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A booster group for the Christian County Library District has announced the creation of a fund that would help pay professional development costs for the library’s employees. 
The Christian County Friends of the Library announced the formation of a $15,000 fund during a meeting Saturday, March 22. 
It allows librarians and other staff members to finance costs of attending training conferences in 2025, as well as related food and lodging costs. Staff members apply for the scholarships through their supervisor. 
Lonnie Brandon, president of the group, said it’s common for support organizations to offer scholarships to employees for additional training. This is something that the group has offered in the past, to a lesser degree. 
“In the early days, they … were a major contributor of funds for professional conferences,” Brandon said. “What I found was that we have a little bit more money now to be able to offer this flexibility.”
Money for the scholarships comes entirely from quarterly book sales the group holds. The next sale is set for April 8-12 at the 4-H Community Building, in Finley River Park in Ozark. 
The Christian County Friends of the Library is a separate nonprofit group that offers funding for materials and services that fall outside the library’s annual budget. It funds the library’s summer reading program and has paid for library upgrades such as a new service desk at the Ozark branch. 
Its book sales, which feature materials donated by community members, rotate between all four of the district’s libraries. 
The fund’s creation comes after the library’s Board of Trustees effectively withdrew funding for members to be part of the American Library Association and the affiliated Missouri Library Association. The board made the decision in February, referring to the nonprofit groups as “private trade organizations,” according to the Springfield News-Leader.
While the district did not hold membership in either organization, it had previously funded individual memberships for employees, so they could attend events at discounted prices. The ALA and its state affiliate have been the target of political conservatives pushing back against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 
The Christian County Library District has faced several shakeups to its leadership and board composition stemming from pressure for the library to label books dealing with LGBTQ issues.
A new interim director was appointed after its previous interim director stepped down on March 5. Previous director Renee Brumett stepped away from her position in January. 
Previous board president Allyson Tuckness resigned from her post in October, citing harassment from community members upset about not labeling books. Four of the district’s board members are targeted in a lawsuit over election of new officers. 
Brandon said the creation of the Friends of the Library’s scholarship fund was not directly in response to the board’s decision to distance itself from the ALA and MLA.
But the fund does help one of the group’s crucial missions, he said, by ensuring library staff members have access to professional development, no matter what group offers it. Brandon said the group looks forward to working with new leadership as it pursues its mission of filling funding gaps. 
“Like many community members, we’re interested in what happens at Board of Trustees meetings,” Brandon said. “We want to ensure the library remains a place for everyone.”
Joe Hadsall is the education reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. Hadsall has more than two decades of experience reporting in the Ozarks with the Joplin Globe, Christian County Headliner News and 417 Magazine. Contact him at (417) 837-3671 or jhadsall@sgfcitizen.org. More by Joe Hadsall
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