Mercer County Library Blog

Since 2005, the Newton Marasco Foundation has been recognizing and honoring books that “inspire a child to grow a deeper appreciation, respect and responsibility for his or her natural environment,” making the Green Earth Book Awards the first environmental stewardship book award for children and young adult literature. The Green Earth Book Award is awarded in four categories. 2010’s winners are as follows: Picture Book: Winner: Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green , written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Anne Kennedy. Honor Books : Redwoods , written and illustrated by Jason Chin; and The Curious Garden , written and illustrated by Peter Brown Children’s Fiction: Winner: Operation Redwood , written by S. Terrell French. Honor Book: SCAT , written by Carl Hiaasen Young Adult Fiction: Winner: The Carbon Diaries: 2015 , written by Saci Lloyd. Honor Book: A Summer of Silk Moths , written by Margaret Willey Nonfiction: Winner: Earth in the Hot Seat: Bulletins from a Warming World , wri...

Templates in Excel When it comes to Excel, it is slim pickings as far as templates are concerned! You can access the following templates: Billing Statement, Blood Pressure Tracker, Expense Report, Loan Amortization, Personal Monthly Budget, Sales Report and Time Card . But don’t get discouraged for there are a whole slew of additional templates available, for free, from Microsoft Online. Note: You do need to have Internet access in order to download the templates offered on Microsoft Online. Follow the same steps as you did when accessing templates in Word. Open Excel 2007. Click on the Office button and then click New . From the New Workbook dialog box, under Templates , instead of choosing Installed Templates, click on any of the categories shown below Microsoft Office Online . The templates on MS Office Online range from Agendas to Time Sheets so there are plenty of templates to be had. Click on any of the categories displayed and then click the style you want. In the preview pane...

Web 2.0 is defined as the interactive web, where surfers can not only view information, but can take part in discussing or contributing to the information. Because of this interactive nature of web 2.0, many sites have developed around particular topics or hobbies. This month we will take a look at a couple of sites dedicated to reading. April's post will feature music sites and May will focus on movie and TV sites. LibraryThing One of the first social networking sites for readers, LibraryThing has grown in both number of users and quality of content over the last year, making it a giant online book club. The site allows you to list, rate and review the books you have read and share those lists with friends and family. Readers can also join groups based on a topic (i.e. science fiction fans), which allow you chat about books in the forum and meet other people with similar reading interests. The real value of LibraryThing, however, is the way the site connects readers to reviews, au...

Hello Percy Jackson fans! Have you finished the series by Rick Riordan and wonder what to read now? If you want a novel featuring Greek myths: Pig Scrolls by Paul Shipton is a hilarious tale in which one of Odysseus’ soldiers is turned into a pig and decides life might be safer that way. Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy: Pandora takes a special box to school one day and what happens next is an accident—she swears! The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu begins the “The Cronus Chronicles” series, in which Charlotte and her cousin Zee travel to the Underworld to save their friends from an evil grandson of Poseidon. Walking with the Dead by L.M. Falcone: when Alex’s dad brings home an ancient Greek corpse it obviously wakes up. Now, Alex and his sidekick Freddie need to take a monster-filled journey through the world of the dead to send him back. If you want to read stories that inspired Percy’s adventures: The McElderry Book of Greek Myths by Eric A. Kimmel has a lot of the cla...

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these books by Irish writers: The Infinities John Banville A dazzling new book that chronicles both a human family and a rather unholy gathering of immortals, from the author of the Booker Prize-winning The Sea. Thanks for the Memories Cecelia Ahern With her marriage already in pieces, Joyce Conway nearly lost everything else. But she survived the terrible accident that left her hospitalized—and now, inxplicably, she can remember faces she has never seen, cobblestone Parisian streets she's never visited. A sudden, overwhelming sense of déjà vu has Joyce feeling as if her life is not her own. Brooklyn Colm Toibin Committed to a quiet life in little Enniscorthy, Ireland, the industrious young Eilis Lacey reluctantly finds herself swept up in an unplanned adventure to America, engineered by the family priest and her glamorous, "ready for life" sister, Rose. Heart and Soul Maeve Binchy An insightful, humorous, and compassionate story of family...

The pursuit of a comprehensive healthcare policy in the United States that would provide guaranteed universal coverage for all while at the same time succeed in cutting down the exponentially spiraling costs of health services has been the subject of intense debate over time culminating in the recent White House Summit on Health Reform on February 25th 2010. As the search for a viable solution continues, readers may want to understand the issues and complexities involved in designing a reformed system of healthcare in America. What are the current failings of our health system and what would be the implications of maintaining the status quo for the future economic growth of the country and for the health and well being of its citizens? Here are some selections from MCL’s collection that discuss this contentious issue. The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office by David Blumenthal and James Morone A fascinating account of the history of America’s health care policy and...

"Everything I do, I do on the principle of Russian Borsch. You can throw everything into it beets, carrots, cabbage, onions, everything you want. What's important is the result, the taste of the borscht.” –Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet I thought that Russian beet soup - Borscht (aka: borsht, barszcz, and borshch) was the ultimate Russia dish. But upon further research, I found out that it is the traditional dish of Ukrainia. But borscht has traveled as far and as wide as immigrants from the former Republics of the U.S.S.R. – and with many variations. It can be made with (or without) carrots, onions, salo (that’s pork fat), tomatoes, coriander seed, cabbage, potatoes, and various kinds of meat. Sometimes borscht is thick, sometimes it’s thin. Sour cream is optional, but beetroots are usually not! And it is often served with vodka. In a James Meek’s fascinating article The Story of Borshch (The Guardian, 15 March 2008) , I read that the borscht comes from the Slav word...

In preparation for the 30th anniversary of the National Women’s History Project , I tested my knowledge of women’s history with a quiz from the organization’s web site . I won’t tell you my final score, because it’s embarrassing. Not only did I not know who the first woman to run for President was, I had no idea the first woman to even run for President was in 1872 . 2010's overarching theme, Writing Women Back into History , alludes to how women’s history seems to be written in “invisible ink;” their contributions tend to be omitted from historical recollections. This year’s theme highlights pivotal themes from years past, covering women’s achievements in numerous areas (e.g., ecology, art, sports, politics, etc.). Our collection contains many jewels available to you for celebrating National Women's History Month. Take a look in our online catalog to find items about women's history of interest to you. A sampling includes: Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised our Nation...