Author: senecalibrarian

Dungeons and Dragons Program Being Considered for SFL – Fill Out Our Survey!

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.

Seneca Free Library is considering the opportunity to bring D&D to our program lineup, but first we need to know from our patrons and friends what kind of interest there might be. Ideally we would be looking at hosting a teen group (12-18) and an adult group (18+), but that will depend heavily on interest and numbers. Fill out this survey and help us identify what direction we should be heading in to introduce or facilitate this gaming opportunity in the community!

Please Note: This survey is for pre-planning and measuring interest only. It does not guarantee the start of a program or a commitment to participate on your part by filling it out. Thank you!

Fill out the survey HERE!

Why Dungeons and Dragons?

For the average player the answer is entirely personal. Some people enjoy the social aspect most, working with other players to solve problems and strategize battle plans, bantering back and forth, and having a few laughs with friends. Some people love the creative aspect, picking and choosing the details of their character and bringing that character to life in the game setting. Some people get more out of the shared storytelling experience, witnessing a fantastic story unfold around them and having the opportunity to interact and influence the direction it goes. Others still appreciate the escapist opportunity – the chance to put aside their cares and worries for a few hours and be somebody completely different for a change. Plus, when it comes down to it, who doesn’t love spending time with a good story?

That’s the player perspective, of course, but there’s also a whole academic research side of the game that demonstrates the educational and developmental benefits of playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and other similar role-playing games.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: In spite of archaic stereotypes to the contrary, D&D is actually a very socially driven game. The players interact with each other and the GM every step of the way. This includes discussing action plans, talking to each other both in character and out of character, practicing conflict resolution, and sharing in successes and failures as a team. While individual GMs and gaming groups may vary in their approach, words and actions typically have consequences both in game and out of game, a point that makes Role-Playing Games (RPGs), like D&D, incredibly useful in exploring and practicing social skills in a way that limits any potential negative impact on the player’s real life. D&D has even been integrated and adapted for use as a therapeutic tool in the mental health field to aid kids, teens, and adults in practicing social skills and behavior modeling in a group setting. Of particular benefit is the role-playing aspect of the game. RP encourages players to develop and practice empathy by focusing on, “What would your character do or feel in this situation?” By repeatedly putting the response focus on the character, it reinforces the understanding that other people have thoughts and feelings too, and they may not always agree with your own.

PROBLEM SOLVING AND MATHEMATICS: One of the greatest joys a GM has is finding or developing a fun and interesting puzzle to use in the game and then watching the players work their way through it. This may appear in the form of traps, a literal maze to navigate, a monster with a series of riddles to solve, or any number of physical or mental challenges that test the players’ and characters’ skills, knowledge, and creativity. These problems routinely require critical analysis, fact finding, trial and error, experimentation, and even more practice with communication skills.

While the creation of a D&D character is an act of imagination and storytelling at its core, the completion of the character sheet that serves as the technical representation of the character in the game is very math and numbers focused.(Fear not, math-phobes, it’s not as complicated as it’s about to sound!) Without getting too deep into the details, every action your character does in the game is supported (or potentially impeded) by one or more of the 6 scores that represent your character’s physical and mental abilities (literally called Ability Scores). To get these scores requires basic addition. To figure out how each score benefits or hinders your character’s actions uses a bit of subtraction and division. Then there’s the addition of dice roll results and whatever pluses and minuses your character applies to an attempt at a desired action. The result is then compared “greater than-less than” style against a target number set by the DM to determine if the attempted action was successful or not. Admittedly, there are now digital character sheets that can do all of the heavy lifting on the math end for you, but that assumes your DM is willing to allow electronic devices at the table, and even if they do, most will require physical dice to be rolled where everyone can see them as a point of fairness and transparency, which means you still have to practice at least some math skills to participate.

LANGUAGE AND VOCABULARY: While most DM’s aren’t going to expect a 30 page backstory for your character, there is a certain amount of creative “writing” (or at least note taking) you will need to do. If your character choices were made to get access to a particular skill set or ability, you should probably at least have notes on how and where your character learned those skills. Your reading and comprehension skills will get a good workout as well, as you reference various ability and spell descriptions on the fly to know what your character can and can’t likely do in the game. Depending on how familiar you are with gaming in general and terminology commonly found in the type of setting your game takes place in (fantasy, sci-fi, alternate history, etc), you may find yourself regularly looking up words and definitions that come up in the game also.

