Welcome back
Hello, library friends --

It's been great to see you! Since we reopened last week we've had about 200 people walk through our doors. That's pretty quiet for a summer week here at the Mercer Library, but it's an enormous change from almost three months of curbside-only service. It's been nice to catch up on how you've been doing, and Renie and I have been very grateful for the fact that all of our library patrons have been respectful about following our guidelines for visiting the library .

The library is here to serve everyone in the community, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, age, religion, or any other identity. We do our best to seek out unbiased information and use the best data available to us on the equity of library service. We've done that for things like our fine-free policy and patron behavior policies, and we're doing that now with our pandemic policy. I've recently had people question our stance on mask-wearing, in particular: one message yesterday asked why we aren't requiring everyone to wear a mask, while another was bothered by our Facebook post supporting mask-wearing.

There is nothing political about our decision to encourage, but not require, the wearing of face masks in the library. We know that maintaining good distancing from others and practicing excellent hand hygiene are vital steps to take to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but we also recognize that there is scientific evidence to support wearing a mask. We want to use any advantage we can find to protect our community and ourselves. At the same time, we know that some people physically can't wear a mask or may feel anxiety while wearing a mask. Because we respect our patrons and their privacy, we will not question their decision to not wear a mask or demand they wear one. We will do what we can to protect those around us and will assume that others do the same to the best of their abilities.

Assuming the best of other people is at the heart of what libraries do every day. It's a difficult time for our community, our country, and the world. Let's all do our best to treat each other with respect. The library will try to go on doing what we know -- sharing books, sharing ideas, and sharing information to help others get through the world safely.

Take care of yourselves and others, my friends.

Teresa Schmidt
Library director
715-476-2366
We need your input!

The Mercer Public Library Board of Trustees is drafting a long-range plan for library service in Mercer, and we need your input to help ensure that we are keeping the needs of our community in mind. Please take our survey at:


We’ll be compiling the responses to use during our strategic planning workshops later this summer. As a small way to thank you for your time, at the end of the survey you’ll have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win one of several gift certificates to area businesses. The drawing will be held on July 24, 2020. One entry per person, please.
Friends of the Library membership drive

The Friends of the Mercer Public Library have recently launched their 2020 Membership drive. We rely on the Friends of the Library to support our programming and many special projects not covered by our budget from the Town of Mercer, and we are extremely grateful for all of our Friends of the Library!

If you're on the Friends' mailing list, you will soon receive their annual letter in the mail. If not, you can read the membership letter on our website . Thank you for your support!
Virtual Summer Programs: week 4

"Imagine your Adventure Story" this week with free online programming for kids and tweens! Each week, we'll post new videos including shows, author interviews, crafts, and guest performers. Watch a video each day or binge-watch them all before Monday morning, when we post the new week's content.

We've partnered with Page Turner Adventures to provide this online programming. All the videos will be posted to our website on a password-protected page. Click here for all the details, including the password.
Summer Reading Challenges for ages 0-109

We're excited to be offering a 2020 Summer Reading Challenge for all ages this year. Thanks to the generous support of the Friends of the Library, we'll be giving away some great prizes purchased from local businesses. Everyone ages 0 to 109 can participate!

We're using "Beanstack," an online reading platform that you can use to track your reading. Sign up for a free account and track your reading, track reading for the kids in your family (if they don't want their own account), and start earning digital badges and real-world rewards! Use the Beanstack app ( iOS | Android ) or use our Beanstack website at mercerpubliclibrary.beanstack.org .

Visit our website for more information and download paper reading logs if you prefer to track offline, or stop by the library for more information. Have fun reading this summer!
Grown-up Story Hour canceled

Due to a lack of volunteer readers, the Grown-Up Story Hour we had scheduled for this Thursday 6/25 has been canceled. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Library hours

  • Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Tuesday & Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Closed Saturday and Sunday

We will be closed on Friday, July 3rd, in honor of Independence Day.

If you aren't able to come into the library for any reason, we're still happy to provide curbside service for you any time we're open. Just give us a call at 715-476-2366 and we can find library books, movies, and other materials and get them to you in a safe way.
Mercer Public Library | 715-476-2366 | director@mercerpubliclibrary.org | mercerpubliclibrary.org
June hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 9am-5pm; Tues, Thurs 9am - 7pm; closed Sat & Sun