Thread Collective Continues in February with a New Day and Time!
The Thread Collective will meet on Thursday, February 12, 6:00 PM as the group weaves its way into a new schedule for 2026! Hopefully this earlier time and different day will work better for folks who had expressed interest before.
Thread Collective is a social /educational program designed with the purpose of bringing together community members who enjoy similar craft modalities. We encourage crocheters, knitters, cross-stitchers, embroiderers, and similar thread craft creators to join us and share tips, tricks, pointers, and patterns.
For more information, call the library at 785-336-2377 or stop by the circulation desk! Have ideas or requests on how this program might better serve you or someone you know who might be interested? Let us know!
Dee Lizzol to Read on Morning of Christmas Eve! (Wed, Dec 24)
Freshly added to our Christmas schedule, on the morning of Christmas Eve (Wednesday the 24th) our very own Dee Lizzol will be doing two short pop up reading sessions at 10:30 AM and 11:00 AM.
Join us for “Dee Reads: Christmas Classics and Personal Favorites,” an all ages mini-event and our gift of cheer and joy to you. Drop in for one or both of the reading times, sure to entertain and brighten your spirits.
Christmas Themed Activities Arrive at Seneca Free Library
It’s the holiday season and we’re feeling festive, but we need just a little more color and creativity to wrap up our year’s theme of “Color Our World!”
Want to help us?
Drop in at the circulation desk and pick up a stocking to color and decorate in whatever way you want. You can paint, draw, use crayons or markers, or even glue wrapping paper or fabric to it! Bring it back and we’ll hang it up to share with all our library friends in a place where you can see it too!
Feeling lucky? We have a guessing game just for you!
Give our jar of M&Ms a gander and see if you can guess how many there are. Fill out a slip and have a librarian drop it in either the Preschool or Elementary jar. The winning guess for each container gets a Christmas themed book appropriate to that age group!
Our Christmas Books are now being displayed on the reader gazebo with two whole sections of books and movies to choose from! From new titles to classics like “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” we have a little something for everybody! (We even have a selection of holiday themed books set aside on the adult side too!)
Cold Got Ya Down? Winter Break Turning Into Winter Blahs?
We still have our Game Vault collection to come in and enjoy! We have over 30 games to choose from in board games and card games, including Clue, Monopoly, Mouse Trap, Battleship, and so many more! Just pick a game, ask the librarian to borrow it, find a spot in the library, and get playing! It’s that simple! All games are Tess and Gerald approved. What will you play?
We want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Seneca Free Library! May your season be filled with peace, love, and joy!
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.
For a limited time only at Seneca Free Library, while supplies last!
We currently have reusable tote bags available for our patrons to claim and use for all their book carrying or grocery-getting needs!
We’d like to thank our friends at SBS Insurance for providing us with these bags and showing support for literacy and library programming in our community!
There’s no telling what kind of weather we’re going to get from day to day (sometimes even minute to minute). So here’s a basic Weather Advisory Overview to keep in mind…
If the weather is severe enough for Nemaha Central Schools to be dismissed early, the library will close at 5:00 that day. We will also post on Facebook, KNZA radio station and WIBW TV if we close or open late due to weather. School closures for extreme weather do not guarantee the library will be closed, though we do reserve the option to open late if necessary. If city administrative offices are closed for weather, the library will also be closed.
Regarding sudden severe weather such as tornado watches or warnings, and severe thunderstorm watches or warnings, please be aware that Seneca Free Library is NOT a designated storm shelter for the city. If emergency sirens sound, the library will lock the doors and escort any patrons currently inside the building to the basement. Patrons not wanting to remain in the library during the storm event are free to leave at their own discretion, but will not be able to get back inside once the doors are closed.
It’s always best to check before heading out. Call us at 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.
