Author: senecalibrarian

Art and Baking Collide in this Contest of Culinary Champions!

On Thursday, October 2, 2025 the Seneca Free Library will be hosting its first ever Big Bookish Bake-Off – a creative cooking contest with a “Novel” theme.

Contestants in three age categories are encouraged to come up with a fun, clever, creative, or down right punny presentation inspired by or taken from your favorite book or book character.

Judging guidelines will be based on:
1. Overall Appearance and Theme Representation – How does it look overall and does it provide a clear connection to the literary reference being depicted? Is it particularly clever, humorous, or well-depicted?

2. Level of Difficulty in Overall Construction – How much time, effort, and technique appears to have been applied to the project? Was it well thought out or look thrown together for the sake of doing it?

3. Taste – Is it actually edible? Does it have a good flavor and texture? Does it look appealing to eat? Does something in the flavors or ingredients stand out as clearly connected to the theme or style of the book?

The Rules
1. One entry per person in any of the three age categories: elementary, high school, or adult.

2. 95% of the entry must be edible. A tray and other elements may be used for presentation purposes.

3. Entry must have literary reference inspired by a book, author, characters, poems, etc. Entry may look like a book, depict a scene from a book or a book character, involve a title or a pun based on a title, or be a recipe mentioned in a book (this includes recipes taken from cozy mysteries and similar books). Recipes taken directly from an actual cookbook, even those inspired by a book or series, do not qualify – which is to say, the cookbook itself does not qualify as a valid book to reference back to as your literary inspiration.

4. This is a “bake-off,” so the majority of the entry must be baked!

5. Each entry will be given a title card.

Entries must be in the library by 12 noon, Thursday, October 2, 2025

Be creative with your ingredients, designs, and decorations. The more innovative and original, the better!

For more information, feel free to drop by the circulation desk or call 785-336-2377.

Need inspiration?

ANNOUNCEMENT (August 28, 2025): Wash those aprons and get those dishes ready! Cooking with Kids returns Thursday, September 4, after school from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM. Registration is now open for chefs 9-12 years of age with a signed permission slip and waiver on file. Class size is limited to 6 students for safety and instructional purposes. Don’t miss out on signing up your little chef now! Drop in at the circulation desk or call 785-336-2377.

REPORT (August 7, 2025)
Our Cooking with Kids crew was unusually small this week as our regulars were gone for vacations, activities, and vacation bible school. In the plus column, this gave our two new guys more direct experience with every step of the cooking process and Deb an easier time keeping an eye on them as they worked (i.e. catching the use of the Tablespoon for the salt before it made it into the sauce instead of the Teaspoon). This week’s dynamic duo made stuffed zucchini, and the results were off the charts awesome. Thanks to our participants for joining us, and special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for making this experience possible!

REPORT (July 24, 2025)
Our Cooking with Kids crew came back to make a summer classic this session: Strawberry shortcake with fresh cut strawberries and homemade whipped topping. The kids hit this one out of the ball park, with fluffy whipped cream, perfectly proportioned strawberries, and a light and flavorful cake worth its weight in oven-baked gold. This lucky librarian got to sample this seasonal favorite and it hit all the right notes of nostalgia and simple pleasures. Awesome job Cooking Crew! Special thanks to Librarian Deb Haverkamp for making this session possible!

REPORT (May 22, 2025)
Cooking with Kids went back to basics in true Midwest fashion with breaded cube steaks and mashed potatoes and gravy from scratch! The kids got a chance to see the difference between using a non-stick pan vs a seasoned cast-iron skillet. They also learned the importance of keeping your whisk moving while blending to avoid lumpy gravy! Just a few more classic staples added to the Cooking Crew’s repertoire. Great job chefs and a special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for bringing these educational opportunities to our younger patrons!

The Mystery at Starwatch Shores Resort Remains Unsolved! Don’t Miss Pt 2 in September!

Dungeons and Dragons is an interactive storytelling game in which a group of players collaborate with a lead storyteller (referred to as the Game or Dungeon Master) to navigate and explore the world, people, creatures, and scenarios that they encounter during the game.

September will continue the story that was setup in our August “One-Shot” (now a Two-Shot): After weeks of finding out that being local heroes means being plagued by requests to handle everyone else’s problems (most of which are anything but heroic), the party receives a strange invite to visit an all expenses paid “resort” at a place called Starwatch Shores. Free food and lodging with no cats to rescue from trees? Why aren’t we on the carriage yet? But something fishy is going on at Starwatch Shores and it seems “all expenses paid” should have read, “Services rendered will be paid in trade.” The threat has been identified, but where are these creepy creatures coming from, and why?

Call 785-336-2377 or drop in at the circulation desk to register for your spot at the table or to get more information.

