The Friends of the Baxter County Library have announced the winners of the 2025 Friends of the Library Scholarships, an annual program that supports local students in their pursuit of higher education.
This year’s first-place scholarship of $1,500 was awarded to Sarah Williams, with Jocelyn Hill receiving the $1,000 second-place award. Third-place scholarships of $800 each were presented to Erin Smith and Krizia Rodriguez.
Applicants were required to submit a 1,500-word essay addressing the prompt: “In your opinion, how does censorship and book banning impact society?” The depth and quality of the submitted essays played a key role in the selection process.
To date, the Friends of the Library Scholarship Program has awarded over $45,000 to students in Baxter County, including past recipients who have gone on to work at the Baxter County Library itself.
