Mercer County Library Blog

Let’s be real here, sometimes we are not as active readers as we would like to be. Family, relationships, career, and life overall get in the way. All this makes that 300-page novel collecting dust on your shelf that you’ve been meaning to pick up for weeks, now look as daunting as ever. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. If you need something a little less time-consuming that still can pull you in and leave a big impact, look at a short story collection! Short story collections can be small narratives exploring multiple types of fun and unique genres. They are an avenue through which authors can choose to indulge in the weird and eccentric sides of our typical romance, horror, and science fiction categories. They’re a great way to introduce yourself to genres you would’ve never picked up on your own! As a short story lover myself, I can confirm that there is a lot of depth within the short pages of these collections. Think a short story collection could get you out of your reading f...

As school and public libraries continue to be targeted with challenges to their collections, I really enjoyed watching this documentary about the librarians around the country who are striving to protect the rights of readers. The Librarians has been screened at more than 50 domestic and international film festivals since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, and has earned 22 awards as of this writing. It is being broadcast until May 9 by PBS Independent Lens. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the librarians who is featured in the film. Martha Hickson, now retired, was an award-winning school librarian at North Hunterdon (NJ) High School when a parent began organizing to try to remove books such as Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison from shelves--without following collection development procedures. Hickson’s resistance to removing these titles led to her receiving online threats and in-person harassment. Other librarians in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana endured the same. While depic...

What a gift it is to be able to open a book or press play for a movie, TV show, or song and be transported into another time. Historical Fiction is oftentimes one of the first ways many people encounter different cultures or time periods and it serves as both an excellent gateway to further discovery as well as entertainment. In December 2025, I wrote about some of  my favorite tropes for Romance books , and today I am pleased to discuss literary tropes within the Historical Fiction genre. Before we begin our exploration of the genre, let me provide a few definitions. A literary genre is a category of literature based on shared traits; some examples of genres include: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Romance, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, etc. Also, it is very common to see some stories contain elements from different genres. A trope is a frequently used theme or plot device. Today, we will look at some books, film (screen), and song examples of Historical Fiction that exempl...

The fuzzy needles of the dark purple-green pine tree behind my computer screen sweep up and out across the silver-framed window panels beyond the scope of my vision. Flexible branches of this tree and all healthy trees point up and out on most non-weeping varieties. As trees make pine cones, fruit, leaves, seeds, flowers, bark, needles, twigs, and sticks, the air around them improves. The buds formed in the fall now widen. "Can we be flexible palm trees?" my friend asked her children. Can we be steady and stalwart like a tulip tree? During storms, the tulip tree, ten feet from my back door, drops lichen-heavy limbs. Spiky seedpods from his good friend, a Sweetgum, create a further hazard. I look at the trees, and ideas form. Some people must work without the sight of a tree. I wonder whether they mind. Lichens are also fun to look at and think about. Rare in urban areas and often found on tombstones, Golden Moonglow lichen is a thin, dusty-green, fluttering lichen with a ro...

Hatching chicks is a special, fascinating experience! Anticipation and excitement build for approximately three weeks, and then… “cheep! cheep!” the baby chicks peck their way out! For the next two weeks, you watch their adorable antics as they figure out the world, interact with each other, double in size, and start getting feathers. The West Windsor Branch has been able to share this experience for four years now, once a year starting in 2023, and it’s something that patrons and staff look forward to each spring. For those who haven’t been able to observe each stage or for those who want to know more, read on for an overview of the process, some interesting facts about chickens, and a book list of kids’ non-fiction titles for more information, pictures, and activities. The Process Various companies and farms offer chick-raising experiences. The company we have used is Rent the Chicken. They deliver all the supplies and instructions needed for a 5-week hatching experience and then ta...

In the past year, I have fallen in love with graphic novels. Though I’ve read a handful of them before, it wasn’t until recently that I began to open myself up to everything that the medium can be. Adult, young adult, or juvenile. Sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, drama, horror, or any other genre. Fiction or nonfiction. Stand-alone or multi-book series. Comic books, newspaper strips, manga, or webcomics. Traditionally or independently published. It can be easy to pigeonhole the medium to the same few categories you are used to when you encountering them, but if you do so, you’re missing the forest for the trees! What makes a graphic novel so special? Why not read a written novel or watch an animated movie instead? Well, that is because by doing so not only would you miss out on so many stories and authors that specialize in this medium, but you could never witness the beauty that can only be found here. A book and a movie cannot be written in the same way. Prose written to reflect a cinemat...

What's Happening at MCLS: April 2026 Here are some of the events and programs from around the Mercer County Library System for the month of April. For a complete list of events at your local branch, visit the MCLS Events Calendar . April Celebrates Spring, Earth Day, Poetry, and Library Week This April, MCLS branches are filled with programming celebrating Autism Acceptance Month, National Poetry Month, Earth Day, National Library Week (April 19–25), and Easter. Join us for sensory storytimes, eco-friendly crafts, poetry events, egg hunts, and more throughout the month. For Kids Story and Snack: Bunnies Friday, March 27, 10:30 am Hickory Corner Branch Easter Storytime Friday, March 27, 3:30 pm Hickory Corner Branch Egg Hunt and Craft Saturday, March 28, 10:00 am Hickory Corner Branch Spring Egg Hunt Saturday, March 28, 2:00 pm Saturday, March 28, 2:30 pm Saturday, March 28, 3:00 pm Saturday, March 28, 3:30 pm Robbinsville Branch Easter Egg Hunt Tuesday, March 31...

If you visited the Lawrence Headquarters Branch last year, you might have seen a transformation occurring in our front garden beds — especially the birth of our native plant meadow. Have you noticed a magnificent chaos beginning to bloom outside the library doors this season? What may have once looked like an unkempt lawn is becoming a vibrant native plant meadow, a living extension of our Mercer County Library System's mission to foster growth and learning. By replacing traditional manicured grass with native species, we are doing more than just landscaping; we are restoring a vital ecosystem. These plants — like Creeping Phlox, the pollinator-favorite Purple Coneflower, and Purple love grass — are specially adapted to our local climate. Unlike typical lawns, this meadow requires no fertilizer and, once established, survives on rainfall alone. In the gardening world I came across what seems to be a common saying for perennials:  "The first year they sleep, the second y...