When you receive your third-quarter tax bill next month, you’ll notice a new line labeled "Public Library Tax." I, and the Cranbury Public Library Board of Trustees, want to reassure you that this is not a new tax. A recently passed state law requires your public library tax to be displayed on a separate line from the general municipal tax. The amount of your general municipal tax was reduced by the exact amount of your Public Library Tax. The total tax remains the same so there is no increase in your taxes. (Communities with county libraries have always had a separate tax line for their …

By the Hightstown Branch of the Mercer County Library The warm weather reminds us that summertime is here, and the three eastern branches of the Mercer County Library System are getting ready for summer reading! This year’s state-wide theme for the annual summer reading program for children up to age 11 is "One World, Many Stories." Registration starts at all library branches on Monday, June 27. Every participant gets a log book to record books and chapters read. Return weekly for prizes, more books and more excitement! The Hickory Corner, Twin Rivers, and Hightstown Memorial branches will …

By the Hightstown Library Association Editor's note: This article is a corrected version of one posted to Patch last week. That story contained erroneous information provided to us by the Hightstown Library Association. The Hightstown Library Association has provided five e-book readers to the Hightstown Memorial Branch of the Mercer County Library System for demonstration and training for library staff and patrons in celebration of the library's 90th birthday on July 16. The e-book readers to be provided are the Apple iPad2, the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device 9.7" Display, the Kindle …

The Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System is offering classes to jobseekers so they can improve their computer and job search skills. The classes will focus on the basic computer skills needed by every job applicant today, making them more confident and self-sufficient. All courses will be delivered at a basic user level and will be built around workforce development skills. Classes are in two parts and are scheduled as follows: Windows, June 27 and 28, 10 a.m. to noon Internet, June 27 and 28, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. MS Word, July 6 and 8. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Email, July 6 and 8, …

With immigration a hot topic both nationally and locally, advice on getting legal, documented status is in high demand. To help meet that need, the Hightstown Branch of the Mercer County Library System takes time each month to host immigration attorney Stephen Traylor of the Princeton-based law firm Traylor and Traylor, PC. Traylor took a few minutes from his busy Tuesday evening this week at the library to answer five questions for Patch. How did you get into this line of work? “I speak Spanish and I was in kind of a lull when I got out of law school,” Traylor said. He noted he had …

By Marilynn Mullen, Director, Cranbury Public Library This summer the Cranbury Public Library is encouraging everyone to read and take part in our Summer Reading Program. On June 23 at 7 p.m. adults are invited to come to the library and sample foods from around the world. While you’re here try our Mango Languages online language program. Use a kindle. Try out an iPad. Download an eBook or eAudioBook from our new ListenNJ service. Browse the Morningstar Investment Research Center. Staff will be available to answer questions and help you each step of the way.   While you are in the library …

The Cranbury Public Library is seeking applications for up to six positions for high school students to run workshops. Those chosen will receive $50 to run individual workshops as part of the library's Summer Reading Program, which this year will feature the theme "One World, Many Stories." The library will reimburse presenters for up to $20 in materials. The programs should last an hour for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and should generally feature crafts or games, but nothing can be food-related. The program series will start the week of June 20 and run weekly through July 25…

The Hightstown Memorial Branch of the Mercer County Library System is committed to supporting lifelong reading by all our patrons. In a fun promotion to encourage reading, this month we would like you to “Picture Your Pets Reading.” Please submit a photo of your pet “reading” or being read to, and we will post it in the library. Everyone (no age restrictions) who submits a picture will be entered into a raffle for a book of their choice worth up to $10 from Amazon.com. Entries will be accepted until 5 p.m. Saturday, May 21. The next time you visit the Hightstown Branch, please check out our …

Unemployed?  Looking for a new job?  The Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System can help you get back in the job market.  Career counselor Jean Baur, author of the book Eliminated! Now What?,will present a job loss workshop on Tuesday, May 17 at 2 p.m. to explain how to recover from being laid off or fired, conduct an effective job search and get back to work on your own terms. Baur is a senior consultant with the nation’s leading outplacement firm, Lee Hecht Harrison.  She has partnered with thousands of clients to help them overcome job loss and recession-proof their …

The Cranbury Public Library let us into one of its book groups in April in order to see what it's like for participants. One group meets in the afternoon, generally on the second Wednesday of the month, while the evening book discussion is usualy on the third Tuesday of the month. Meeting times and books are posted on East Windsor Patch's events calendar as well as the library website.

