Behind the darkened doors of the Moniteau County Library, volunteers have been working diligently to re-open.
It's almost like starting from scratch - new paperwork, new funding structure, new service plan.
"We want to re-open as soon as possible," board President Debbie Staton said. "Our library is not just a place to check out books. We know being closed nearly three months has hurt people."
A retired school teacher, Staton is concerned about having a place for students, who had become accustomed to coming to the library after school or to access the WiFi.
"We want to keep kids involved, so they know the library is going to be here," Staton said.
Board Treasurer Terry Brown also noted her concerns for the elderly, who on fixed incomes have come to rely on the library to read their favorite magazines and newspapers without the individual subscription costs. And the local nursing homes have been without their weekly library visits.
It's the summer reading program, which served more than 500 youth in Moniteau County in eight weeks last year, that has them both disappointed.
"It just can't happen this year," Brown said.
A judge ordered the library district's dissolution in February after determining it had been created illegally because a majority of the county's voters in 1997 voted against adding a proposed property tax to pay for district operations. The Moniteau County Commission authorized the library district in 1996, when the county had two privately owned libraries - Price James in Tipton and Wood Place in California - but no public libraries.
A year ago, Director Connie Walker was in the thick of planning and staffing the various programs to serve ages from infants through teenagers during the summer months. Day cares, in particular, planned their summer curriculum around frequent visits to the library.
"I really hate it that we can't do it," Walker said.
Likely future programs will be scaled back from what they had been, because in its new form the library is not eligible for grant funding, she said.
While the library has been closed, patrons also have been without access to its computers and WiFi.
Many people in the past had used the computers to file their tax returns, Walker explained. The computers also frequently were used by people applying for jobs online or international workers without internet access to communicate with loved ones back home.
"The library is the hub in your town," Staton said. "We reach different socio-economic people, too."
The first priority for the foundation is to re-open the doors, though it will be for less than half the time patrons were used to.
Next will be fundraising to maintain operating costs. The board is making plans for a levy ballot issue in the near future, but for now they will rely on donations.
"It isn't sustainable for the foundation to operate the library," Walker said.
As members of First Christian Church in California, Staton and Brown have watched the library become a public-supported entity with a wide range of services. But where it is now seems similar to where it was 50 years ago, when the church first received the endowment that started it all.
Elia Wood Paegelow left about $50,000 to First Christian Church to help establish a public library and recreation area for youth at her childhood home, built by her father, Lashley Wood, in 1876 on South East Street. Wood Place Library opened June 10, 1955.
Eventually, the community desired more from its library. California Progress Inc. (CPI) bought the current building at 501 Oak St., constructed in 1864 by J.G. Ehrhardt, in 1995. After extensive renovations to the building and a restructuring of the oversight board, Wood Place Public Library opened at its current location in September 1998.
The library operated solely from the endowment investments earnings and private donations until 2004. CPI turned over full ownership of the building to the library in September 2008.
In January 2014, everything was donated to the Moniteau County Library Board.
"We feel like we've rolled back to where we were," Staton said. "We need something more to work with, other than donations."
Donations may be made to Elia Wood Paegelow Foundation, c/o Wood Place Library, 501 S. Oak St., California, Mo., 65018.