Besides the fiction and non-fiction, tapes and DVDs, children's and reference sections, the Traverse Area District Library includes a number of pieces and part of specialized information.
Collectively known as the Special Collections and situated throughout the Adult Reference Department, this diverse collection includes everything from automotive repair manuals to genealogy books, sheet music to yearbooks from area high schools. Niche financial newsletters are available, including Morningstar and Value Line, as are a number of business reference books, such as Harris Michigan Industrial Directory.
"The big picture is the small picture, which is that we can provide some pretty in-depth information on particular topics," said Mike McGuire, director of the Traverse Area District Library. "So if you're looking for something in particular in one of the special collections, chances are we have it."
The genealogy collection is one of the larger special collections in the library, with the bulk of the many books and documents donated by the Grand Traverse Area Genealogical Society. The Traverse Area District Library became the home for this collection when it opened in 1999 and its former home, Northwestern Michigan College's Osterline Library, had no more room for it.
"We now control the collection but they still support us, it's a good cooperation," said Marly Hanson, a librarian who works with the various special collections. "Volunteers are here two or three days a week and people come from all over the country to see if they've had relatives here."
Across from the genealogy collection is the library's collections of Michigan and Traverse City history books. Another portion of the library's books and documents on local history is housed in the Nelson Room. The items in that formal room near the computing center upstairs are in locked cabinets and do not circulate. Included are Traverse City directories dating to 1900, school yearbooks and other rare, obscure or original editions of books touching on some aspect of life in Grand Traverse and contiguous counties.
"Some of them, not that they're rare, but we've had them a long time and don't want them lost," noted Hanson, who has worked at the library for 20 years. "They're just books we'd really like to keep."
Other niche collections include an extensive collection of sheet music that local musician Liz Bannister bestowed on the library. This treasured collection is kept under lock and key in a cabinet and is not even a browsing collection.
Shelves of automotive repair manuals attract a small but appreciative following, although the information therein can now be found on the internet.
"Guys seem to light up when you tell them it's here," said Hanson of the automotive repair manuals collection.
The Foundation Directory is also popular and used to be part of the college's collection. In addition, the Traverse Area District Library is a cooperating collection with the online Foundation Center, which compiles more than 72,000 nonprofit organizations around the country. People seeking grant dollars can use this resource to search for appropriate granting organizations.
"This brings the whole information source right here to Traverse City," said Hanson.
Another online resource that Hanson loves is MEL.org, which she and other reference librarians wish more people knew about. Short for Michigan Electronic Library, this collection of databases is an invaluable research tool that library patrons of all ages could use at special terminals in the Reference Department.
"It's the best-kept secret for the taxpayers of Michigan," she said. "It is librarian screened so you know you're looking at websites that are dependable."