Christian County Library

A statement from the president of the district's board of trustees did not include details about the firing. Pegram was the district's second interim director since their previous director resigned in December 2024. The board recently announced a new hire that will fill the director role in July.

The board’s treasurer and the library’s interim director disagreed on issues of oversight and overstepping responsibilities. The board president named a new executive director who is expected to start this summer, and the board notified the public of an upcoming opening for a trustee representing eastern Christian County.

After receiving the legal memo in April, the board agreed during a public meeting that they no longer consider labeling and sequestering books as a means of addressing community concerns.

The library district has faced a variety of calls to label and / or sequester books containing LGBTQ+ and what some consider sexually explicit material. At times suggestions have also been made to label "CRT".

The Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library will host the next session in its Pen to Publication series Friday. The Nixa Branch Library will host a Local Authors Expo Saturday.

The entire staff of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services were put on leave Monday. The Institute is the largest funder of cultural institutions in the U.S. It gives money to the states to pass on to local communities in the form of grants. It most recently gave Missouri just over $3 million.

Legal troubles for the Christian County Library’s Board of Trustees have prompted disagreements about how to pay for the legal defense of three board members and points raised during discussion of that topic at a recent Board meeting have gotten notice from the Christian County Commission.

During a special meeting Friday, February 7, the Board of Trustees developed a Request for Quote for legal help. The Board said the district's legal counsel advised them to get independent assistance due to a conflict of interest.

The suit was filed in September 2024. It names the Christian County Library District and Trustee Janis Hagen as plaintiffs and Trustees Echo Schneider, John Garrity and Diana Brazeale as defendants.

In the last year, the library district has seen the resignation of one board president and its previous executive director, as the board and district face ongoing public calls for book labeling and removal.