The Adventures of Nelson the NEKLS Gnome and Sherri the ShareIt Gnome (UPDATE 6/6/2024)!

The Adventures of Nelson the NEKLS Gnome and Sherri the ShareIt Gnome!

Sherri and Nelson are the best of friends. They popped into existence together at the Seneca Free Library just as the last throws of winter began to sputter out. They came to the library to spread good cheer and excitement about the upcoming summer reading program.

“Adventure Begins at the Library,” Sherri mused. “What fun! There’s so many adventures to have and explore. Thrilling ones, mysterious ones, funny ones, mushy romantic ones, action-packed ones… oh my, and those are just the adventures to READ about!”

“Just imagine all the things our friends can do themselves in the real world!” Nelson agreed with excitement. “Camping, exploring, traveling, star gazing, picnicking, flying kites, solving puzzles and mysteries, playing games, swimming, bird watching… gosh, the possibilities are endless, really!”

And so, these two cheerful friends spent the remainder of the winter and all through the spring tickling the minds of their new librarian friends and whispering ideas and inspirations to them. Before they knew it, the end of the school year arrived, and Summer Reading was just around the corner! There were even plans for the adults at the library to have fun too! Everyone at the library was eager and excited to get started. They did such a good job helping to get things ready, they even inspired each other to consider their own adventures!

“Gosh! All of these adventures sound wonderful and exciting! Do you think we should do something on our own?” Sherri suggested with nervous anticipation.

“Let’s do it!” Nelson agreed with excitement. “Then we’ll have our own adventures to tell our friends about!”

And so, just like that, Sherri and Nelson started making their plans and prepared to make their way out into the world. Each adventurer planned a different journey so they could share their stories with each other when they got home as well! Their librarian friends wished them good luck, and off they went to explore and discover wherever their journey might take them next!

---

Sherri is making her journey through the Kansas ShareIt Library System (courier transfers only please!). Nelson is traveling across the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS) via courier. They are leaving Monday, May 20, 2024, and should start their journey back to the Seneca Free Library on or around Friday, August 16, 2024. The goal is for them to visit as many network libraries as possible and hopefully learn a little bit about the library, their communities, and, of course, the wonderful library staff who work there!

Here at the Seneca Free Library, we’ll be posting updates on where Sherri and Nelson are at, tracking their journey on our Kansas map where our patrons can see it, and sharing all the fun and interesting pictures, info, and whatever else our creative librarian peers across Kansas might come up with. (Library Staff, please submit updates and media to Librarian@senecafreelibrary.org. Thank you for participating!) We are super excited to follow and share this journey with all of you RIGHT HERE! So don’t forget to check back often to see what our intrepid duo are up to!

Track That Trip! (Updated 6/5/2024)

Nelson Arrives in Basehor!
(Stop #2 – 6/5/2024)

Nelson spent some good solid quality time taking in the sites and services of Basehor Community Library. He got to hear all about Outdoor Story Time, Reader’s Theater, Beginning Birding, ATLAS Education with Animals, and Family Trivia Night. But rather than tell you about his time at Basehor, Nelson and his new friends decided to bring you with him in the following video!

@basehorlibrary

Nelson the NEKLS Gnome from the Seneca Free Library is on an adventure to visit Kansas libraries, and he stopped by the Basehor Community Library today! #librarytiktok #librarytok #fyp #basehor

? Aesthetic – Tollan Kim & Kudasaibeats

Basehor Community Library
1400 158th Street
Basehor, KS 66007
Website: basehorlibrary.com

Basehor, KS has an estimated population of 7,544, is located northwest of Kansas City on the eastern border, and is part of the Kansas City Metro Area. Main attractions include Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery and Falcon Lakes Golf Club.

Sherri Arrives in Louisburg!
(Stop #1 – 6/5/2024)

Louisburg Library welcomed Sherri with excitement and got her straight into the action! Sherri attended the Summer Blessings Lunch and Fun where they served food to over 100 kiddos and distributed bags of groceries as well. Then she joined the kids in drawing on the parking lot with sidewalk chalk until it got too hot! The next day Sherri joined Adventure Camp for 3rd-5th grade kiddos and helped give pointers on how to hit a bullseye! She went back to the library and got to help supervise the Teen Guitar Building Class where they were hydro-dipping the bodies of their guitars. Yep, you read that right, they make their own guitar. Rock on Sister Sherri! Rock on!

Louisburg Library
206 S. Broadway
Louisburg, Kansas 66053
Website: louisburglibrary.org

Louisburg, KS is on the eastern border just south of Kansas City. It has an estimated population of about 5,052 people and is the home of Louisburg Cider Mill, Cedar Cove Feline Conservatory and Education Center, and the Powell Observatory. Louisburg Library hosts no shortage of events on site, but they are also partnered with multiple organizations and services to expand their coverage and presence in other locations such as the Vintage Park Assisted Living Center and Louisburg Senior Center.

Special thanks to Louisburg Library for hosting Sherri and letting her join in on some great activities! Next stop, Derby!

Nelson Arrives in Bonner Springs!
(Stop #1 – 5/23/2024)

Our friends at Bonner were delighted to meet Nelson, but unsurprisingly buried in work with their own Summer Reading startup. They introduced Nelson to their busy beaver friend and let the duo do some camping before Nelson had to go on his merry way.