Mercer County Library Blog

Humans don’t have quite the close relationship with reptiles that we do with dogs and cats (with a few exceptions). We don’t hear as much about conservation of reptiles as we do about the bumbling giant panda or the clever orangutan. I’m even willing to bet that the average person doesn’t think about lizards on a daily basis. But humans are connected to nature in ways we don’t often expect, in ways that we might not ever realize. Over the years, reptiles have inspired a number of scientific advancements. You may have seen Ozempic and Wegovy in the news; originally used to treat diabetes, the semaglutide series of drugs are now making record profits as a weight-loss implement. What you may not have known is that the active compound in these drugs was originally discovered in the venom of Gila monsters and then synthesized after decades of research. Studying the mechanics of reptile scales has led to breakthroughs in adhesive and gripping technology, as well as an ultra-slippery stee...

Hello from Interlibrary Loan! Interlibrary loan (ILL) is one of the many services that Mercer County Library System offers. If our library system doesn’t own a book, ILL tries to borrow the book from other libraries around the state or around the nation. We also reciprocate that relationship with other libraries when their patrons would like to read a book their own library doesn’t own. When we borrow books, we start looking for an available copy in New Jersey first. Sometimes a nearby library like Hamilton Public, Hopewell Public, or Princeton Public kindly lets us borrow a book from them. We love when this happens as it means we can fulfill the request quickly. If there’s not a copy available in a neighboring library, then we look to the rest of the nation for help. We have worked with libraries all across the country! The library we’ve worked with that’s the farthest from us is Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library, Alaska, which is more than 4,000 miles away from the Lawrenc...

As school and public libraries continue to be targeted with challenges to their collections, I really enjoyed watching this documentary about the librarians around the country who are striving to protect the rights of readers. The Librarians has been screened at more than 50 domestic and international film festivals since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, and has earned 22 awards as of this writing. It is being broadcast until May 9 by PBS Independent Lens. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the librarians who is featured in the film. Martha Hickson, now retired, was an award-winning school librarian at North Hunterdon (NJ) High School when a parent began organizing to try to remove books such as Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison from shelves--without following collection development procedures. Hickson’s resistance to removing these titles led to her receiving online threats and in-person harassment. Other librarians in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana endured the same. While depic...

If you visited the Lawrence Headquarters Branch last year, you might have seen a transformation occurring in our front garden beds — especially the birth of our native plant meadow. Have you noticed a magnificent chaos beginning to bloom outside the library doors this season? What may have once looked like an unkempt lawn is becoming a vibrant native plant meadow, a living extension of our Mercer County Library System's mission to foster growth and learning. By replacing traditional manicured grass with native species, we are doing more than just landscaping; we are restoring a vital ecosystem. These plants — like Creeping Phlox, the pollinator-favorite Purple Coneflower, and Purple love grass — are specially adapted to our local climate. Unlike typical lawns, this meadow requires no fertilizer and, once established, survives on rainfall alone. In the gardening world I came across what seems to be a common saying for perennials:  "The first year they sleep, the second y...

Several years ago, the Mercer County Library System launched a community poetry donation project. As I reviewed the donated books, I noticed a recurring theme in the publication notes: many poets expressed heartfelt gratitude to a particular mentor who had inspired and guided their poetic journeys. The name stood out to me—not just for its frequency, but for its familiarity: Professor Alicia Ostriker, an acclaimed poet and scholar. Her influence and generosity come as no surprise. Years ago, I had the privilege of studying Bible literature under her at Rutgers, where she was a beloved professor of English and Creative Writing for forty years. The class was small and intimate, enriched by lively weekly discussions. She invited us to join her for poetry readings and open mic nights at a local coffee shop, cultivating a warm and welcoming space for budding voices. On the final day of class, she brought wine to celebrate our journey together. It was then that I truly began to pay attentio...

You know what’s a really fun thing to do? Vote! In what other way can you put your opinions, values, and beliefs out there, but in private, and no one can tell you that your choices are wrong? Pretty cool, right? Speaking of rights, many societies don’t enjoy this one. And we Americans have certainly struggled to expand it to more of our fellow citizens. But our right to vote is enshrined in several Constitutional amendments and legislative acts. Those worried about election integrity can keep in mind that even federal elections are managed by individual states and municipalities. Though Congress and states set the rules, there is, by design, no national administration of elections in the United States. The hard truth about voting is that after an election is over, you may find the results aren’t what you hoped for. But you know what? They definitely will not reflect your choices if you and others sit it out. It’s that simple. Now that I have you excited about voting, did you know...

