This is the 40th most frequent Croatian word.
nekoliko
Several.
Here, 'nekoliko' is used to signify an unspecified small number of books.
Imam nekoliko knjiga.
I have a few books.
In this sentence, 'nekoliko' describes a small but uncertain number of people.
Nekoliko ljudi je stiglo ranije na zabavu.
Several people arrived early to the party.
'Nekoliko' in this context refers to a small, approximate number of minutes.