Holley at Wayne State University for his perusal because the document contained a list of the original materials in the collection with the prices listed!

According to my trusty document, an allowance of $25.00 earmarked for "library money" was noted in March of 1859 -- less than one year after the township was founded. Just a month later, it was voted upon that the community should have a library. Back in the day, book purchases were supervised by the Board of School Inspectors.

From the looks of it, the library operated until 1872 and then "re-established" itself in 1882 with bylaws and an inventory. Since I just submitted my last final project for this semester, I'll burn a copy of the 29-page document and drop it off at Elk Township Library if you are interested in learning more. (The original is also available at the Sanilac County Historical Society.) The website for Elk Township Library offers a historical brief on the agency.


Service Area, Class Size, and Operating Budget
Elk Township Library serves the Village of Peck and the following townships: Buel (portions), Elk, and Fremont. According to Dyki, about 4,500 within the library's contract area. Although the population size is above 3,999 and the library is open 36 hours a week, Elk Township Library is deemed a Class I facility.

According to the Library of Michigan, a Class I library:

• Serves a population of 3,999 or less and needs to;
• Open a minimum of 15 hours per week.
• Employ (at least 15 hours per week) a director with at least a Level 4 certificate. 

ETL has a staff of two and an operating budget that runs between $45,000 - $50,000.

About the Director

Janet introduced me to Memoirs of a Goldfish by
Michigan author Devin Scillian.

Director Janet Dyki has been in her current position for about 30 years. Her love of reading started as child. In mid-elementary school, Dyki and her family relocated from the Watertown area into Peck.  Dyki said, "I died and went to heaven when we moved to town and there was a library within walking distance!" Fact: Before her move, she used to live in the same house in which I currently reside -- an old turn-of-the-century farmhouse.

Her favorite part of the job is collection development -- finding things others will like. Her advice to those entering the profession, "Keep up on technology and be aware of the area you are in. What is hot in Ann Arbor might not be in Peck!"

With that said, Janet knows her patrons. Peck and the surrounding areas constitute a small, close-knit community with many of the patrons having attended school together 40 years ago.

Notes and Observations
Elk Township Library has 15,880 items in its collection and circulated about 8,000 items last year. 

This library has several things in common with Brown City Public Library:
(a) Both libraries are housed in the same building with other offices and departments. In the case of Elk Township Library, it is housed with the fire department and township offices.
(b) The building is a designated voting precinct. Although, unlike BCPL, Elk Township Library does not have to suspend hours because it is contained in a separate room away from the voting.
(c) Elk Township Library is not automated and still makes use of the card catalog system.

When I left the library after my visit, it was dark, cold, and rainy; therefore, I was unable to obtain a quality picture of the building.