Mercer County Library Blog

Did you know that March is Social Work Month? First celebrated in 1963, it is meant to build public support for the profession and raise awareness of all the wonderful things that social workers do. Every year, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the main professional organization for the field, picks a theme for Social Work Month that represents the current climate. This year they have designated the theme as “ Social Workers Uplift. Defend. Transform.” This captures the many different ways that social workers help people and improve their communities. Qualification to be a Social Worker What makes someone a social worker? Social worker is a professional title that designates anyone who has received a degree in the field. There are three levels of social work degrees: Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)/Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW), Master of Social Work (MSW), and Doctor of Social Work (DSW). Social work education focuses on how different systems (social experi...

Children often don’t encounter standard-sized fonts (like Times New Roman 12-point) until third or fourth grade, since early elementary books usually use larger print. I was a student at the top of my class, but something had happened to me as soon as the fonts became smaller. Some of my issues midway through elementary school included:      ■  Falling asleep after 15 minutes of reading, particularly if I did not find the book meaningful, fun, or interesting;      ■  Taking too long to read due to a combination of re-reading the same lines, eye strain, and headaches;     ■  Never finishing any books as an elementary school kid except for Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and The Giver by Lois Lowry;     ■  Feeling sad when adults said to me, “You’re really smart; you must read a lot!” because my options seemed like I could lie and nod my head at their belief, or explain...

When I was younger, I often complained that I didn’t like salad. It wasn't the salad itself that bothered me—I would happily pick out carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and my personal favorite, olives, and eat them. It was the lettuce that I objected to; it just seemed so bland. As a child, we always had iceberg, and it wasn't until I was well into adulthood that I discovered there are different types of lettuce! It took me longer than it should have to start experimenting with salads. Over the past few years, I’ve really enjoyed mixing arugula and spinach. One of my quick lunch favorites is toasted naan topped with ricotta cheese, red onion, and a spring mix. I absolutely love a good steak salad on flatbread. My current go-to salad features a spinach and arugula base with cucumbers, red onion, fresh mozzarella, olives, apples, pecans, and grilled chicken. I also recently discovered that whisking a little hot honey into my store-bought balsamic dressing enhances the flavor and adds...

“Why would you do that?” was my friend’s response to hearing that I want to run a marathon in April of 2025. We had done a single semester of track & field together back in high school, where I had 1. Been rejected from the cross-country squad because I was too slow during tryouts and 2. Consistently finished last in every single track meet after joining the sprinting squad instead. Both of us ended up leaving the team after one semester to focus on orchestra. Fast-forward to today, I’ve been running consistently for about four years, having started during the COVID lockdown. Easy explanation: I do it because I love it. Boring explanation: I do it because it helps me stay healthy. Lukewarm explanation: I do it so I have something to small-talk about at work that isn’t too personal. Too personal explanation: I do it because I got off of antidepressants and I needed something to fill that void. Weird explanation: I do it because my favorite author wrote a running memoir and I wanted...

Every January I see the same saying everywhere I go – “new year, new you.” I initially interpreted it as an aspirational slogan to improve yourself from the previous year, but now I feel like it’s being overused and just has a strong connection with improving one’s physical health. While physical wellness is important, it’s not the only thing that we should focus on. Too often our mental wellness gets overlooked or is just not discussed. Especially among tweens and teens. Working as a Youth Services Librarian has given me the chance to get to know kids and teens of all ages from the community. I enjoy this part of my job so much and because of that I have been able to see that our tweens and teens face a lot of challenges - from school assignments and part-time jobs, to pressure from friends and/or social media, and figuring out what they want to do post high school. So, it’s no wonder that today’s tweens and teens are facing anxiety, depression, and bullying at alarming rates. Wheth...

November is Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) founded this awareness month to bring attention to celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders. Their mission is to improve the lives of those in the celiac and gluten-free communities by educating about the gluten-free diet. If you or a friend or family member follows a gluten-free diet, you don’t have to miss out on delicious food this holiday season. The Mercer County Library System has many holiday cookbooks for you to check out! Gluten-Free Small Bites – eBook “The voice behind glutenfreeonashoestring.com, Nicole's been making gluten-free goodies that are delicious as they are safe for nearly ten years. Indulge in her new recipes for Crab Rangoon, Cheddar Hush Puppies, Fried Pickle Chips, Mozzarella Sticks, Pizza Pinwheels, Miniature Mac and Cheese Cups, Spanakopita Bites. . . and more!” – Provided by publisher Something Sweet: 100+ Gluten-Free Recipes for Delicious Dess...

My former co-worker, Tom, is a beer aficionado. If you’ve read my beer-related post of November 2018 , you’ll know I credit him with teaching me what to look for to find beer I enjoy. Since then, I’ve visited several more craft breweries in New Jersey and have recently branched out into Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The impetus for this branching was discovering the Bucks County Ale Trail . Here was a framework to explore the county across the river and become better acquainted with the towns I may only have heard of or driven through before. One of my best memories of the summer is visiting Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Perkasie is home to at least three craft breweries – I have tried one, the Van Lieus Brewing Company .  The reason the town brings up good memories is because I had walked a trail there many years ago and had been trying to find the name of it for the past few years.  All I could vaguely remember was that there was a carousel up on a hill, a pedestrian sus...