Mercer County Library Blog

As a librarian, it may come as no surprise that I am very interested in organization. Good organization is key to helping patrons find what they need to achieve success. When a patron asks a librarian for help finding a book they want, librarians are often able to find the book within minutes of the request. This is thanks to the cataloger who gave the book a call number, a librarian who designated a spot on the shelf for the book, and the shelvers and circulation staff who help return the book to the shelf once it has been checked out. Through all of this teamwork, we can find any book we have with a moment’s notice. Marie Kondo, author of the famous, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing , has devoted her life to helping the public achieve great organization in their own homes and workplaces. Through her organizational wisdom, many people have learned how to put into practice “less is more.” One of the...

I remember the times when my father would hit the bottle. This was back when ketchup came in glass bottles and getting it out of the bottle could be a daunting task, especially if you wanted some with your fries before they got cold. They’ve since been replaced by those new-fangled plastic squeeze bottles, and aside from the nostalgia, most consumers don’t seem to miss the glass ones. However, many restaurants still use the glass bottles. Turning the bottle upside down, Dad would give it some vigorous shakes, then pound the bottom with the heel of his hand. When the contents slowly started trickling downwards, some open palm slapping would ensue until sometimes the thick red sauce would suddenly gush out, practically drowning the food. I don’t think that bothered him too much, having ketchup with his food or food with his ketchup, either was generally okay. The only caveat was that it had to be Heinz Ketchup. As for the other sort of “bottle”, the most a...

I have never been one to make a New Year’s resolution. The reasoning is pretty clear to me. No matter what the resolution might be, I have serious doubts I’d make it through a week, let alone a year.  But that doesn’t mean I am against anyone else giving it their best shot. And while we’re already a couple of weeks into the new year, it shouldn’t stop anyone from giving any sort of self-improvement a try. No matter what a person might be trying to make better about themselves or their surroundings, resources to get the task done are readily available from the Mercer County Library System. Whether you’re looking for pointers on saving money, eating better, fixing up your home, or just about anything else, the MCLS collection is full of information to make it happen. Looking to save money or get your finances in order? Mercer County Library offers many books on investing for those who are new to that world. Organizing your finances and making investments isn’t easy, so before you tak...

Somehow, we made it to 2022. Yay us! Will it be better than 2021? We hope, but before we plan for the new year, let’s dive into MCLS’s music collection, and look at some of the top albums of 2021. Kaesha’s High Road debuted in January of 2021 and is available in our collection as a physical CD . I have to say I’m rooting for Kesha. She’s been through a lot and managed to survive, thrive, and express her creativity as only she can. High Road is a unique blend of pop, electro, rock, and country; the kind of blend only Kesha could deliver coherently…well…somewhat coherently. If you are a fan of Kesha’s, you might appreciate that this album is a mix of her early wild child persona and the more grown up, more vulnerable artist she shared on her previous album, Rainbow. The lead single for this album was “Raising Hell” featuring the queen of bounce, Big Freedia. “Raising Hell” is a mix of pop, rock, gospel, and bounce and felt like a triumphant return to the joyful energy for which Kesha ...

My baby pillow My Great Grandma When I was a young girl around ten years old, my great grandmother introduced me to the world of crocheting. Before this time, I saw her making blankets for members of my family and I always had a blanket that had been hand made by her on my bed. I actually have a pillow she made for me as an infant that I still sleep with. Until that day, I always thought crocheting and knitting were something only older people did. I never thought I could learn to make things. One day while she was visiting, she decided it was time I learned how to crochet. My great grandmother started me off with the very first stitch you make when starting a blanket, the chain stitch. I loved it, and would go through skeins of yarn making a giant chain stitch! My friend next door started working on making chains too, and we thought we could be in The Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s longest chain stitch. That idea ended by the time school started, but my love ...