Legacy of commitment: Cherry Hamrick retiring from Delta library

DELTA TWP. — Cherry Hamrick is at home in the Delta Township District Library.

Walking through the 30,000-square-foot building on the way to her office, she points out the fireplace that sets center stage among the bookshelves, a Motawi tile mural perched above it.

She makes note of the Lissa K. McLean Room in the corner, filled with over 600 books for, by and about women.

But there are things you can’t see that are worth mentioning too. Like the fact that every table has four electrical outlets.

Hamrick, 67, made daily visits to the 16-acre site on Davenport Drive during the library’s construction. Its details — clean lines and natural light — still impress the long-time library director.

“The morning sun is filtered so we get light but not direct light on the books,” she said, gesturing to the many windows at the top of the library. “Then by the time it’s direct the sun’s higher so it doesn’t ever come straight in the windows.”

The $7.2 million building is eight years old and Hamrick helped imagine it. She advocated for its construction and has led its 30-member staff since the day the front doors opened in June of 2008.

Today, she’ll go to work there for the last time.

But even in retirement she’ll maintain a personal relationship with the library.

“It’s such a beautiful place,” she said. “Anybody can go to a library but when you come here it’s an experience, aesthetically, and I think it shows this area how wonderful libraries can look.”

An accidental career path

Hamrick taught dance in Lansing for 20 years before she ever began shelving books in Delta Township’s library.

She was in her 30s before a part-time job as a page opened up at the former library building, a converted elementary school that she once attended classes in. She was as interested in the building as she was in the job.

The library, on Elizabeth Street, was housed in what was once the school’s 5,000 square foot gymnasium.

“I just always wanted to work in that building,” Hamrick said.

Her library career was accidental. It evolved once Hamrick realized how much she loved the work.

“I’ve always thought libraries were wonderful places and important community centers, both for the have’s and the have not’s really,” she said. “Everybody needs libraries.”

By the time she pursued a master’s degree in library science Hamrick had taken a position as the head librarian at the Haslett Library. She spent 13 years there before coming back to lead Delta’s library in 2003.

When she got there library officials were already working toward a new building on property they already owned.

In 2006 voters approved a 1-mill operational tax, in perpetuity. Today it generates $1.5 million a year.

Hamrick was among a group of library officials who met with the architect to provide input into the design of the building.

A new library

Hamrick’s office in the old library, once a principal’s office, was half the size of what the new one is. She said the former space was cramped and uncomfortable.

“It was just so crowded,” Hamrick said. “Every inch was used. We had a wonderful collection because we had such limited shelving that we could only keep the newest stuff but we had no depth. There was no room on the shelf.”

About 16,000 people visit the Delta Township library every month and 32,000 people have library cards there.

What Delta Township needed was a “warm, open library,” Hamrick said. She helped set priorities for the new library’s design and admits to touring libraries in Grand Rapids and Detroit to garner ideas.

Later Hamrick visited the construction site every day during the build. Former Delta Township District Library Board Chairman Mike Moore worked on the project with her.

He retired in 2013 but credited Hamrick with playing a crucial role in the building’s look and feel. Hamrick watched the new building take shape, he said

“Everything she’s done has improved the library and made it better over the years,” Moore said.

The finished product includes a 10,000-square-foot youth wing, lots of seating and 30 public computers. The library looks out over a wooded area to one side and opened on June 14, 2008.

“I liked clean lines, not cluttered or busy, but warm,” Hamrick said. “I wanted it to look professional and feel welcoming and this building does. It’s also comfortable.”

Legacy of commitment

Hamrick’s role in the new library’s beginning isn’t her only career accomplishment.

She’s organized two fundraising runs for the library, the “Run for Reading” and the “Jingle Bell 5K for Women.” They were natural fits for Hamrick, who has been an avid runner and has participated in fitness events on five continents in the last 30 years.

Then last year Hamrick received a national honor, the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times “I Love My Librarian Award.”

She was nominated by a patron and accepted the honor in New York City last December, one of 10 recipients for the annual award from around the U.S.

“I was amazed,” Hamrick said. “It was just wonderful.”

Delta Township Assistant Library Director Mary Rzepczynski will serve as interim director while the six-member library board solicits applications for the position.

Hamrick said officials hope to have a new director by February.

Moore said she will leave behind a legacy of commitment to aspire to.

“Our philosophy was always to make the library a community center and she’s really worked hard to make that happen,” he said. “Her retirement is a loss to the community.”

Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.

If you go

Two events are planned Thursday for long-time local librarian Cherry Hamrick. An afternoon reception will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Delta Township Library’s Elmwood Room. An evening reception and program will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the same location. The public is welcome to attend. The library is located at 5130 Davenport Drive in Delta Township.