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.
Do you want to open an account at Seneca Free Library and join the NEXT group [our shared catalog system that includes over 40 libraries] of Libraries? Having a library card means so much more than just checking out books and movies, it means access to digital resources Flipster, HOOPLA and Libby! Be sure to ask about these when you open your account.
To open an account in the NEXT system at the Seneca Free Library, you need to be at least 9 years of age, have a photo identification and proof of current residential address. Yes, that is two separate forms of ID. Proof of address could be a utility bill, insurance papers, or tax papers with your current address printed on it.
We do check to make sure people are not already in the shared catalog system. You do not need a new account if you are moving here from another system library. If that account is not in good standing, fines due or long overdue books, the patron will need to settle with that library before they we can update the account and check out to them.
Children between the ages of 9- 18 children need to have a parent or guardian present to give permission for them to get a card and be guarantor for the account. When the parent has an account, we attach the child’s account to theirs. The parent’s account must be in good standing.
When you sign for your child to get a library card, you agree to be responsible for replacement fees for lost or damaged materials.
Once you have your library card, please bring it with you each time you come to the library. You receive 2 library cards, the smaller one can be placed on a key ring, if you wish. Our patron base is online with more than 50 other libraries, we are sure to check out on your account if you have your card.
If you do not have your library card, a photo ID will need to be presented.
Thank You! There doesn’t seem to be a way to adequately say thank you to our generous friends and patrons who donated to the library during Nemaha County’s STEP Foundation Match Day. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Seneca Free Library received $2,294.00 in donations add in the matching funds and our total is $4,588.00!
All of the donations made during this campaign will serve members of the community very well. It is a blessing to have an active foundation such as this in our community. To learn more about them, visit their website at www.nemahastep.org.
For complete list of the organizations that received donations that day, see the link below:
Nemaha County STEP Foundation Match Day will be Friday, August 25, here in our Community Room from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Foundation board members will be on hand to answer any questions you have about STEP and to accept donations. Donations can be given to the general fund, or donors can specify between several entities having accounts with the STEP Foundation.
The library is accepting donations this year that will go towards replacing our microfilm reader. The new machine will still be able to read Microfilm, Microfiche, Aperture cards and 16mm and 35 mm film reels. A new feature is the ability to scan color slides or negatives. How many of you have color slides? How many of you have negatives just filling up a shoe box? You can bring them into the library, view them, then save to a thumb drive for sharing with family, printing, or using for a digital photo album.
For more information about Match Day visit the foundation website: www.stepupnemaha.com. For more information about our microfilm scanner just ask the librarians. We do have donation forms on hand if you are unable to make it to the library that day.
The State Library of Kansas is proud to announce the 2023 Kansas Notable Books list. This year’s list of Kansas Notable Books continues the tradition of celebrating the rich stories and vibrant spirit of the state.
“The authors of the 2023 Kansas Notable Books not only help us gain a deeper understanding of our world but also encourage empathy for others and reflection on our own life experiences,” State Librarian Ray C. Walling said. “Written by Kansans or about Kansas and Kansans, these fifteen books explore wanderlust, transformative collaboration, hidden struggles, inspiring resilience, and the power of love.”
This is the 18th year for the program, which identifies 15 books published the previous calendar year highlighting Kansas literature, authors, and all things Kansas.
2023 Kansas Notable Books list
Cabby Potts, Duchess of Dirt by Kathleen Wilford, Blue Bronco Books
Easy Beauty: A Memoir by Chloe Cooper Jones, Simon & Schuster
Hell’s Half-acre: The Untold Story of the Benders by Susan Jonusas, Viking
Justa’s Escape: A Journey from WWII Ukraine by Justina Neufeld with Russell Binkley, Wipf and Stock
Kansas Speaks Out: Poems in the Age of Me, Too by Dennis Etzel, Jr and Jericho Hockett, An Actual Kansas Press
Letters to Martin: Meditations on Democracy by Randal Maurice Jelks, Lawrence Hill Books
The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World by David K. Randall W. W. Norton & Company
Native American Stories for Kids: 12 Traditional Stories from Indigenous Tribes Across North America by Tom Pecore Weso, Rockridge Press
A New Guide to Kansas Mushrooms by Sherry Kay, Benjamin Sikes, and Caleb Morse, University Press of Kansas
Nothing but the Dirt: Stories from an American Farm Town by Kate Benz, University Press of Kansas
One Boy Watching by Grant Snider, Chronicle Books
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard, Doubleday
The Undead Truth of Us by Britney S. Lewis, Hyperion
The Vagabond’s Way: 366 Meditations on Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel by Rolf Potts, Random House
Winfield’s Walnut Valley Festival by Seth Bate, The History Press
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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.
We thought the start of the new year would be a good time to highlight and remind our patrons of a few of our policies.
Sharing our catalog with 40+ other libraries is wonderful, if we don’t own it, or the item you want is currently checked out, we encourage you to place a hold on the item and it will be shipped to our library when it becomes available. But we often forget to remind patrons they have one week from the day it arrives at our library to pick up their hold. If you have an email address listed, you automatically receive an email, so it is important that we have your correct address and that you check your emails regularly. If no email is listed we call the number on the account the day the item arrives. This is a system-wide policy, all libraries in the system are asked to keep items moving and not let them sit on the shelf collecting dust.
If an item you have checked out is on hold for another patron, we cannot renew it. If possible we tell you when you check out an item whether it is popular and will need to be returned in 2 weeks. This, too, is a system-wide policy.
New movies have a one week check out with no renewals. Everyone wants to watch the latest releases, we’ve determined 1 week should be long enough for you to enjoy the movie and return it so another patron can check it out. We aim to please as many people as we can with this policy.
We are often reminding patrons to have their library cards with them to check out. We ask this to protect our patrons. We are happy to have people from all over the county coming in to use our library. However, we do not know everyone in the county well enough to know they are who they say they are, if they do not present a card. When something is checked out on your account you are responsible for that item if it is not returned, whether or not you checked it out. Not everyone gives permission for family members to use their accounts. Life is just easier for everyone if you have your library card ready when you reach the circulation desk. We actually have had neighboring libraries mistakenly check out items to our patrons because no library card was presented. Save your account and trouble by bringing your library card.
Our copies cost 20 cents a page, one side. If you print on both sides of a sheet of paper it costs 40 cents. It doesn’t matter if it prints in color or black & white, 8 x 11 or larger. Also if you hit the print button we expect you to pay for everything that prints out. There is a way to print only the pages you need, if you need help figuring that out, just ask.