Recently the Board of Trustees of the Cranbury Public Library hosted a Staff Appreciation Event at the home of board member Patricia Thomsson.  The yearly event is organized to thank the staff for their outstanding service during the past year.  This year the library honored three staff anniversaries.  In June, Harriet Schwartz and Denise McQueeney, will celebrate ten years, and Owen Dennehy is marking his 20th anniversary at the library. Dennehy works as a page, shelving books and making sure they are in proper Dewey Decimal order.  It’s an exacting job that is highly important to the …

The Hightstown Memorial Branch of the Mercer County Library System has some exciting computer classes coming up later this month. These classes are offered through NJWorks@your library, which is supported by the New Jersey State Library and a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. We have two special two-part classes taught in Spanish on Saturdays, April 30 and May 7. On both dates, Intermediate Word will be offered from 10 a.m. until noon, and Intermediate Email will be taught from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.  The focus of these classes will be learning to use the…

By Youth Services Librarian Andrea Lenhardt and Reference Librarian Yolande ZealyThe Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System is celebrating National Library Week in a big way. In 2011, National Library Week will be celebrated from April 10 to 16. It is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians. This year’s theme is “Create Your Own Story @ Your Library.” During the month of April, library patrons can submit their own stories about the importance of libraries in their lives.  The stories will be displayed in the library and …

The Twin Rivers Branch of the Mercer County Library is home to a weekly Spanish/English children’s storytime, and the sponsor, the Friends of the Twin Rivers Library, is hoping more kids will get to know the branch through it. Each week, local teacher Diana Chico presents kids with stories, songs and dances, games and arts and crafts projects in Spanish and English as part of “Vamos Aprender” (“let’s learn”). After the day is done, usually around 11:15 a.m., the kids and their parents are welcome to hang out and take advantage of the library’s resources, and many of them do. “The primary goal…

by Yolande Zealy, Reference Librarian, Hickory Corner Library Did you know that you can save money on your grocery bill at the Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System? One of the services offered is a free coupon exchange. The coupons are clipped, categorized and sorted into 20 categories, from frozen foods to baby products to organic products to cereal. Patrons are invited to bring their unwanted coupons (no need to clip first) and exchange them for the library’s coupons. There are also coupons for restaurants and local businesses. In addition to coupons, we have a folder …

Did you get a new Nook or Sony reader recently? Or do you do most of your reading on your mobile device? Well, the Mercer County Library System is still the place to look for your reading needs. It’s easy to borrow digital books for your reader, or to download audio books for your MP3 player or iPod.  The Mercer County Library is a member of ListenNJ, a consortium of Central New Jersey libraries that have created the digital download service through OverDrive for our patrons. eBooks are offered through the system, and apps are available for the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Android. ListenNJ …

by Marilynn G. Mullen, Director, Cranbury Public Library I’m really excited about the upcoming program the Friends of the Cranbury Public Library are sponsoring in March. Timeline New Jersey takes a look at New Jersey’s history through photographs and lecture. “Travel on a timeline from the primeval dawn of the Highlands into the Ice Age. Meet New Jersey’s first people and explorers. Take pride in our rich Colonial and Revolutionary heritage.  Celebrate the events and numerous ‘firsts’ that make New Jersey special!”  This is what Walter Choroszewski writes on his flyer describing the program…

The Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System offers something for everyone. We’re just the right size—small enough to get to know our regular patrons and offer personal service yet big enough to provide the benefits of a large library. You can visit us in person, go to www.mcl.org or give us a call. Whether you would like to renew a book or ask a reference question, help is a phone call away. Friendly library staff are ready to help with all kinds of needs—assistance with a research paper, applying for a job online or suggesting a good book to read. Visit us and you’ll find …

The Hightstown Memorial and Twin Rivers branches of the Mercer County Library System are sponsoring a “Blind Date with a Book” program this month! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, stop by either branch to check out a paper-wrapped book. You won’t know what it is until you get it home! If you enjoy it, bring it back with a review, which we’ll share with other patrons. If the book is just not your type, simply return it — no awkward questions asked (unlike on a real blind date)! A program at the Hightstown Memorial Branch at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, honors The Friday Club, whose members …

The winter book sale at the Twin Rivers Branch of the Mercer County Library is a great opportunity to pick up some popular fiction, kids books, and other print books and multimedia. The sale will start Tuesday and run through the end of the month. Branch Manager Rebecca Sloan said library collects donations throughout the year and puts it up for sale semi-annually, supplemented by extras from the library's own collection. "Some of books are what we've weeded from the collection, and the others are all donated; we get donations constantly," she explained. "We try to save our donations …