You can tell the health and well-being of a community by its library.
After a bit of a hiatus the Seneca Free Library E-News Letter is making a comeback. Updates, program previews, and semi-weekly “From the Bookshelf” articles are all available in a nifty automated email service that drops neatly into your inbox, ready to read at your leisure. Follow the link below and sign up today! It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s one less password you have to remember between websites and phone apps!
Comic books and Graphic Novels are powerful tools in bringing reluctant readers onboard while still building reading fluency and comprehension in younger readers and improving reading retention rates in older readers. Today’s comics are more than just spandex clad super heroes clashing with powerful villains in epic battles. Comics are available that depict nonfiction narratives for historical events, people, and any number of specialized topics from dinosaurs to solar systems. Kids comics can focus on social skills, educational materials (like numbers, colors, and the alphabet), and, of course, just fun or goofy stories to support literacy and literary understanding.
CompicsPlus Library Pass is an app available on Android and iOS that lets you or your young readers access a large assortment of comic book and graphic novel resources on your phone or tablet. The State Library of Kansas offers a new and easier access method to this resource than ever before. You can now access the ComicsPlus Library Pass directly with your Kansas Library eCard number. Your password will be your birth date (MMDDYYYY no spaces or characters between numbers).
Here’s How it Works!
Download the Library Pass App. (Library Pass, Inc * Comics) from your Play Store or Apple App Store.
Open the app and search for the Library from the list below that best fits your reading level or the reading level of your younger reader. The various reading levels and library collections help offer better control over the content your younger readers are likely to find. Choose from the following (you can always add or change library catalogs later, using the same login credentials).
State Library of Kansas KS- Full Library (All age content available, no restrictions)
State Library of Kansas KS- Children’s Library (Includes: Emergent (PreK – grade 1, ages 3-5), Children (K – grade 3, ages 5-7), Kids (Grades 3-5, ages 8-10), and Teen (Grades 6-8, ages 11-14)
Kansas Elementary Schools (Includes: Emergent (PreK – grade 1, ages 3-5), and Children (K – grade 3, ages 5-7)
Kansas Middle Schools (Includes: Kids (Grades 3-5, ages 8-10) and Teen (Grades 6-8, ages 11-14)
Kansas High Schools (Includes: Teen (Grades 6-8, ages 11-14) and Young Adult (Grades 9-12, ages 15-18)
Once you’ve chosen the library catalog you wish to access, enter your State of Kansas eCard Number and Password where prompted (date of birth mmddyyyy no characters or spaces between numbers).
Get in there and start browsing! Titles are available from the following publishers as of April 2024!
Don’t have a State Library ID? We can help you get one at the library circulation desk! A state library id opens up countless online resources, adding even more options to your reading, listening, and streaming arsenal!
With the rapidly changing weather, we would like to remind our patrons and visitors of our Severe Weather Policy. The Seneca Free Library is not a designated storm shelter, nor is our basement designed for public accessibility. In the event of a direct sighting of a safety threat or the sounding of the city’s warning sirens, the library will be locked down until such time as an all clear is given. Patrons may choose to leave the library up until the time the doors are locked or be escorted to the basement for shelter until the threat has passed. In the event of a confirmed severe storm system approaching the city of Seneca, the Library Director or the Librarian on Duty has the right and authority to close the library early for the safety and security of the library staff and patrons. Should this happen, we will do our best to announce the closing on our Facebook and Instagram pages. As with any chance of severe weather, please be sure to call ahead before departing for the library to avoid unnecessary travel in hazardous conditions.
Our QR Scavenger Quest had its first winner today, Friday, March 22, 2024! Congratulations to our dear friend on conquering iPads, QR codes, tricky riddles, and a trek through previously unexplored parts of the library! Great job and enjoy your prize!
The summer reading program theme for this year is “Adventure Begins in Your Library.” As you may recall, we have been promoting this theme each month with a different recommended activity (or related activities) for our patrons and their families to participate in.
The sub-theme for March is “Adventures of the Mind,” and to get into the swing of things, we’ve developed our own Scavenger Hunt right here in the Library. To participate, starting Tuesday, March 19, come to the circulation desk and ask to borrow “Library Adventure: The Beginning.” Find the enclosed QR Code, scan it with your personal device (or ask to borrow one of our tablets for use inside the library) and follow the clues to the end. Those who finish the adventure will receive a special surprise if they follow the instructions given on the final clue.
