Mercer County Library Blog

In 2015, the United Nations declared that February 11 would be the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The purpose of this day is to encourage more participation of women and girls in the science fields. More information is on their website:  International Day of Women and Girls in Science | United Nations . According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2019, “[d]espite making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, women are still vastly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. Women made gains – from 8% of STEM workers in 1970 to 27% in 2019 – but men still dominated the field. Men made up 52% of all U.S. workers but 73% of all STEM workers.” ( Women Making Gains in STEM Occupations but Still Underrepresented (census.gov) ) The Mercer County Library System has a wealth of resources for girls and women interested in science. Books for adults include: 10 Women Who Changed Science, and the ...

Welcome to a brand new feature on the MCLS blog!. Throughout the year, we will periodically share essays written about books and library life by members of our Teen Advisory Board (TAB) . The TAB provides opportunities for service by teens. Our members help with programming, suggest books for purchase, and write the quarterly TAB magazine.  Today we are sharing three essays: Sayam Goyal writes about the importance of libraries in his life ; Samantha Gunton shares her experiences as a dedicated reader ; and Lina Abtouche speaks to the value of public libraries in the modern age . Enjoy this special perspective from Mercer County teens!

Dear Tech Guru, Recently a friend shared a tweet: There are two types of people. Those who delete the question mark and everything to the right of it in shared URLs and those who have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m one of those people who have no idea what the tweet is talking about. What is everything to the right of the question mark, and should I delete it? Signed, U__R__L__ Dear U__R__L__ Great question! Many of us know that a URL is a web address that will take us to a webpage. For example, if you type “mcl.org” into a search browser’s address bar, it will take you to the library’s website. This simple URL is called a domain; everything after the domain is directions to the correct file or page on a website. Take, for example, this page with information on Women’s History Month programs - mcl.org/womens-history-month/ .  Everything between the two forward slashes (/) tells the web browser which specific page to direct you to. If you wanted to sign up for one of tho...

Over the years I have come to appreciate the comforting familiarity of a Hallmark movie. Watching two people fall in love, surrounded by supportive family and friends, navigating between careers and relationships, all while attending local festivals and charity events, is a great way to end the day. The Hallmark Channel does a beautiful job of making every environment feel festive, especially around the holidays. The Mercer County Library System (MCLS) is a great resource for Hallmark Channel fans. Hallmark movies can be watched two ways – on DVDs and through our streaming service hoopla. For those interested in watching Hallmark movies on DVD, I have a few recommendations. A good way to start looking for DVDs on the MCLS catalog is to type “Hallmark” in the search bar. Limit your results to DVDs by selecting “DVDs” from the drop-down menu to the left of the search bar. Another way is by using the filters sidebar on the left. Simply check the box next to “DVD” in the “Material Type” ...

A couple of months ago, library staff were alerted to a new database being made available to our patrons: CreativeBug. The flyer promised free access to thousands of art and craft classes – well, I said, this sounds like it was made for me! Like many, I have spent any number of hours dropping down YouTube rabbit holes exploring various craft ideas – and being frustrated by poor quality recordings, useless materials links, and too much show-and-tell and not enough how-to --plus, all the usual irritations of the internet. CreativeBug seemed to be promising that I would find well produced video lessons on how to do lots of stuff, so I jumped right in. First, I browsed instructors – and found some names & faces I recognized – people who I followed on Instagram. Then, I searched a few crafts that interested me – I found some likely-looking programs and settled in to see how it all worked. I was impressed. Watched a few more. Still impressed. I have done a few of the projects, some ...

February 2, 2023 marked the 101st anniversary of the publication in book form of James Joyce’s magnum opus Ulysses . (It had been serialized previously in a journal called The Little Review starting in 1918.) Joyce contrived to have his modern re-telling of Homer’s Odyssey published on February 2 because it was his 40th birthday. Joyce’s birthday is not the only date of personal significance to him that played a role in the saga of the writing of Ulysses : An even more salient date had a part. (More on that below).  It’s difficult to think of a 20th-century literary novel more influential than Ulysses . Some, doubtless, are more popular, have sold better over the years; but aficionados of Ulysses tend to be borderline-fanatical about their beloved epic. Every year, on June16, the day in 1904 on which the events in Ulysses take place (and which Joyce encouraged his acolytes to call “ Bloomsday ”, a challenge legions of readers of Ulysses accepted and embraced), there are publi...

In this fast-paced world in which we are living right now, I often feel as if I never have enough time. There are always tasks to finish and the work continues to pile up with no end in sight. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all that needs to be done at work as well as at home. Creating a work and home life balance that works for me is something I have been trying to focus on recently. I find that when I am well rested and come to work, I am excited and ready for the workday and to face all the challenges that may come my way. On days that I am overwhelmed with my work load at home or at work, I am unable to eat healthy, and my sleep and mood are affected as well. It is a necessity to find techniques to increase productivity without sacrificing my health. In order to create such a balance, an understanding of time management and the attempt to prioritize tasks are necessary. For individuals who work outside the home and have to manage home life, there are a few things to think about....

Do you hold the door open for people? Pick up litter? Do little things to improve another person’s day? Those are Random Acts of Kindness! This year we celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17 th , but kindness is something that we should practice as often as possible. Positive feelings can be infectious and doing something nice for someone can make them want to pay the feeling forward. It also makes you feel good to do something nice for another person. One of the best ways to teach your child to be kind is to model the behavior. My nephews ask me why they have to say please and thank you all the time (usually after they demand juice or a snack and I just look at them unmoving). My short answer to them is because I don’t want to do nice things for people that are rude to me. The longer answer ties into the idea that the quality of kindness goes hand in hand with other positive traits, like empathy, generosity, and respect. All of thos...

When I was about twelve years old, I saw an ad from a company called the Columbia Record Club (no longer in existence). It offered a promotion of twelve music cassettes for a penny, if you agreed to buy one cassette per month at the regular price, and I signed up for the deal. One of the cassettes I chose was ABACAB , by a British band called Genesis. I listened to it so often I wore it out, and from that time on Genesis was one of my favorite bands. Genesis was one of the most successful rock groups to emerge from the early 1970s Progressive Rock scene. They were contemporaries of other popular bands such as Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, and King Crimson. With over one-hundred million albums sold worldwide, Genesis is one of the world's best-selling music groups. Their discography includes fifteen studio and six live albums. They have been awarded eleven Gold and four Multi-Platinum albums in the UK, while in the US they have seven Gold, two Platinum, and four Multi-Platinum albums. Duri...