D&D Players are often heavily motivated to find or expand on inspiration for their characters. As such, reading becomes a pretty common source of ideas and opportunities to bring to the table. From Tolkien to Sanderson, you’ll always find elements of popular characters (if not direct copies) appearing at the game table, whether the player realizes it or not. And anything that promotes reading is a plus in our books!

But My (Church, Grandma, Pastor, Political Figure, Internet Influencer, etc.) Said…

*sigh*

Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game that draws inspiration for characters, settings, monsters, and magic from mythology, folklore, legends, and existing works of fiction from around the world over. From those resources come references to darker elements that some people may find problematic or downright offensive.

Rather than pretend that these elements don’t exist in role-playing games (because they do and frankly these Big Bad Evil Things can make excellent challenges for a party of Heroic player characters to test their mettle against, just like in legends of yore), it is better to emphasize the following point: What appears in a role-playing game setting is entirely up to the Game Master and the players participating in that game. A good Game Master will discuss with their players before the game starts what topics and elements the players are comfortable or uncomfortable dealing with. They will then respect those limitations in the planning and development of that game. If something presents itself as an issue further along in the game, it is up to the GM and Player(s) to discuss the matter and develop a compromise or alternate course of action to remedy the situation. It is not the place of an outside entity or individual to create issues over a situation that doesn’t involve them directly.

As a public community entity, Seneca Free Library and the staff coordinating this program will endeavor to limit the inclusion of certain questionable enemy creatures and story elements in our RPG program events. This is not stated as an open invitation for censorship or an adherence to a particular view point, but rather an acknowledgement of demographic tendencies in the community and a commitment to serving the broadest population possible. Stated plainly, we don’t want our potential teen players denied access to the game because Mom or Dad are afraid their child will be corrupted by “unholy influences.”

But for anyone who might still have concerns akin to the 80s Panic (or just need a good laugh), here is an inside perspective of what a typical D&D game session looks like:

8-Bit Reenactment of “Dungeons and Dragons” by the Dead Alewives

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!

ANNOUNCEMENT (April 18, 2025):
Cooking with Kids is scheduled again for Thursday, April 24! Call 785-336-2377 to sign your little chef up for a fresh and festive session with our very own Deb Haverkamp! Limit of six participants, first come first serve, ages 9-12 with a signed permission form/waiver on file.

REPORT (April 17, 2025)
The Cooking with Kids crew hopped to work Thursday, mixing basic raw ingredients into a fantastic decorative white cake to celebrate Easter. No box mixes or store bought frostings here, folks. The kids did it all by hand, right down to separating yolks and egg whites! They even learned subtle tricks like the importance of using clear vanilla to keep your white cake white and why you wait for your cake to cool before applying frosting. For this particular cake, they also learned how to go from basic pan shapes to custom designs fit for a family feast using patterns and planned layouts! “No bunny” can deny that the results made for some very “hoppy” young chefs!

REPORT (March 27, 2025):
Walk into a true Italian restaurant and ask for Alfredo sauce and they will look at you like you have arms growing out of your ears (true story). But ask our Cooking with Kids Crew and they will whip up a Chicken Alfredo from scratch so good it puts Olive Garden to shame! The April 27th class did just that, and with the help of friends and family, facilitator Deb Haverkamp was able to rustle up enough burners and pans to let all of the kids make their own Chicken Alfredo from start to finish. Thanks to our returning kiddos for participating, and a special thanks again to Librarian Deb Haverkamp who makes this program possible and a patron favorite!

REPORT (March 20, 2025):
This week’s Cooking with Kids crew hit the spring greens early; not the golf course, mind you, but some dishes worthy of the clubhouse kitchen for sure! Fresh cut veggies and homemade ranch dip, a pea salad (think seven layer salad without the lettuce or bacon), and a baked spinach dip to die for. Deb reports the kids were visibly distressed seeing nothing but vegetables on the prep table to start, but by the end of the session they were loving what they made! Thanks to this week’s crew for joining us, and a special thanks to our facilitator, Deb Haverkamp, who regularly makes this program such a beloved success for the kids!

