Mission Statement
The mission of the Malden Public Library is to provide open access to information and to promote love of reading and lifelong learning to Malden residents and all citizens of Massachusetts. Founded in 1879, the Malden Public Library is a non-profit corporation with partial city support, governed by a Board of Trustees.
History of the Library
In 1879, the people of Malden opened the Malden Public Library in a small room in the Town Hall. The library was housed there until Malden’s first mayor, Elisha S. Converse and his wife, Mary, donated money to build the Converse Memorial Building.
Opened in October of 1885, the Converse Memorial Building was designed by renowned architect H.H. Richardson. The building housed the library as well as an art gallery. Today the majority of the library’s collection is housed in the new addition which opened in June of 1996.
Administration
Volunteering
You can volunteer at the Malden Public Library in the “Adopt-an-Aisle” program. After attending an orientation session at the library, you choose an aisle to keep neat and in order. Volunteering can be done according to your own schedule any time the library is open. This volunteer program is best for people looking to do no more than a few hours of community service per week. To learn more about volunteering, call the library at 781-324-0218 or email Stephen Deloney at sdeloney@maldenpubliclibrary.org.
Group orientations are held at least twice a year. Applicants who need to complete volunteer hours for school are highly encouraged to apply at the beginning of the school year. We are unable to accomodate drop in volunteering. Applicants should not expect an immediate response after submitting application.
If you are 18 years of age or older, you will need to need to pass a CORI background check as is required of all Massachusetts public library volunteers. Please bring your Massachusetts license or state ID to the orientation session to fill out the paperwork, which will then be sent to Malden City Hall. If you are under 18, you don’t need to bring anything.
Please be advised that we cannot accommodate court-ordered community service. You can fill out a volunteering application here.
Board of Trustees
The Malden Public Library Board of Trustees govern the decisions and actions of the library. Learn more about the Board of Trustees here.
Policies
Here at the Malden Public Library we have a list of policies that we ask all our patrons to respect and abide by. Click here to see a full list of policies.