Mercer County Library Blog

As the new school year approaches - in whatever format it may take - I can't help but think about September 2019 when my nephew started Kindergarten. During Back to School Night, his teacher announced that the children would be expected to learn 90 sight words by the end of Kindergarten. Throughout the year, he struggled with various aspects of school; who could have guessed that the toddler that refused to speak would be such a chatty 5 year old! By March he had settled down and was doing really well. Then life changed for everyone. Like most parents, my sister-in-law turned into a full time teacher to a Pre-schooler and Kindergartener, in addition to everything else that she does. Trying to teach those sight words became a bit of a trial. We brainstormed a ways to make reinforcing them fun. Here are a few ideas that may help make learning letters, numbers, shapes, and sight words a little more playful: Use play dough or shaving cream to make letters, numbers, or even spell out si...

For over fifty years, the Booker Prize has been awarded annually for outstanding literary works of fiction penned in the English language. The award process starts with a limited number of nominations submitted by publishers, from which a panel comprising several literary icons make selections for the Booker Longlist. The much-anticipated Longlist, comprising thirteen works of fiction, was announced earlier in July. What is fascinating is the large number of debut novels and women authors that feature in the selections this year. A shortlist from this collection is expected in September and the final winner of the Booker Prize will be announced during a ceremony on October 27th. Speaking about the thirteen books in the Booker Longlist, Margaret Busby, Chair of the 2020 panel of judges, eloquently says: “Each of these books carries an impact that has earned it a place on the longlist, deserving of wide readership. Included are novels carried by the sweep of history with memorable char...

What lives in your yard? This is a question we don’t think about too often, but we should if we’d like to be eco-conscious. Backyard creatures are facing habitat loss and we can easily help by taking a few simple steps to make our yards more friendly to small creatures such as birds, rabbits, bees, butterflies and frogs. Below are some things to consider in order to create a wildlife-friendly habitat in your yard. They are easy to do, are generally inexpensive and don’t require a lot of space. Many of them can even be accomplished on a balcony. Food : Food sources can be man-made, such as birdfeeders and hummingbird feeders, or natural, like pollen and seeds provided by plants. Water : A simple birdbath is a great water source. Of course, man-made ponds or naturally occurring ponds or streams can provide water as well. Shelter : Backyard creatures need places to take shelter, live and raise young. Rock, stick or ...

Have you ever been watching TV and seen a commercial for a book, hear a title mentioned on a daily news program, or even seen a movie or show based on a book and decided to Google the title before searching the library’s catalog?  It’s okay if you have, we’ve all done it, but did you know that Google search can connect you with the library’s catalog? Let’s say I’m watching TV and I see a commercial for the new James Patterson book and I want to know more about it, a quick Google search can tell me a lot in the Knowledge Panel on the right side of the screen as you can see below: You can read a summary of the novel, get the publication information, and where to buy it and how much it will cost.  If you scroll further down you see a section called Borrow, this section searches for local libraries with linked data and lets you know what they have available. In the case of James Patterson’s “1st Case,” you will see that the Mercer County Library System has an audiobook, a hardcove...

Drawing and painting can be a really rewarding experience. Taking the time to lay out a design or recreate an image using what you have can allow you to find something beautiful in the every day. If you really focus on an image, eyes that look blue may really have hints of green and grey in them with a splash of white and black. All of these colors together is what makes the eyes unique and special. You can tell a lot from lines and texture. Are the eyes smiling? Have they seen a lot of life? Are they hopeful for the future? These past few weeks I have been exploring visual art as a storytelling medium. Where is the drawing taking place? What does the landscape consist of? Is it a peaceful and calm day at the beach or a slightly chaotic but fun day at home? Who are the main characters? The library is a great place for stories. In fact, our summer reading theme this year is “Imagine Your Story.” What better way to imagine your story than through art? Picture book illustrators tell stori...

As I write this, we are stuck in the midst of heatwave here in New Jersey with temperatures in the nineties, but feeling hotter with that yucky humidity. Yet I remind myself that as bad as it is, I’ve known worse. In parts of the Middle East – mainly in the early and late summer - there is hot dry wind which often blows for several days at a time. With it comes intense heat along with sand and dust. Coming out of the deserts of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, it can cause the temperature to rise more than 10 degrees within just a few hours. Because this wind occurs approximately fifty days in a year, it is known as a “khamsin”, the Arabic word for “fifty”. It affects Egypt in particular and is a real nuisance there, but also affects neighboring countries; Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel. In Israel, the term khamsin is used by Hebrew and Arabic speakers alike. Allegedly, a khamsin can affect human behavior - and not in the best of ways. Some believe it causes depression, anxiety, irrita...

Reading for pleasure is an important part of life at any time of year, but for many of us, summer is a special time to indulge in a good book. Summer is a time for reading those books we often don’t allow ourselves because they’re “trash” or “fluff,” which usually just means they’re too much fun! Now, I believe that every time of year is perfect for fun reading, but I’m going to take advantage of this time to share one of my favorite reading tricks with you. When we’re looking for something fun to read, one of the first places we look is the New York Times Best Seller list. This is a great way to find books to read, but the problem is that everyone else wants to read those books, too, so by the time your hold on the “book of the summer” arrives at the library, it probably won’t be summer anymore! When that happens to me, I use my time machine and pretend it’s the summer of 2012, or 2018, or even 1996. There were “books of the summer” in those years, too, which are thankfully still just...

For many, quarantine has meant having more time for exploring new hobbies and learning new skills. Learning to write code is an exciting and challenging hobby that will deepen your understanding of computers and open up a world of possibilities creatively and intellectually. Getting started can be intimidating, but fortunately there is a plethora of resources both online and at Mercer County Public Library to help you begin your journey! But don’t you need to be good at math? Nope! Programming is much more about logic, patterns, and problem solving than arithmetic. Although they are helpful, lacking quantitative skills should not discourage you from giving it a try. If you’d like to brush up on those too, LearningExpressLibrary  is a great free resource to help you along. Rest assured that a computer and a decent mastery of typing are all you need to begin. To get started with learning to code, choose a programming language. Different programming languages are used for writing diff...