REPORT (March 6, 2025):
The Cooking with Kids crew Marched right into the month of St. Patty’s Day with potatoes aplenty! Twice baked, mashed, and hash browns were on the menu for March 6th’s session. They even had the opportunity to work with golden, red, and russet variations of potatoes and discussed how each type cooks differently, making certain potatoes better for certain recipes or foods. We thank this week’s cooking kiddos for joining us and especially give a special thanks to our practiced professional, Deb Haverkamp, for leading such an informative and practical potato prepping practice!

REPORT (February 27, 2025:)
Our last Cooking with Kids session on February 27th, brought the kids back to basics. Biscuit basics, that is. Hand-mixed, butter folded in, rolled out, and cut to form biscuits! And I can say from experience that they were light and fluffy to boot! Thanks to our terrific trio that showed up to the session, and a special thank you to our facilitator, Deb Haverkamp, who does such an amazing job putting the classes together and leading them!

REPORT (February 13, 2025):
Thursday, February 13, 2025: Our Cooking with Kids crew really put their hearts into this week’s recipe! They mixed up, decorated, and baked sugar cookie cutouts for Valentine’s Day. Based on the cookies they brought over, it looks like they had a lot of fun designing and decorating their super tasty creations, and they were Gooooood!

Special thanks to our Cooking Kiddos, the parents who get them here, and especially our facilitator, Deb Haverkamp! It’s always an inspiration seeing what Deb and the Kids cook up each class!

REPORT (January 16, 2025):
The Cooking with Kids Crew did one mean classic brew with homemade taco soup Thursday, January 16, 2025! They browned their meats, cut up the veggies, and put together a season packet to tingle the taste buds with just the right spice to heat up a cold day. They even shredded their own cheese to top it all off with! We didn’t get many pictures of this session as it was a busy afternoon on the library side and Deb and the kids were occupied cooking away, but they brought this lucky librarian a bowl to try and boy-howdy was it good! Great job kids and special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for bringing this kitchen classic to the kids’ table!

REPORT (January 2, 2025):
Our Cooking with Kids Crew started 2025 with a sizzle instead of a bang on Thursday, January 2. Librarian Deb Haverkamp introduced an international favorite to the kiddos and taught them how to make crepes! True to crepe fashion, they then added freshly cut berries and homemade whipped toppings for a light and crisp treat they won’t soon forget. Special thanks to all our kiddos for braving the cold and our parents who came in ahead of the day to sign our new registration forms! Big thanks to Deb Haverkamp for making this extra special class even more special and fun!

REPORT:
Librarian Deb Haverkamp brought the Christmas Cheer with holiday music in the background, a Christmas classic on the menu, and a touch of Christmas (TV) Magic to make the time limitations doable. Without any intention involved, the Cooking with Kids crew even managed to make Gingerbread Folks on National Gingerbread Day! Who knew? To kick things off, Deb had the kids make the cookie dough using the recipe as normal. But cutout cookies require a solid hour or more of chill time to ensure they keep their shape after being cut and baked. (Cookies baked without this step tend to spread on the pan while they cook, a positive where peanut butter or chocolate chip cookies are concerned, but not so much for cutouts.) An hour is a long time in kid language and in library programming time. As a very wise woman once said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” So Deb premixed a batch of the same cookie dough and chilled it overnight for the kids to cutout and bake without missing a beat! This time-saving magic even gave the kids a chance to practice using a pipette and frosting bag to frost and decorate their cookies! The kids were able to divide up the freshly mixed dough and take it home with them to share their new skills with their families. Thanks to our Cooking Crew for making this such a fun time and special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for making this amazing program possible!

REPORT:
Cooking with Kids hit a sweet note in Thursday’s session! Deb Haverkamp gave them a reason to be Thankful for pumpkin as they mixed and baked Pumpkin Cookies! They even made their own almond butter in the food processor and maple cream cheese icing to frost the cookies with. And I gotta tell ya, folks, these cookies were G-O-O-D! They’re like happiness in a tiny baked treat. While they waited for the cookies to bake, our cooking crew did clean up and made pumpkin smoothies. It was originally Deb’s hope to teach the kids how to make pumpkin pie, but sadly, oven limitations and time constraints made it too restrictive to do. Hopefully our young master chefs will get a chance to help with pies over the upcoming holiday! You couldn’t ask for better help than our cooking kids! We look forward to hearing about their culinary adventures when we come back from break in December. Special thanks to our participants, and especially to Deb Haverkamp for making this another awesome event!

