Mercer County Library Blog

I recently had a parent ask for books for a child transitioning to a big kid bed. It was my pleasure to find several books that tackled the subject. Picture books are a great way to help children make transitions. There is a 2018 study found in Frontiers in Psychology entitled “The Role of Book Features in Young Children’s Transfer of Information from Picture Books to Real-World Contexts”. The study covers a lot of territory but concludes with the very easy-to-understand-and-implement fact that having a conversation during the reading of a book supports learning and that talking and reading together makes any book-reading session fun and educational. When my kids were little (and before I went to library school), I thought picture books were just for a laugh or for learning to read. I wish I knew at the time that a good picture book could help with easing those common childhood transitions. These are my kids with a treat after the first day of school many years ago. A treat also hel...

My favorite thing about kayaking is how quiet it is. I feel like I can get close to nature without disturbing it, like I’m spying on another world. Kayaking in autumn is particularly special. Changing leaves are reflected in the water. Migrating birds means sighting species I wouldn’t ordinarily encounter. Cooler weather and no crowds don’t hurt either. I’ve been paddling in waters from Maine to Florida, and every place has been unique. But, I don’t have to go far to feel like I’m on an exotic wildlife adventure. Kayaking in New Jersey is full of variety - from rapids in the Pine Barrens, to a lake under the roller coasters at Six Flags, to the salt marshes of Island Beach State Park. Even close by, the waters seem to have secrets only for those on the water. In Mercer County Park, I’ve seen turtles and herons, coasting up close enough to touch them. In the Delaware Canal near Princeton, a muskrat raced us, swimming along the bank. Most of these places I’ve found using the following ...

Throughout the year, themed months offer us an opportunity to focus on specific communities of people. While it is important to celebrate diversity throughout the calendar year, I find that these months (e.g., Black History Month, Jewish Heritage Month, Disability Pride Month) serve as a welcome time to inventory my personal reading so that I can both work towards my goal of broadening my perspective, and help patrons of all backgrounds find books that represent them.  If you are someone who wants to celebrate the backgrounds of your neighbors, friends, and possibly family, themed months can prompt the focus on doing so. Here, at the Mercer County Library System, we offer programming devoted to an expanding assortment of important cultural dates and themed months. The next nationally themed month is Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15). Keep on reading for book suggestions to help you celebrate the diverse and rich global Hispanic...

One of the best parts of being a librarian is when a patron comes to the reference desk and discusses a book that they discovered simply while browsing through the stacks and then found very meaningful. Likewise, a patron may be browsing and re-discover an old favorite. Some of these books are new and some I have read. This, to me, represents one of the great aspects of libraries – they enable both the mind and the individual to wander and encounter the known and unknown, the past and new adventures, and ways of looking at the world. There are particular books which patrons have found very meaningful and I recall our conversations about them with poignancy – both the books that have been meaningful to me and the books with which I become familiar with through our conversations. The Alchemist by Paula Coelho has long been hailed as a modern classic of inspiration on the road of life’s journey. Its lessons are universal and the book speaks to many people at a deep level. The Alchemist ...

I have become an empty nester at a fairly young age. We started a family quite early. I was only 21 years old when I had my first baby boy, and then had two more by the time I was 24. When my children started growing, their appetites grew also. There was a long stretch of time when no matter how much I cooked, it was never enough! I remember many times when I cooked several dishes at once, thinking that the quantity would be enough to last at least two days. I would come home from work, anticipating a hot meal, only to find that the pots and pans were licked clean!  Well, the kids are all out of the house and now I find myself cooking for two instead of (what seemed like) an army and it is quite an adjustment. While it may seem like an easy adjustment, it is still difficult for me to cook so that we do not end up eating the same meal for many days. So naturally, I turned to the Mercer County Library System website! I ordered cookbooks that were specifically focused on cooking for ...

I spend a lot of time thinking about art. The more I learn, the less I seem to know. In some philosophies, I think that makes me a wise person. Loaded today in the film projector of my mind is a visit we took to a local museum when I was in middle school. As the tour was winding up, my class formed a circle around three metal blocks that were stacked on top of each other near the museum entrance. The resounding opinion was, and I’m censoring myself here, “That is not art.” To our surprise, a man emerged from the fog of our war on aesthetics and promptly yelled at us. He was, or so he claimed, the person who had sculpted the blocks, and he scolded us for knowing nothing about art. I think about that experience a lot. On one hand, it was highly entertaining. On the other, it speaks to an ongoing issue about the nature of art and who, exactly, it’s for. You, MCL Blog reader, may have some notions or hesitations about art yourself. For this blog post, and you...

At the reference desk, I love to hear, “Do you have a poetry section?” We certainly do! I look after the poetry collection at the West Windsor branch, so I love to introduce it to library patrons. I have noticed that, while patrons looking for novels or biographies tend to want a specific book, poetry seekers often want to browse. In the mood for poetry? Here is my guide to browsing. Not all our poetry is in one place. It is mostly in the 800 section of the Dewey Decimal System, and begins in the 808s, which includes anthologies and collections with multiple literary genres. Then, collections by individual American poets are found in 811, organized by last name. 821 is English (and Old English) poetry, 831 German poetry in translation, 841 French poetry in translation. Are you seeing a pattern here? 851 Italian, 861 Spanish and Portuguese, 871 Latin, and 881 Greek and related Hellenic Languages – all in English translation or bilingual editions. Now, Mr. Melvil Dewey was a privileged...