Summer is here and many people take time to travel. While some travel abroad, sometimes we forget that there is so much to see right here in the United States. What better way to see the US than a road trip? Road tripping may not be appealing to everyone, but it is a great way to take in the majestic beauty of the country. I have taken many road trips, from short distances to thousands of miles. I have learned that there are several things that must be done to prepare for a trip. First is to plan your route. What is the destination that you are looking for? For most places there are many different routes that you can take. However, I feel the most important thing to consider are the options along the way. Interesting stops, sites to see, and fun activities to do. Taking the time to explore local towns - sometimes just the local food is well worth the stop! This step can take some considerable research but is well worth the time. Add in spontaneous stops, too - you never know what you ...

If you are a fiber lover, may your yarn never split and your works never need to be frogged. If you aren’t a yarn lover, welcome! We accept everyone who appreciates the simple beauty of yarn, especially the squishiness and softness of it. Now you may be wondering why I’m extolling the virtues of yarn – it’s because something important is coming up… New Jersey Wool Walk 2025! For those who don’t know, a wool walk is equivalent to a bar crawl or, for those younger, trying to eat something in every country at Disney’s Epcot. The whole event is a centered around the love people have for yarn and to celebrate Local Yarn Store Day (typically the last Saturday of April) by supporting all of your favorite independent shops. This year, there are 22 shops located throughout New Jersey participating in the wool walk. They stretch the whole state, from Biscotte Yarns Knitting Store in Northvale all the way down to String Theory in Absecon. If you want to visit a shop within Mercer County then ...

I have often visited the big tourist cities of the world like Venice, Rome, and London. But I also like to escape the crowds when I’m travelling by going to the odd, forgotten, and out-of-the-way places neglected by other tourists. If you’re tired of art museums and group tours, you can find your way to little corners of obscurity in even the most visited places in the world. One way to escape the crowds is to visit the most peaceful places in the urban jungle – cemeteries. Roaming through a cemetery may seem an odd way to get to know a city, but they contain as much art and history as some of the greatest museums, as well as being calm and pleasant spaces. And you get the chance to visit a lot of celebrities, although they probably won’t be able to sign an autograph for you. Some of my favorite travel memories are seeing the tombs of famous people like Oscar Wilde and Marcel Proust in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, and Stravinsky in the cemetery island of San Michele in the Ven...

One of my colleagues at the library went on vacation last summer and told me about a cool activity she and her family tried – railbiking! I was intrigued. As you may know from reading other posts I’ve written, I’m a big hiker. I used to bike a lot when I was younger but have gotten out of the habit – this sounded like a way I could do some biking but in a completely new way. A railbike looks a lot like an old-fashioned railroad handcar – one of those things you might remember seeing in Westerns or cartoons. Instead of having to pump a handle to move, you and one-to-three of your friends sit in a recumbent bike position and peddle. The railbike has special wheels – like what’s on a train – so it can ride on railroad tracks. There are many railbiking companies around but the one I used is Revolution Rail in North Creek, New York. They also have a railbike tour in Cape May, New Jersey . Once railbiking was decided upon, the next step was to build a trip around that activity. North Cree...

Books, DVDs, passes to museums, computer classes. Story times, programs for adults, copiers, scanners, eBooks and audiobooks. The list of what the Mercer County Library System provides goes on and on; it’s almost a struggle to keep up with it all. And whether you are a new member or have been coming here for 30 years, odds are there are some services you may have missed.  For example, did you know that the Mercer County Library System has notary publics on staff? That’s right – the library system offers notary public services for the benefit of the residents of Mercer County- all for free! A Notary at Work by Max Volkhart Since the days of the ancient Roman Republic, notary publics - sometimes called scribes, tabelliones forenses , or personae publicae - have acted as witnesses, administered oaths and affirmations and, perhaps what they are most commonly known for, validated the signatures of those signing documents. All o...