We were recently reminded of a fantastic resource through the Kansas State Library website that our patrons have access to. BookFlix is an interactive program through Scholastic Books that combines one animated story book and one non-fiction book to create an entertaining and informative program on a topic your young (or young at heart) reader is excited about. Examples include “Curious George Rides a Bike” and “Scholastic News: Monkeys and Other Mammals,” or “Dinosaur Bones” by Bob Barner and “Scholastic News: Dinosaur Dig!” or “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Rookie Read About Math: A Garden Full of Sizes.” There are nine categories to choose from with most categories having well over 20 story and non-fiction combos to select from and enjoy!
The Link below takes you to the Kansas Library e-books for kids page. If you click on the BookFlix link it might take you directly to the page or it might throw an error code and require you to login with a Kansas Library eCard (which we can help you sign up for in person at the circulation desk if you don’t have one, but not over the phone or via email). In testing this resource, I had the website produce both results at different times, so consider this a fair warning, just in case. This link also takes you to the hub that has Tumble Book Library, Britannica Collective Nonfiction eBooks, and a score of other ebook resources and links just waiting to be discovered!
https://kslib.info/963/eBooks-for-Kids (Via Kansas State Library resources)
Chad Jones joined our library team on February 5th and comes to us from Nemaha Central Elementary School where he was a para-educator with the Marshall-Nemaha Special Education Co-op. You may also recognize him as “Station Manager Jones” from his last five summers as a tour guide and facilities manager for the Seneca Pony Express Museum at 4th and Main.
Chad enjoys fantasy fiction, science fiction, and mysteries but admits that he’s most excited to dive into the youth fiction section and check out all of our awesome illustrated books! He is having fun finding the classics he grew up with as well as all of the new titles that have come out since he became a “boring grownup.”
Chad is also a self-published author and is proud to have two of his books in the Chronicles of Chalisaria series available in our adult fiction catalog, “Ash to Ashes,” and “Wolfkin: a Fairy’s Tail”.
We are excited to have Chad join the Seneca Free Library family and invite you to join us in welcoming him to the circulation desk!
Download the app today.
myLibro gives you access to the online catalog so you can check to see what you have checked out, what is on hold and what is on the way. You can renew items and place items on hold. Parents can use the app to keep track of all their children’s accounts with library cards – in one convenient place. We are using the Reading Challenge portion of the app as a way for you to keep track of each of your readers too. You can download the app today. The myLibro app will allow you to see new posts to our website and our Facebook page.
**When you download the app, it will ask for your PIN. Your PIN will be the same as your password for your online library account. For most patrons this will be your Date Of Birth, all 8 digits, no slashes or dashes: MMDDYYY. If that doesn’t work, stop in or give us a call at 785-336-2377 and we will figure it out.
Hoopla is a free service offering audio books, eBooks, movies, TV shows, music, comics, and more! We have added information for you to get the most out of the app below. We hope this helps and you get the most out of this new-to-you app!
Libby is another free app giving you access to eBooks and audiobooks. You will need to set up an account and pin with us, so call 785-336-2377– before you begin– between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm weekdays.
Here is a really quick look at how to use the online shared catalog. There is so much more than the video offers, but this will get you started. If you forgot your password, or are having trouble logging in, please call us.
Here is a quick intro to Flipster, our free online source of magazines. You use the same credentials that are needed to access our online shared catalog.
Below is a link to YouTube videos from Robin at our Regional Office in Lawrence about Learning Express:
The library has personal WiFi Hotspots for circulation! For our rural patrons who have trouble with internet access, these devices will be great. If you are traveling for vacation and don’t want to use all of your data, a hotspot can save you some headaches.
The hotspots can only be checked out to Seneca Free Library patrons over the age of 18, whose accounts are in good standing. They check out for two weeks with no renewals allowed. We don’t charge fines for any overdue items, except for these WiFi hotspots.
Fees begin the day after the due date. The hotspots must NOT be returned in either the outside or inside dropbox. They are to be returned to library staff at the circulation desk; devices not returned in this way are subject to a flat fee. For all the information on the WiFi hotspot and how to get one, talk to the librarians.
Patrons will have to sign a user agreement, and there will be fines imposed if patrons do not follow the usage rules for these devices. They are expensive and the user will pay replacement costs, if need be.
