Put these on your calendar!

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME June 7, 21, and 28 at 10:00 AM

Appropriate for birth through children who have finished Kindergarten.

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ELEMENTARY STORY TIME June 7, 21, and 28 at 1:30~2:30 PM

For children who have finished first grade and up. Dee will read a story and there will be an age appropriate activity.

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ELEMENTARY FUN TIMES Age appropriate activities and fun. Space IS limited, so you must let us know you are coming. Call us at 785-336-2377.

1st~3rd grade Fun Time Tuesday June 6 & 20 at 1:30 PM

4th~6th grade Fun Time Thursday June 8 & 22 at 1:30 PM.

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SCIENCE IS ASTOUNDING <> <> Jet Pack Jason of Mad Science

Tuesday June 27 at 10:00 AM <> <> This event is geared towards elementary aged children , not preschoolers or toddlers.

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ALL TOGETHER NOW

Buzz on in for loads of fun!

Sign up begins May 18 and continues through June 10.

The first day you can return a Reading Record is June 19. The last day to return a Reading Record is July 31.

This year you have options for tracking your reading progress. The low tech option of a paper record is available, or you can use the Reader Zone app we’ve made available the last few years. New this year is the myLIBRO app. myLIBRO gives patrons access to our shared catalog, our Facebook page, our website, your children’s reading records, and more, all with one touch on your phone. We are excited about this app!

All ages can sign up to read, the categories are:

Birth to 5 years of age – 20 books

Ages 6~11 can choose to read 20 books OR 8 hours

Ages 12~18 have a goal of 8 hours of reading

NEW for 2023! Show us your completed Reading Record and you will receive your sweet treat on the spot!

We haven’t forgotten our grown up patrons!

Here’s the buzz…

Pick out a BEE-NGO card.

You are on the honor system, remember you are grown ups, to keep track of books you have read. We’ll BEE-lieve you.

Read five in a row, any directions

Reading begins JUNE 1 and runs through July 31. BEE-NGO cards must be returned to the library by closing on Monday July 31.

Completed BEE-NGO cards earn readers a sweet treat.

Have question? Ask the librarians.

Handle a book as a bee does a flower, extract its sweetness but do not damage it. ~ John Muir

You can download the app today.

We are excited to announce the myLIBRO app. This app will allow you to see new posts to our website and our Facebook page. It will also give you access to the online catalog where you can check to see 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 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.

Since the app launched just in time for summer reading, it is not completely how we want it. Updates are coming and we will add new content as time allows during this busy time. Check it out and let us know what you think.

**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.

Miss Dee has been out reading to ALL the grade school children in Seneca and talking to them about our Summer Reading program. Everyone listens very carefully about signing up for summer reading, but not to when it starts. It’s great to see them so excited to sign up, but they have to wait until May 18.

Looking forward to seeing you then.

You will have the option this year to use paper reading logs or an app, more details to come about that.

Please remember that bicycles belong in the bike rack, and not on the sidewalk. There is also ample parking for strollers and wagons just to the left of  the library front doors near the designated sign. Parents, thank you for sharing this information with your children and their summer caregivers.

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So many of our patrons have asked when programs are, how they can find out what is happening in the library, if there is an app for our circulation software, and so much more. We finally have an answer! Currently there is an app in development for our library patrons. It will be going to a test phase soon with hopes that it will be ready for launch by summer reading sign up time. This app will allow patrons access to KOHA/NEXT for searching the online catalog, placing holds, renewing items, checking due dates on all of the family accounts, and it will be a place to see notices for items that have arrived, are due, or items already on hold. The app will also connect with our Facebook page and website so that you can see both of those in one location. We will also use this app for keeping track of summer reading challenges. We are excited for the upcoming staff training so that we can answer any questions you have. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and website for updates. 

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Gerald and Tess, our pet giraffe and dinosaur, requested a staff meeting. They complained about some rough treatment they have been receiving recently, and are fearful of the summer months ahead. They love to have gentle hugs from children, but they are not built for riding, climbing and being dragged around by the neck. Please remind your children that Gerald and Tess cannot give them rides, and that their necks and legs are fragile. Children can give gentle hugs, but please do not pull them around. Gerald and Tess love to be read to, so if your children would like to sit down and read to them, they would really appreciate that.

 

 

The food in focus for May is canned vegetables. This is an easy one! What is your favorite canned veggie?

If you have large donations it is best to deliver 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.

FYI The Pantry is closed the second Wednesday of the month.

Paper goods and personal hygiene products are always needed also.  Thank you!

Here is a full list of items each family receives, each month:  1 breakfast item, 4 cans of vegetables, 1 can 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, and a pound of meat.

 These items are always needed at the Food Pantry. We focus on particular items each month as a way to bring attention to the need:  Paper products [toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex], personal products, boxed cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix, syrup, canned vegetables, rice, pasta and 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, etc. They also accept laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, bath soap.

Opened and outdated products are not accepted at the Pantry.

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.

We are sorry to announce we have decided to take down the Book Walk. Some pages did not hold up in the strong Kansas winds. We were fortunate this time to have recovered the missing pages. The replacement cost for these books is prohibitive. We hope to try a different location at a later date. Maybe when lawn mowing slows down. If you know of a place out of the wind, please let us know. Stay tuned.

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Yes, we are aware that there are three pages missing from the We’re Going on a Bear Hunt story walk. Two of them are safely in the library, the third is in the wind, so to speak. We had hoped to have a third story this spring, but now are not so sure. You can check out the actual book from the library if you really want to fill in those missing blanks. Or use your imagination and fill in the blanks.

We are as disappointed as everyone else. How do we control that Kansas wind?

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Have you noticed the Book Walk near the school? You’ll find it along 11th Street, beginning at the driveway to Nemaha Central Elementary School, running south, and then turning the corner and continuing west onto Community Drive. Just in time for family evening walks in beautiful spring weather.

The book title is I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. Take a stroll by the pages and be sure to count the book for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, if you are reading toward that goal.

Thank you to everyone at Nemaha Central Schools and the City of Seneca for allowing us to share this story along the sidewalks. Materials for this project were provided by the Northeast Kansas Library System and made available for our library to use.

Kate and Dee spent some time on this beautiful afternoon to measure and push these ‘pages’ into the ground. They even had the superintendent stop by to inspect their work.

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