Pumpkin Project Brings Fall Fun to Seneca Free Library
UPDATE (10/27/2025): We put the request out and you came through with a harvest of colors and creativity! Thank you to everybody who participated this year! We hope we continue to get more deliveries to share this season!
It’s the simple things in life that bring the most joy, and we love sharing simple joys at Seneca Free Library. Drop in at the circulation desk and pick up your copy of our pumpkin printout. Color it, paint it, decoupage, or do it up Jack-o-Lantern Style, and then bring your finished project back to the library. We’ll cut it out (if you didn’t) and add it to our Community Pumpkin Patch through October!
Simple, Fun, and Colorful! Just the way we like it!
Art and Baking Collide in this Contest of Culinary Champions!
EVENT REPORT Our Big Bookish Bake-Off has concluded and our entries did not disappoint! Special thanks to ye few but mighty who participated!
Elementary Winner Tessa Heideman did “The Secret Garden Gate” in chocolate cake, pretzel sticks, and fondant.
Teen Winner Hallie Heideman portrayed Hydra Heads from “Percy Jackson” using Rice Crispy Treats, colored cake for the ocean, and fondant.
Adult Winner Kristen Heideman presented “Little House in the Big Woods” using spice cake, pretzel sticks, and fondant.
An Honorable Mention award goes to “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein” submitted by Chad Jones, a real monster mash of a cake with 7 unique layers, 3 different frosting types and no reason for the combination of flavors to work as well together as they did.
Special thanks to our community guest judges, Serena Huerter, Michaela Hermesch, and Kylee Bergstrom, who shared their creative and culinary expertise! We had a blast working with our judges and learned a lot of really cool baking and frosting/decorating tips along the way!
Director Kate says to plan for Season 2 of Big Bookish Bake-Off airing in September 2026 right here at Seneca Free Library!
ORIGINAL POST 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.
These super sharp-looking backpacks contain one pair of adult binoculars, one pair of youth binoculars and assorted field guides: The Moon: A Folding Pocket Guide to the Moon, its Surface Features, Phases and Eclipses; Kansas Butterflies & Pollinators: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species; Kansas Birds: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species; Kansas Trees & Wildflowers; and Kansas Wildlife: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species.
The Adventure Backpacks are available to Seneca Free Library patrons only and are obtained on a first come, first serve basis. They are checked out on a one week loan period and will accrue late fees if kept longer than the allotted time.
We look forward to checking these Adventure Backpacks out and hearing about the adventures our friends and patrons have exploring with them!
The American Legion Auxiliary (Unit 21-Seneca) is collecting the following items: cell phones (all smartphones and iPhones or flip phones), phone chargers and USB cords, iPads and non-Apple Tablets or eReaders, iPods and MP3 Players.
ALA will ship these items to Big Sky Recycling who will then donate the items to U.S. soldiers through Operation Shoebox or recycle the items that are broken or too far out-dated to be used. By donating your old cell phones and tablets you will help provide phones and phone cards through care packages to our troops deployed overseas and returning home.
Items for donation may be dropped off at the Seneca Free Library (606 Main St, Seneca, KS), The American Legion (Basement, 812 Main St, Seneca, KS), or Sts Peter and Paul Mission Center (409 Amador St, Seneca, KS). For more information or questions about specific items for donation, email alaseneca21@gmail.com
What NOT to Donate!
x Original Boxes or Instruction Manuals for phones. x Computers, Laptops, or Computer Parts x Landline Phones x Printers or Ink Cartridges x Cable Boxes x Damaged Batteries for any devices.
What About Data Security?
Before donating any electronic device, it is advised that you first save any important content (photos, contacts, etc) and then perform a factory reset to erase all data. If you are unable to power on or perform the reset, rest assured Big Sky Recycling ensures data destruction on all recycled cell phones and devices.
Tuesdays in June, Adults (18+) Get to “Color Our World” for Summer Reading Too!
Tuesday, June 3, was our Reverse Watercolors Class with Nemaha Central Art Teacher, Ellie Haynie, offering instruction.
Tuesday, June 10, was our regular Thread Collective Night.
The Tuesday, June 17, Fabric Painting class is still open and accepting registration with your choice of canvas travel bag or a canvas banner to paint. Class starts at 6:00 PM. Paints, brushes, and stencils will be provided as well as your chosen project to paint.
Tuesday, June 24, is Fabric Collage Night! Class starts at 6:00 PM. This no-sew project will have participants piecing together their own unique imagery and scenes from assorted fabric pieces in a multitude of colors and patterns.
Jetpack Jason of Mad Science Returns June 24 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Science Knowledge and Family Entertainment collide in this returning patron favorite. Cool chemistry, fun with physics, and countless other tricks and treats.
Recommended for Elementary age Students and kids at heart!
Seneca Free Library 606 Main St, Seneca, KS, United States
Historian and Reenactment Performer, Bill Nicks, revisits the life and times of the 34th President from the 34th State, Kansas native, Dwight D Eisenhower.
Seneca Free Library 606 Main St, Seneca, KS, United States
Rosie Bosse, a Kansas native and author, talks about the people, places, and events that influence her writing and personal style of historical fiction.
Sun Sets on MyLibro as Aspen LiDA Takes Over Account Management in April
Our contract with MyLibro will end sometime in April and we are moving to the Aspen LiDA app for our patron account access and management services. Why? Because Aspen LiDA is produced by and linked directly to our library system software, which means big financial savings for us and easier access for you to the features you use most often, including a one stop “shop” to find and place holds on items available on Hoopla, Libby, and on our library shelves.
Download the Aspen LiDA app from your usual app source, pick Seneca Free Library as your local library, enter your library card number when prompted and enter your password (defaulted to your birth date mmddyyyy). If you have Libby and/or Hoopla installed on your device, accessing eContent is as easy as doing a search in LiDA and following the links to the content you crave. It’s really that simple! Questions or concerns, let us know! Drop in at the desk or call 785-336-2377 for assistance or more information!
Winter Break Will Include Game Days at SFL December 27 and January 3!
GAME ON!!!!
On December 27 and January 3, Seneca Free Library is cracking open our Game Vault for an Official Game Day from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. These game day events are free to area kids and adults ages 7 and up. It’s an open attendance event so participants can come and go during this time as their schedule allows. You can play an assortment of games through the afternoon or just drop in to play a few quick rounds of your favorite game between appointments or errands!
Children 6 and under must be accompanied by an Adult (school age siblings do not count as sufficient supervision in the library). While library staff will be present to facilitate this activity, babysitting services are not available during this time. As typical with any library event, please provide us with contact information relevant to the times of the event schedule or give your child a written copy of this information to deliver to us when they check in. Please be advised, if participants exhibit disruptive or inappropriate behavior, we reserve the right to remove them from activities. A parent or guardian may be contacted and requested to pick them up.
With that all being said, we are very excited to offer this activity option to the calendar and to see our collected game vault put to good use!
