At the Merc

August 21, 2025

What You Need to Know About Niehoff XXXVI

What is the Niehoff Lecture? It is a black tie/cocktail gala (affectionately known to some as Nerd Prom) featuring the best and most important writers...

December 23, 2024

Mercantile Librarians' favorite books of 2024

Every year, we ask our Librarians to give us their favorite reads of the year. And every year, they grumble. When you read stacks and...

August 30, 2024

ANOTHER SUITABLE IRON SPIRAL STAIR CASE

As we get closer to the conclusion of The 12th Story Project, we thought we’d share some details and maybe answer some questions at the...

April 16, 2024

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!

On the occasion of our 189th anniversary, in which we look at a past celebration, because we cannot invite you for cake. You may have heard,...

March 14, 2024

A FLOOR OF EXTRA HEAVY IRON

You might already know this, but books are heavy. Thousands of books in one space-- really, really heavy. Our collection contains about 85,000 volumes. And we’re...

January 24, 2024

Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureateship Extended

The Mercantile Library announces the reappointment of Professor Yalie Saweda Kamara as Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureate for 2024. During her 2022-’23 Laureateship, Kamara...

January 24, 2024

Celebrating the Launch of BESAYDOO

Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureate Yalie Saweda Kamara celebrated the launch of her award-winning highly acclaimed, debut full-length poetry collection BESAYDOO, at the Contemporary...

January 05, 2024

The Mini-Merc Opens

2024 is off to an incredibly exciting start for your Mercantile Librarians. 2023 ended with our packing up our desks, artwork, office supplies, and books in...