Mercer County Library Blog

Do you know what a parallel novel is? You may have heard it called a “re-imagining.” Typically, a parallel novel is a piece of fiction that takes place within or during another piece of fiction or tells a story derived from a separate piece of fiction. Parallel novels pay homage to the fiction they are borrowing from, as opposed to a parody whose purpose is to mock the original piece of fiction. What fascinates me about parallel novels is the conversation they open between old and new. Often, people who author parallel novels do it from the point of view of a minor character or even a maligned one. These novels force the audience to question whose story gets told and whose does not. One of the more popular parallel novels is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Gregory Maguire is known for his re-imaginings of fairy tales. He has written novels of Cinderella ( Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister ) , Snow White ( Mirror, Mirror ), The Nutcracker...

Overshadowed by the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year is the 150th anniversary of another turning point in American history, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, in which George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry Regiment was defeated by rebellious Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. The battle took place on June 25th, 1876 in the valley of the Little Bighorn river in what is now the state of Montana. Custer had divided his regiment in the face of a superior enemy, and when he attacked, all the men under his direct command were killed. In comparison with the Civil War battles of just a few years before, Little Bighorn was not particularly large in terms of the numbers engaged and lives lost. But it has loomed large in the American popular imagination ever since, particularly in regards to the larger-than-life personalities of Custer, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse. When I was growing up, I saw Hollywood films about the battle lik...

Do you remember the first time you saw a picture of a dinosaur? This year's Summer Reading theme is "Unearth a Story" and features the "formidable lizards" in its' prehistoric aesthetic. I coordinate the Adult Summer Reading Program at the Hickory Corner Branch, and have been doing a considerable amount of unearthing of my own while planning--searching through boxes upon boxes of books in search of summer reading prizes, digging through dinosaur-themed titles for our promotional materials, and looking for some below ground titles for this very blog post. Come along as we "unearth" some books from our catalog and crack open this planet's cellar door: Strata: Stories from Deep Time Burrow into the world of geologists and uncover 4.54 billion years of history in Strata: Stories from Deep Time . This book is split into four geological events: the rise of oxygen, the ice age, the introduction of mud, and the "hothouse" of the Mesozoic er...

What's Happening at MCLS: June 2026 Here are some of the events and programs from around the Mercer County Library System for the month of June. For a complete list of events at your local branch, visit the MCLS Events Calendar . June Kicks Off Summer Reading and Celebrates Pride, Fathers, and the Great Outdoors This June, MCLS branches kick off the 2026 Summer Reading Program: Unearth a Story , with dinosaurs, fossils, and discovery taking center stage. Programming also includes events for Father's Day, Pride Month, Great Outdoors Month, Juneteenth, and continuing programs commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence . Join us for storytimes, crafts, book clubs, history talks, scavenger hunts, and outdoor activities throughout the month. For Kids Rainbow Scavenger Hunt All month long, during library hours Ewing Branch Outdoor Toddler Rock Tuesday, June 2, 10:30 am Tuesday, June 9, 10:30 am Tuesday, June 16, 10:30 am Tuesday, June 23, 10:30 am Hopew...

As the weather warms and we recover from a very cold and snowy winter, adults and children alike are excited to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Warmer weather means playing, exploring, and enjoying the amazing natural world around us. Going for walks, digging in the garden, and smelling the flowers help kids engage with nature and each other. Whether your child loves getting muddy in the backyard or prefers looking for flowers, there are so many ways to encourage a love of the outdoors. Children can get messy, smell the breeze, and explore the sensory feast of a backyard walk while sparking their curiosity. Whether you plan to stick close by or go further afield, Mercer County Library System can get your family’s outdoor experiences jump-started at your local branch. Books like  The Wildest Thing  by Emily Winfield Martin celebrate children who love the wild and immersing themselves in wild exploration.  Fairy Walk  by Gaia Cornwall offers a story of whol...

BookCon, a two-day event held at the Javits Center in New York City, is a convention that focuses on bringing the reading community together. Readers, publishers, and authors come together and eat, sleep, and breathe all things books. The first BookCon was in 2014, and the previous BookCon event was back in 2019. There were plans for one in 2020, but it was cancelled because of the pandemic. However, it was announced in late 2025 that the Con was back in action and would once again be held at the Javits Center in April 2026. My coworker, Alyssa, and I agreed we HAD to go! And somehow (pure luck) we were able to buy tickets on the first day they went on sale. It’s good that we did, because about 30 minutes later, both Saturday and Sunday tickets were sold out. Once those tickets were secured? Game. On. We mapped out the day to ensure we’d be able to visit author signings, panels, and booths. We even created bookmarks and keychains with book quotes on them during our spare time at hom...

Do you have your digital photos printed? Use an actual print camera to take pictures that need to be developed? Do you develop and process your own film? In the digital age, it can be all too simple to just tap the button on our smart phone. We take pictures that linger in the digital ether and never get printed in a physical format. Sometimes they never even get looked at again. When you have thousands of pictures on your phone—family, pets, vacations, that beautiful flower, or your daughter’s very first bike ride—it’s easy to just let them melt into the background of your mind. All the experiences of our lives that we deem worthy of remembering are so quick to forget. During my undergraduate days, I focused on art and attended several photography courses. I loved it. I would bring my Canon Rebel G with me everywhere, taking a picture of whatever struck me as interesting at that moment. I learned to develop my own film and spent hours in the photography lab in the darkroom. When I st...

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? These days, security cameras capture you on street corners, generative AI remembers things about you, and third-party cookies track you across the Internet. The library offers a number of resources that will help you understand more about these important topics. In Means of Control , journalist Byron Tau explores how the U.S. government takes advantage of all the data collected about consumers on the Internet. “Recommendations” on social media feel eerily targeted and advertisements are specifically curated to your desires and purchasing behaviors. Beyond that, generative artificial intelligences such as ChatGPT, ClaudeAI, Google Gemini, and Grok are proliferating fast, with 62% of U.S. adults stating that they interact with generative AI at least once a week. In More Everything Forever , astrophysicist Adam Becker discusses how genAI companies and the billionaires who fund them do not always have our best interests in mind, valuing technol...