Want to give the pumpkin cookies a try? Visit sallysbakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-cookies/ for the recipe! (It’s there, I promise, just go to the print friendly version to get around all the fluff and filler.)

REPORT:
This Thursday’s Cooking with Kids brought back breakfast for dinner! (11/7/2024) Deb Haverkamp started the kids off by making home style breakfast burritos with browned sausage, scrambled eggs, and home shredded cheddar topped with fresh cut avocado and salsa. (Take notes, adults, we’ve got kids that can de-stone an avocado like a pro!) Once the first round of dishes were done, the kids went back to work making strawberry and banana smoothies with Greek yogurt, peanut butter, oatmeal, and honey. The kids had a blast and this librarian is lucky to share that the breakfast burritos were awesome and the smoothies were creamy and delicious. Great job, kids! And special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for teaching another installment of this fan favorite program!

REPORT:
Thursday’s Cooking with Kids was wickedly wonderful! (10/24/2024) Deb Haverkamp led our cooking crew through how to build a frightfully festive veggie tray and they made their own ranch dip from scratch (without even using a ranch seasoning packet!). Deb said she even plans to use this recipe at home from now on instead of using the season packets, everyone liked it so much. They also made popcorn balls and learned first hand how humidity and temperature variations can impact cooking. Special thanks to Librarian Deb Haverkamp for hosting another fun and educational Cooking with Kids event!

REPORT:
Cooking with Kids hit the harvest season running on Thursday, September 26. They made chili cheese dogs in honor of fall sports, apple cake from scratch, and fresh applesauce with zero additives. The kids had so much fun mashing apples in the sieve they didn’t want to go home at the end of the session! Special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for hosting yet another fantastic session of Cooking with Kids! This session, we also extend an extra special thanks to the Knapp family for sharing their orchard fresh apples and inspiring this week’s cooking projects!

REPORT:
Deb Haverkamp and the Cooking with Kids crew went full meal prep on September 19. They started with Deb’s daycare-famous goulash recipe, chopped and mixed a classic broccoli salad with real freshly fried bacon crumbles, and topped off the session with toasted garlic bread. This crew could open a restaurant if they had the mind to. They did such an awesome job! It looked great and tasted amazing, as evidenced by the extras they shared with this lucky librarian. Bravisimo, kids! And a special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for hosting yet another fantastic session of Cooking with Kids!

REPORT:
Cooking with Kids returned September 12 in the corniest way possible! Librarian Deb Haverkamp and the kids popped into harvest season with all things corn. They started with a baking project and made some amazing cornbread. Next they shucked full ears of corn and boiled them for corn on the cob. Then they learned three different methods for making popcorn which included air popped, machine popped, and stove top popping. Because the kids did such a great job following instructions and keeping up on the cleanup, they even had enough time to practice making oven baked CARAMEL CORN! And let me tell you, I’m not a big fan of most caramel corn, but this lightly glazed batch was pretty darn tasty and had a great texture. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to try it! And you can too with the recipe shared in the images below! Special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for hosting this class and all of our participants who made it possible!

REPORT:
Librarian Deb Haverkamp hosted the last summer program session of Cooking with Kids on Thursday, August 8, 2024. The threatened rain held off and the overcast skies made for a perfect day to do another round of campfire cooking! This time they made breakfast with camp sausage patties and pancakes from scratch over wood coals. The kids had a great time and the library took on an aura of camp nostalgia as the smell of burning wood trickled in from outside. It was a great way to wrap up our season of adventure before the kids go back to school for the fall semester. Thank you to our participants, and a big thanks to Deb Haverkamp for providing our young chefs with these amazing experiences!

REPORT:
Cooking with Kids met on Thursday, July 25, with Librarian Deb Haverkamp leading the group. Plans had to pivot rather quickly for this session as it was determined that cooking the kids along with the menu items outside would be an unfortunate side effect of the unanticipated spike in heat. Instead, Deb and the kids made snickerdoodle cookies in the community room that came out with a delightfully crisp and airy texture as well as a warm and light flavor! As you can see in the pictures, the kids were eager to add creativity to their culinary skills today. Great job kids! (And thanks for sharing!)

