Mercer County Library Blog

Hunting for a job has always been a daunting process, but in the year 2025, it is even more so. Today, the workforce places greater and greater demands on potential employees. Standards are high, and the competition can feel overwhelming. So how can you, the job-seeker, help strengthen your chances in today’s market? By being educated. Know what resources are available to you, and take full advantage of them. The Mercer County Library System is an excellent resource to have at your disposal. We are happy to help! One of the areas that people often struggle with when job searching is their résumé. To make yourself more desirable to the employer, your résumé should be tailored to the individual position for which you are applying. This can help you stand out in the crowd. How can you connect your résumé to the job posting? Look for keywords that stand out and phrases that are repeated. These are what the employer is stressing as desirable qualifications. If you have them, make them know...

We can all use more humor in our lives, especially during times of stress. There is an old saying that tragedy plus time equals comedy, and many different people have said this over the years. The website Quote Investigator refers to an American print example from a February 1957 Cosmopolitan interview with comedian, writer, and actor Steve Allen, in which he says: “Man jokes about the things that depress him, but he usually waits till a certain amount of time has passed…. I guess you can make a mathematical formula out of it. Tragedy plus time equals comedy. ” The site also goes on to reference earlier writings, including “the prominent English novelist Thomas Hardy penn[ing] a letter in 1889 containing the following thematically related statement: All comedy, is tragedy, if you only look deep enough into it. ” This explains the adult tendency towards “dark humor;” those jokes about things that we might consider serious or even tragic in other contexts. Laughter and humor can be use...

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...

I have a confession: I am a librarian who, for a long while, wasn’t reading much. Now, is the library just about books? Of course not. As public libraries continue to evolve and offer all sorts of services to their patrons, like arts and crafts activities, computer classes, and job help, librarians still hold reading (or listening to audiobooks!) in the highest regard. Do any basic search on your preferred search engine about the benefits of reading and you’ll find many, including reducing stress, improving brain function, and building empathy. For me, the question was simple: how do I read more? I was looking through past Mercer County Library System blog posts to see if any of my colleagues had written about this before. One such post, written by my colleague Lydia, particularly resonated with me. She discusses the distractions that often get in the way of reading, and the methods she used to start reading more (an interesting one is due dates). After this I looked to find more te...

As a children’s librarian, I help children and parents find books. “Miss Grace, where are the truck books?” and “Do you have princess books?” and “What historical fiction books would you recommend?” We look through the book shelves and pull out options and soon the family is on their way with their next fun read. Occasionally, a parent asks me to help them find a book for their child on a difficult topic, such as the loss of a pet or the loss of a grandparent. Grief is sad, challenging, and frustrating for an adult to process and it may be overwhelming and confusing to find a way to discuss it with a child. A picture book may be a great vessel to open the conversation to these complex life circumstances. The term bibliotherapy refers to using books to help someone’s mental health. Children may relate to the story or find tools in the story to help them. If you are looking for books on grief for children, I encourage you to read the book several times ahead of time to make su...

Nice weather has arrived, which means it’s time for some deep house cleaning! Spring or summer, it doesn’t matter: It’s always the right time to take a fine-tooth comb (and some garbage bags!) to the basement, the attic, the back of closets, under beds, in the garage, around the yard, and maybe even a storage unit! But, before we clean, we need to remove stuff to make the task easier. Unfortunately, for many of us, getting rid of clutter, and saying goodbye to things, can be a challenge. We panic, and think: What if I need it again?; I spent a lot of money on that; Maybe someday I'll wear it; It’s sentimental; It’s cute; and a slew of other excuses for holding on to things. Can you feel the tension created by all the extra stuff around you? All the space you could use for something else? Have you ever just let go of some stuff, not missed it the next day, and felt a sense of relief when it was gone? It’s time to purge the clutter and clean your home! Below are a few books from ...

Recently, while doing some shopping, I suddenly caught a whiff of someone’s cologne, and BAM. I was back in college, laying on the grass with my boyfriend in City Hall Park in Burlington, Vermont. Most of us have had similar experiences. We catch a scent of vanilla and we’re back in our grandmother’s kitchen at the holidays or just suddenly feel very warm, cozy, and cared for. A hint of cow manure on the road can bring back happy childhood memories of visiting a local farm to see baby calves or take pony rides. The smell of institutional cleanser brings back reminders of a loved one’s stay in hospital. Memory and scent are inextricably linked. Frequently, we don’t realize the powerful role scent plays in our lives until we are smacked in the nose (and heart) by it. Research has shown that our sense of smell plays a strong role in memory. We often go through our days somewhat passively, experiencing scents without really thinking about them, enjoying beautiful smells that we notice, an...