Mercer County Library Blog

TrashedArt Contest Begins The 16th Annual TrashedArt Contest kicks off this January! Celebrate Earth Day by transforming everyday trash into extraordinary art. Open to teens and adults in Mercer County, the contest encourages participants to use at least 75% recycled content in their creations . Submit your artwork between February 25 and March 4, 2025, to the Lawrence Headquarters Branch . Judging and public voting for the “People’s Choice” Award will follow, with winners announced at the reception on April 22, 2025 . Visit the TrashedArt Contest page for details.   MLK Jr. Day of Service On Monday, January 20th, the Ewing, Hickory Corner, Lawrence, and West Windsor branches will be open 9:30am to 5:00pm. All other branches are closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in our card and letter-writing campaign for Meals on Wheels, running from January 13 to February 1, 2025. Craft events and activities are happening at various b...

This past holiday season, I became obsessed with the idea of making a scavenger hunt for my 5 ½ year-old niece. When I say that this kid loves scavenger hunts, I mean she LOVES scavenger hunts. All year round she makes my mom take turns hiding plastic eggs around her house so they can collect them and do it all over again. So, when my brother and sister-in-law told me some easy readers and phonics books would be a good gift idea for my niece this holiday season, I hatched the perfect plan. A book scavenger hunt! Here’s the list of books I hid, along with the clues I used, and where I hid them. Feel free to use this list as reading recommendations for a 4-6-year-old in your life, or to spark inspiration to create your own scavenger hunt at home! I kicked the hunt off by giving her a Pete the Cat Phonics Box Set . I tucked the clues inside the cover of the first page of each book after that, along with a bookmark to color. I wrapped each book as well, to protect them from the elements—...

Every January I see the same saying everywhere I go – “new year, new you.” I initially interpreted it as an aspirational slogan to improve yourself from the previous year, but now I feel like it’s being overused and just has a strong connection with improving one’s physical health. While physical wellness is important, it’s not the only thing that we should focus on. Too often our mental wellness gets overlooked or is just not discussed. Especially among tweens and teens. Working as a Youth Services Librarian has given me the chance to get to know kids and teens of all ages from the community. I enjoy this part of my job so much and because of that I have been able to see that our tweens and teens face a lot of challenges - from school assignments and part-time jobs, to pressure from friends and/or social media, and figuring out what they want to do post high school. So, it’s no wonder that today’s tweens and teens are facing anxiety, depression, and bullying at alarming rates. Wheth...

With a new year upon us, many will be thinking about the future - planning on how to accomplish their new year’s resolutions and how to fulfill their goals for a “new year, new me,” getting ready to file their taxes, or maybe just looking forward to a year of new releases, be they literary or film. But why put the cart before the horse? Why get our hopes up with anticipation? Instead, let’s look to the past. How about one-hundred years ago? One-hundred is a nice round number and, after doing a little digging, it seems that 1925 was not only a great year for books, but for movies as well. Let’s take a look at some of these books and movies that you can pick up at your local Mercer County Library System branch and enjoy some one-hundred-year-old gems. Books The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Shares the story of the wealthy, quixotic Jay Gatsby and his obsessive love for debutante Daisy Buchanan. It is also a cautionary tale of the American Dream in all its exuberance, decaden...

Do you keep track of the number of books you read each year? If so, how do you do it? Some people log the titles they read on websites and apps like Goodreads (www.goodreads.com), or you could simply use pen and paper to create your list. This past year, I sought creative ways to track the books I read. Here are some fun methods I explored: 1. Read Your Height - Stack the books you've read throughout the year and take a selfie to share on social media. We had a lot of fun with this one. Our Youth Services Librarian, Grace, had the tallest stack in the Robbinsville Branch! 2. Bullet Journal - I loved the creative freedom this method offered. I found various types online—both free and for purchase—and decided to design my own. I decorated the spine of each book after I finished reading it. 3. Crochet – Temperature blankets have been a popular trend for a while now, (assigning each range of temperature a color and crocheting various number of stitches for each day) so I was intrigu...

Dear Tech Guru, Why is it that when I am at the library, I can access the databases, but when I am home, I can’t access some of them? Late Night Database User Hi Database User, Some of the databases we provide come from the NJ State Library. These databases provide access based on geolocation, specifically locations within the state of NJ. If you’re having trouble with access, it’s because your computer or your smart device isn’t communicating to the database that you are in NJ. As personal security online has become a growing concern, computer users have asked for ways to prevent apps and websites from gathering information. One security concern is user location. You might see the popup when you go to a website or open an app that asks for your location. Let’s use an example of a website for a large store. You visit a website and look up an item and you want to see if they have it in your local store. If you have your location services turned off or have clicked “do not allow” wh...

With the end of 2024 nigh, it’s time to look toward the future of the silver screen. In anticipation of the new year in film, the following are official details about 10 major movies releasing in 2025: 1. Dog Man (January 31 st , 2025) directed by Peter Hastings “From DreamWorks Animation—creators of the beloved blockbuster franchises Kung Fu Panda , How to Train Your Dragon and The Boss Baby —comes the canine-crime-fighting film adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s New York Times bestselling literary phenomenon: Dog Man . When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve—and fetch, sit and roll over.” ( Dog Man . Directed by Peter Hastings, DreamWorks Animation, 2025) Dog Man Movie Site 2. Captain America: Brave New World (February 14 th , 2025) directed by Julius Onah “Marvel Studios' Captain America: Brave New W...

Recently I bought a mug as a gift. Said mug featured a bookshelf of classic fantasy titles. Nineteen titles in all, many favorites of mine and all of them books I have read and enjoyed. All except one. One title I had never even heard of, much less read, and it’s there included with 18 that I know well. Obviously, I had to read it. It was: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss I placed a hold and very soon had the book in my hand. Nice looking book, good cover art and on back cover: “ My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me.” Well, I hadn’t heard of him, but I really w...

As we are in the midst of the holiday season – and shopping has been on the minds of many – I wanted to share my experience behind the scenes on a tour of the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edison, New Jersey. I wasn’t much of a fan of the idea of going. What would I see? A warehouse with boxes? I was very ready to be bored. Instead, I was fascinated. Working in a library, I have an appreciation of inventory control and knowing exactly where a specific item may be found, as well as delivering the right book to the right branch and right patron. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about how each section in the warehouse worked together for maximum efficiency. Stowers empty items from bins and boxes delivered to the facility into larger, tall sets of bins, sorted by size. Devices scan everything so the computer knows exactly which spot on which bin an item is placed. Pickers are the people who find the items you order. The correct larger set of bins is brought right to the picker by a...