REPORT:
Thursday, July 18, 2024’s Cooking with Kids session with Librarian Deb Haverkamp was a summertime home run! The kids took to the campfire again and made Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler! The librarians working the circulation desk were fortunate enough to get to try the results, and I think everyone agrees, the results were super good! Great job kids, and special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for stepping up each session and coming up with fun and exciting new things for the kids to try!

REPORT:
Cooking with kids took a turn for the rustic on Thursday, June 20, 2024 as Librarian Deb Haverkamp brought the crew outside for a session of camp cooking! Deb brought in a portable fire pit and set up in the rock parking lot behind the building. She pre-fired a batch of coals to be ready for the kids to arrive. The kids diced onions and peppers while the hamburger browned in the Dutch Oven on the coals. Once the meat was cooked, they added their vegetables and tomato sauce, and finally stirred in some cubed Velveeta. The final result of the Hamburger Corn Casserole looked amazing and it was a great experience for the kids to try a new cooking technique!

REPORT:
Thursday, June 13, 2024 the Cooking with Kids crew got one of their biggest wishes fulfilled. They made their own pizzas, with crust from scratch, homemade sauce, and their choice of freshly browned hamburger, sausage, pepperoni and cheese. The aroma coming from the pizza oven was out of this world amazing. Everyone was super excited with this cooking project and it sounded like they had a lot of fun as well!

REPORT:
Thursday, May 9 2024 Deb Haverkamp and our cooking with kids crew made fruit pizza!

This is where the gallery would go if our social media guy had remembered to post the pictures he and Deb took from the event. They were some really good pictures. But here’s an example of what the kids made, “borrowed” from the internet instead:

REPORT:
Thursday, April 25, 2024 the Cooking with Kids crew made Corn and Black Bean Salsa, fresh Guacamole, and Blackened Fish Tacos. Librarian Deb Haverkamp admitted the kids were a little tentative about the tacos at first, but once they tried them, the majority agreed they were a hit. Going in for pictures early on, the salsa smelled and looked amazing. And you know the kids loved what they made when the circulation desk workers don’t even see any leftovers!

Stay tuned for future Cooking with Kids Sessions with Deb coming up in May. She’s already got the wheels turning on what she wants to do next with the crew!

REPORT:
Thursday, April 4th Cooking with Kids featured spaghetti with homemade meatballs and sauce! It looked and smelled amazing. These kids have skills and keep learning new things each time! Special thanks to Librarian Deb Haverkamp for running this program and making it as fun and successful as it is!

As a reminder, we only have a total of 6 spaces for each Cooking with Kids session due to space, safety, and supervision reasons. Slots are filled on a first come, first serve order, as much as we hate having to turn anybody away for a session. Make sure your little chef is signed up well before the class starts. This isn’t a class we can slip in a last-minute addition as much as we might want to.

REPORT:
Cooking with Kids had another full turnout on Thursday, March 21, as Librarian Deb Haverkamp taught the class how to make biscuits and gravy from scratch! The kids had a great time working together and Deb reported that the biscuits and gravy were a big hit with everybody. Great job to our chefs in the making and Deb Haverkamp in cooking up a classic this session!

REPORT:
Thursday, February 22, Cooking with Kids met for another learning experience in food and fun, this time baking coffee cake and trying out an assortment of smoothie recipes. The entry smelled like fresh baked cinnamon, drawing comments of delight from patrons and librarians alike.

REPORT:
Thursday February 8 Cooking with Kids was busy making Ham Loaf, Meat Balls and 7 Layer Salad! Don’t come on these days, if you are hungry, it’s hard to resist the aroma.

The pictures below are from the January 11th class making Chicken Noodle Soup.

SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR THIS EASTER WEEKEND!

Friday, 10-1 (Closing Early)

Saturday (Closed)

Sunday (Closed Normally)

Monday 9-7 (Return to Normal Hours)

Nothing beats fresh fruit as a bright, tasty treat or side dish, but when it comes to food pantry donations, fresh fruit can be hard to get distributed before it goes bad and frozen fruits just aren’t really feasible. That’s why, in April, Seneca Free Library is requesting canned fruit as our Nemaha County Food Pantry focus! You can drop off unopened and unexpired canned fruit 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 10:00 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.