Mercer County Library Blog

The TrashedArt Contest has grown quite a bit over the past 17 years! Each year, member of the Mercer County community remake, reuse and renew items that would otherwise be recycled or trashed into unique and beautiful art. Here are some highlights from the past decade. TrashedArt Contest 2016:   In 2016, we had 3 adult and 3 high school student winners in first, second and third place. Helene Plank, a participant of the TrashedArt Contest since the Contest’s third year in 2012, won third place for “Iris Fantasia” (window ledge). To read more about Helene’s button art, check out the TrashedArt Contest interview from 2020: TrashedArt at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch – Part 1 Michele Ben-Asher won first place for the adult category in 2016 for “Jersey Birds.” She crocheted plastic bags into the unique design at the center of the table. To find out more about Ben-Asher’s art, visit: TrashedArt at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch – Part 2 Gene Dombroski won second place in the ad...

Every February you will see more red and pink, and possibly even smell chocolate in the air. Valentine’s Day must be approaching! While in modern times we associate the holiday with candy and gifts for loved ones, it actually has roots in early Roman times. Lupercalia was a Roman festival held on February 15, celebrating fertility and health. The holiday is also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, and as such honors two people with that name, Valentine of Rome (died in 269) and Valentine of Terni (died in 273). Details are vague, but both were martyred and subsequently made Saints. One or both might have married lovers after an emperor’s ban, resulting in their beheadings, or attempted to convert the emperor (unsuccessfully) to Christianity. Both were buried along the Via Flaminia, a Roman road, albeit in different locations. While it had its romantic origins in Lupercalia, love didn’t re-enter the holiday until 1382 when Chaucer wrote “Parliament of Fowls.” This work names St. Valentine’...

When I was about 13, during a family holiday gathering, my uncle Jim played an album by an Australian group I had never heard of: INXS (pronounced “in excess”). From that day on, I started noticing their videos on MTV, and was soon collecting their records myself. INXS was active from 1977 to 2017 and, to date, they have sold over 50 million records worldwide, making them one of Australia's best-selling musical acts of all time. I was surprised to read that, although they had many number one hits in their native Australia and other countries, they never reached number one in the United States, although most of their hits reached at least top-ten status. They did receive many awards and nominations in the US, including several Grammys, along with similar recognition in other countries. The band was formed in Sydney in 1977, by several upper-middle-class teenagers. Some of the members were still in high school, and a couple were only slightly older. All had previous experience in oth...

Sometimes when people have asked me what kind of books I like to read, I’d get nervous to say young adult fiction because I’m an adult. However, the more I continue to work as a Youth Services Librarian, the more I’m learning that it should not matter what kind of book I am reading as an adult. There are so many wonderful books out there for children and teens, with important stories and diverse characters, that should be read by adults. If the book is about something I like and enjoy, who cares what I’m reading? As long as I’m reading! I don’t think I will stop reading YA as an adult because it has helped me see reading in a different way and enjoy fantasy novels. The first fantasy book I ever read was Divergent by Veronica Roth. I got to meet her in 2019 and tell her how Divergent was one of my favorite novels. Divergent is what got me on the path to reading other fantasy novels. I then read The Hunger Games , as an adult. One great thing about reading YA as an adult is seeing ...

You may remember my writing about the Bucks County Ale Trail in one of my earlier posts. Highlighted on the tee shirt I received from visiting a certain number of breweries on the trail was Tranquility Brewing Company in Warminster. That’s one I hadn’t visited, so I started planning a day trip. Tranquility Brewing is in a building called “The ‘Fuge”. Huh…that’s an odd name. I had to know more. This began a fascinating dive into history. Did you know that Warminster was a major site for aeronautics research? After reading a bit on the internet, I found that there is a museum there dedicated to the history of the Naval Air Development Center and the Johnsville Centrifuge (a-ha – that’s what the ‘Fuge is!). A visit to the museum (and brewery) was on the schedule! A little backtracking to explain my interest – I’ve read many books about the space program. I wouldn’t say I’m into “space”, but I like learning about the engineering and what the scientists and astronauts worked through to g...

