There is some jarring news to share with anyone who has studied in the Mason Library since the start of the month; a little gnome may have been watching you through the bookshelves!
Any student or faculty member who has come to the library leading up to finals week at Keene State might have noticed the “Gnomes Found” poster outside the Center for Research and Writing, or perhaps even stumbled upon a gnome while traversing through the library’s many corners. While you may have thought this meant a portal to a fantasy world had been opened on campus, don’t fret! As it turns out, there is a practical explanation as to why the library has been overrun with these gnomes.
Director of the Center for Research and Writing Kate Tirabassi explained that the gnomes are actually part of an event being put on by the Center. “We started the ‘Bring the Gnomes Home’ event last spring 2025 through the support of a PepsiCo Grant that we applied for last year. After spring break, the tutors hid gnomes in common areas inside and outside around campus, and the grant allowed us to offer a variety of prizes from small novelty gifts and stickers to gift cards to local stores, Jellycat stuffed animals and an ultimate prize of a Kindle White,” Tirabassi said.
“The goals of this event were to promote a fun activity for students, and also to raise awareness about the Center’s location and services,” Tirabassi continued. “This fall, the Center staff still wanted to offer the event this semester, and while we didn’t have a grant to support the larger prizes, we were able to fund a smaller event, ‘Gnome for the Holidays’. The event runs for the final two weeks of the semester, and all of the gnomes are hidden in the Mason Library in common areas. When students find gnomes, they bring the gnome to the Center, receive a small fun prize and fill out a raffle ticket to win one of three Warmies that we have as the grand prizes for this event.”
“Gnome for the Holidays” has been in effect since Dec. 1, and students have the chance to find a gnome and receive a prize until this coming Wednesday, Dec. 11. 57 out of the 100 gnomes have been found as of now, which means 43 gnomes are still hidden around the Mason Library that are desperate to be returned to their home in the Center for Research and Writing on the library’s first floor.
Evan Parker, a senior double majoring in Secondary Education and English, works as a tutor at the Center and shared his thoughts on the “Gnome for the Holidays” event.
“I think the program is amazing. It has brought a ton of students into the Center for Research & Writing who had not been there before, and that was really the goal,” Parker said. “We want people to know that we are fun and welcoming and to not be intimidated by our space. This is our second time running the event, so we definitely worked out some kinks from last year and it has been very successful so far!”
“I have personally had about a dozen students come in to return gnomes when I was working,” Parker continued. When asked if a gnome had ever been hidden in a spot no one could find, Parker said, “Absolutely. When we ran this event last spring, it took place over a longer period of time, and the gnomes were hidden all over campus. After everyone went home for the semester, I looked back at our logs and collected as many of the unfound gnomes as I could. Unfortunately, there were some gnomes that did not make it home.”
If you’d like to help these gnomes return home, study in the Mason Library before the semester ends and be on the lookout for a little gnome around every corner. For more information on the Center for Research and Writing, visit its website, https://library.keene.edu/research-writing/home/.
Serena Taylor can be reached at
staylor@kscequinox.com