We still have plans to revisit our two intro programs “Basic Intro to D&D” and “Character Building 101” once we have enough interest to schedule them. If you wanted to attend a previous session and couldn’t (or just want to do it again), let us know at the circulation desk by calling 785-336-2377, talk to Chad directly, or emailing Librarian@senecafreelibrary.org. A “DM Boot Camp” is also being planned and will be scheduled once our current crop of new players has some more table experience and there is steady interest in learning the other side of the table expressed.

LIBRARY D&D in September 2025

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS:

In September:
One-Shot Game (Teen/Adult): A game experience with a clear start and end to a short storyline designed to be completed in a single gaming session (usually 2-3 hours). Premade characters will be available to choose from or characters made in our Character Building 101 session may be used. This program had enough interest to divide into Teen and Adult groups as indicated in the schedule. Dice will be available to borrow, or you may bring your own! (Just be sure to have a full 7 piece polyhedral set: d20, d12, d%, d10, D8, D6, D4.)

Available Programs for Future Events:
Basic Intro to D&D: This program is designed for beginning players or those who have been away from the table for a while and just want a refresher course. Find out what Dungeons and Dragons is (and what it isn’t), how it’s played, and what you need to join or start your own game. Simplified premade characters will be provided to participate in a quick play demonstration. (Due to scheduling constraints, this will be a mixed Teens and Adults Group.)

Character Building 101: This is a basic introduction to character building using the D&D 2024 rules set. We will cover Ability Scores and the three primary methods of generating them, Skills and Proficiencies and how to use them, Classes, Species (formerly Races), and, most importantly, how to go from a character idea to a game-ready character sheet. This session will end in participants having a pen-and-paper 1st level character sheet that will be usable in future library events and most standard D&D groups. (Due to scheduling constraints, this will be a mixed Teens and Adults Group.)

Campaign Play (Teen/Adult Groups): A game style that follows the same group of player characters as they adventure through an on-going story (or multiple story arcs) across multiple play sessions. This game style is less ideal for those just getting started or who are eager to try a variety of character types or classes. Due to scheduling constraints, a campaign is likely to be limited to occurring once a month and will most likely take the place of the One-Shot games for the duration of the campaign.

DM Boot Camp: The dice are calling and you’ve gathered your allies, but somebody has to actually run the game! Will you answer the call to run it all? Let us help you get your footing as we go over the basics of what goes on behind the DM Screen, offer tips on how to build encounters, and suggest some “DM Does and Don’ts” that might make your games a little bit smoother and hopefully a lot more fun for you and your players. (Due to scheduling constraints, this will be a mixed Teens and Adults Group.)

Thank you for your interest in Library D&D! If you have any questions about the program or are interested in participating, feel free to contact us at 785-336-2377 or email us at librarian@senecafreelibrary.org. You can also visit with us directly at the circulation desk during regular operating hours!

Seneca Free Library is an ongoing partner with Nemaha County Food Pantry and in August our Food Pantry Focus is “High Need Items!” Straight from the volunteers’ mouths, the items most needed right now are deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. Juice supplies are also severely lacking right now. You can drop off Unopened and Unexpired items or any number of other food and hygiene items right here at the library during our regular business hours: M-Th 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Fri 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Sat 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM.

This is a service we offer the community. The Food Pantry is staffed by volunteers and is open one day a week. Rather than having to remember what day and hours they are open, you can drop your donations by the library and we will deliver them for you! We highlight different items to donate each month just to offer some direction and promote awareness. When everything is needed on a regular basis, it can be helpful to have some guidance.

If you have large donations it is best to deliver them directly to the food pantry. We can help facilitate a drop off time if needed. Call us during regular business hours at 785-336-2377.

Some Important Points to Note:

* The Food Pantry is closed the second Wednesday of every month.

* Paper goods and personal hygiene products are also always needed!

* Opened and outdated products are NOT accepted at the Pantry.

Each Family receives the following items Once a Month.

• 1 breakfast item
• 4 cans of vegetables
• 1 can of beans
• 1 package of rice
• 1 pasta and sauce
• 1 jar of peanut butter
• 1 box of crackers
• 2 cans of fruit
• 1 can of tuna or chicken
• 2 cans of soup
• 1 dessert
• 1 pound of meat.

While we highlight different donation items each month here at the library, the following items are ALWAYS NEEDED:

• Paper products [toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex]
• personal products [feminine hygiene, sanitary wipes, etc.]
• boxed cereals
• oatmeal
• pancake mix and pancake syrup
• canned vegetables
• rice
• pasta and pasta sauce
• peanut butter
• boxed crackers
• canned fruit
• canned tuna
• canned chicken
• boxed tuna and chicken helper
• canned soups
• jello and pudding mixes
• cookies
• cake mixes and frosting
• pie mix
• and more!
• They also accept laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, and bath soap.