Here are some of the events and programs from around the Mercer County Library System for the month of February. For a complete list of events at your local branch, visit the MCLS Events Calendar . February Celebrates Culture, Heart Health, and Love This February, MCLS branches are filled with programming celebrating Black History Month, Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse), American Heart Month, and Valentine's Day. Join us for cultural celebrations, CPR workshops, crafts, storytimes, and festive activities throughout the month. Also be sure to check out our upcoming virtual programming celebrating America’s 250 th anniversary . For Kids Black History Month Scavenger Hunt All month long, during library hours Hightstown Branch Coding with mTiny Robots: Draw a Heart Monday, February 2, 6:00 pm West Windsor Branch Crafternoon: Traffic Light Craft Inspired by Garret Morgan Monday, February 2, 4:00 pm Tuesday, February 3, 4:00 pm Hopewell Branch Little STEAMers: Heart-themed Act...

For some of us, Halloween is more than just a singular holiday or even a season. It’s a lifestyle. I, for one, start wishing my friends a Happy Halloween on September 1 st . But my love for all things creepy and spooky stays with me the whole year. Be it at the beginning of the school year (like Scream ) or on Halloween (like the franchise of the same name), fall seems to be the default season for horror media, which is understandable. The vibes are right. Everyone’s already in a spooky mood in anticipation of Halloween; and TV channels play scary movies throughout the entire month of October. Horror is most accessible in the fall: it’s almost unavoidable. But, if you’re like me, you want that heart-pounding, spine-tingling feeling all the time. Here’s my theory: horror can be seasonal. Not seasonal in the sense that it’s only relevant around Halloween, but in how certain subgenres fit into certain seasons. Allow me to explain. It is impossible for me to talk about horror of any kin...

The World Cup is coming to the Americas in the summer of 2026. It’s a great time for new and old fans of soccer to learn more about the beautiful game in preparation for the most exciting – in my opinion - sporting event in the world. This tournament will see an expanded number of teams, which means there will be more soccer goodness than ever. It’s also the last time that the world could see the two greats, Messi and Ronaldo, perform at this level. Soccer is a great spectator sport. You can analyze things and make predictions, or you can just get caught up in the drama and enjoy the spectacle. The World Cup can be enjoyed by the whole family. I have such good memories of sitting in my living room with my family and talking about the matches. It’s also neat to support the countries you have connections to by rooting for those teams. Here is a list of soccer related materials that are available at the Mercer County Library System: Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester...

Even being a librarian, it can be hard to make time to read the latest titles. With new TV shows, old favorite books, and hanging out with friends, fitting in a recent book can be difficult. Over the holidays, my sister and I were talking about New Year's resolutions and how hard it is to follow them on your own – including to read more. We agreed to hold each other accountable and read at least one book every month. After, we ended up talking with a friend and she wanted in on this as well… And then another friend was roped in… And then we mentioned it to our mom. Needless to say, I accidentally started a book club for 2026 with my friends and family. It might be a little difficult to find things we all want to read, considering we have different tastes in books, but that will be part of the fun. This month we plan on reading The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, since the movie just came out on Netflix and we all really want to watch it. We have a group chat where we can...

Every once in a while, I notice a quiet pattern in my reading — the kind that makes me pause and think, Wow… my subconscious is clearly obsessed with something. Recently, I realized that many of the books currently drawing me in share a powerful common thread: stories of women who were silenced, dismissed, punished, or quietly erased for being “too much,” “too different,” or simply unwilling to stay quiet. The status quo clearly does not like when women dare to stand up for themselves. Across so many different eras, you can find stories where fear shapes who is believed — and who is pushed aside. Time and again, women find themselves at the center of that fear. I’ve always found that I understand history best through its emotional undercurrents — through the lived experiences of the people inside it. The books I’m sharing here don’t just tell us what happened; they let us feel what it was like to live through it. Some of these books are still on my nightstand, while others I read year...