Libby Sanders is a well known name around Salem, and her love for the area, its children, and its historical and cultural preservation lives in the walls of the Creative Arts Center. Hidden behind the Ozarks Natural & Cultural Resource Center on Main Street, the Creative Arts Center building used to just be a warehouse; now, through the efforts of the community and dedicated volunteers, the warehouse is an art’s workshop, “Libby’s Workshop”, a beating heart pumping creativity throughout the region.

Tana Kettner, Creative Arts Center program director and Salem Area Arts Council board member, described that before it became what it is today, the Salem Arts Center was a warehouse where area teachers could come and find donated supplies, ranging from Styrofoam to bulletin boards to rubber bands. It was a Teacher’s Closet. Teachers would pick through supplies and utilize them in their classrooms. Back then, the warehouse had no insulation—it was just utilized for storage space. Sanders was instrumental in securing the building after the Teacher's Closet closed, with a vision of using it as an Arts Center. She started by asking local artists and art teachers to lead art workshops and paint parties, and it has since flourished.