Blog: Author: Cait Quinn

Hang your art at the library!

Did you know that the Malden Public Library is also a museum? We have an entire wing devoted to art that you can view on Wednesdays and Saturdays 2-4pm. We love art at this library! And in honor of our long commitment to art and the artistic communities of Malden and beyond we also host local artist in our hallway and display cases. Our application period is now open for artists of all types and we would love to see some new community members in this space. Fill out the form below and show our art committee your creativity. We’d love to host it!

Author Talk: David R. Surette November 30th @ 7pm

Incoming local author talk! Join the Library in welcoming home notable local poet: David R. Surette. He will be joining us on Thursday, November 30th to read his poetry and talk about his experiences as an author and Maldonian. Program starts at 7PM and all are welcome to attend.

About the author:

David R. Surette is the author of eight collections of poetry including Stable which was named an Honor Book at the 2016 Massachusetts Book Awards. His latest is TONIC. His poems have been featured in the anthologies French Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets, Cadence of Hooves: A Celebration of Horses, 3 Nations Anthology: Native, Canadian & New England Writers, From the Farther Shore: Discovering Cape Cod and the Islands Through Poetry, Look! Up in the Sky! An Anthology of Comic Book Poems, and Selected Poems from the Daily Grind. The first three chapters of his novel Favors are included in the 2022 March edition of The Lowell Review. David has been a contributing editor at Salamander, an instructor at the Cape Cod Writers’ Conference, a keynote speaker at New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf, and a contributor and scholarship recipient at the Bread Loaf Writing Conference. He has featured at poetry venues across New England. He was also the chief lyricist for the Boston punk band Boy’s Life. He attended Colby College. He taught high school for 33 years in Waltham and East Bridgewater. He grew up in Malden, MA and lives on Cape Cod.  ~Goodreads.com

The ABC’s of Family Research with Dave Robison 11/6 @ 6:30 pm

Join Ryan in Local History on Monday, November 6th at 6:30 pm for a program with guest lecturer and Profesional Genealogist Dave Robison. This program, “The ABC’s of Family Research”, will explore the basics of family research. This is a great program for anyone looking to better understand genealogical research or for anyone looking for pointers as they continue their search for information.

Dave Robison is a Professional Genealogist at Old Bones Genealogy of New England, LLC. You can learn more about his work at: https://oldbones.co/

Night of the Living Dead 10.31.23 @7 pm

We’re coming to get you…Malden. Join us on the front lawn on Tuesday 10.31.23 (Halloween) at 6:30 pm to see the restored Zombie classic: “Night of the Living Dead”. We have a blow up screen, a bowl of candy, and a prize for your best costume. Bring a blanket and a chair and settle in for the unsettling. We’ll start early enough for you still have time to haunt the downtown in all your ghoulish glory.

Author Talk with Sandra Mary Platt Norcross Sept. 11th at 6pm

Come to the library Monday night at 6pm for an author talk with Malden high graduate Sandra Mary Platt Norcross. She will be sharing her memoir with us: “The Secrets Return to the River” which chronicles the amazing life of her mother: Helen Barrington Platt. This is a book for anyone who loves stories about people finding their own path to happiness and for those who love historical fiction and nonfiction. Set in Scotland, Canada and the US, “The Secrets Return to the River” takes the reader through the ups and downs of a life; full of secrets, joy, despair, and hope.

The Malden Writers’ Collaborative Information Session 9/21 at 7pm

Join us for an information session about our local library writers’ group. Meet members, ask questions, get a sense of how our writers’ group supports current and aspiring writers. All abilities and styles are welcome! Information session begins at 7pm on Thursday the 21st and will conclude at 8:30pm.

End of Summer Party: Rain or Shine 8/18 @11am

Join us to celebrate the end of the summer season on Friday, August 18th at 11 am. We’ll have cake, music, games and a ton of fun! We may even have some special butterfly guests. Our party will go on rain or shine. If the rain will go away, we will picnic on the lawn, but if the clouds don’t cooperate this party will move indoors to the Maccario room. We’v accomplished so much together this summer, let’s celebrate! Every little bit has come together to make an absolutely inspiring season. Thank you all for being a part of our hive!

Still Life Roulette Paint Night! Mondays at 6pm

Need a chill night with a simple and enjoyable activity to kick off your week? Then join us Monday nights at 6pm for a low stakes paint night. We’ll provide the materials, an inspiring collection of objects, and a cool and calm space to let you be creative. No prior ability or skill is necessary (honestly, we are making it up as we go along). Also, we will have snacks. See you Monday!

Make Your Own Compostable Planter–July 20th 7pm

Thursday July, 20th at 7pm. Learn to make a plant pot that you can feel good about. Hypotufa pots are light weight made of portland cement, water, perlite, and often with peat moss or coconut choir.  This will be a relaxing, fun, educational, and a bit messy activity open to all adults who enjoy plants and gardening. Supplies will be provided. Weather permitting, this event will be held in the Malden Public Library courtyard.

How to win at Summer Reading

Welcome to the first official week of summer reading! So far we’ve had the Ice Cream Social, a few programs and sign ups for reading programs. But there is so much more to do. At this point you may be wondering how the program works this year. So here are the basics…

Kids elementary age and younger:

Sign up to log reading minutes in person in the children’s room. Or children can sign up online with their families with our Beanstack app and log minutes from anywhere.  Prizes are available the week following the week logged. Children need to read 120 minutes a week to earn a prize.

Teens:

Sign up is online via Beanstack. The app can be used on any internet connected device. There is even a cell phone app! You can even use the library computers to log your minutes. Teens need just 300 minutes of reading to qualify for a prize and prizes can be picked up at the Information desk starting on July 5th!

Adults:

Beanstack is the main opportunity to log reading and activities. These will earn raffle tickets for gift card drawings each week. For those who need help signing up we have a quick start guide and can always provide assistance at the information desk. But if online apps aren’t your thing…we will collect minutes at the circulation desk. If you have read 300 minutes in that week, please ask for a raffle ticket for that week’s drawing. Winners will be contacted by phone.

How to Beanstack:

This year our Beanstack app is going to have a number of challenges, activities, and learning opportunities for the community. But the first step is signing up.
To sign up go to:

bit.ly/BeanstackMPL2023

If it is the first time registering then follow the steps to sign up and enter your information. There will be an option to add additional family members at the end.

For returning individuals and families, log in with your information or follow the steps if you forgot your login credentials. If you are having trouble getting in stop by the information desk and we can look you up in Beanstack and help you get set up.

You can also use this guide for navigating the pages to log reading, activities, and events!

beanstack-101-english-22-23.pdf

Summer fun with Beanstack!

  • Reading minutes prizes and raffles
  • Citizen Science Opportunities (Participate in real time science projects and enter to win a prize. Will also count for community service hours!)
  • Bingo games for prizes
  • Bee Kind Challenge for kids
  • Merit badge challenges (Merit badges are back and you can earn one!)
  • Updates on programming
  • Learning challenges with links and reading suggestions
  • Movie bingo
  • And you can add friends and families and compete against each other on the community tab (Add friends and see who can read the most!)

And finally, The Community Challenge:

But with all these minutes we are collecting this summer we must do something, right!? So we will add them up, week by week, in the hopes that, as a city, Malden can read 5000 hours…collectively. And when we say reading, we mean not just books, but also audio books, articles online, newspapers, magazines, and any media you learn from over time, (honestly, true crime podcasts probably count too). So chart your reading each week, earn prizes and bragging rights and we will highlight your contributions on the lawn and on the board behind circ. With each small contribution, the number will grow, and help us toward our goals as a community. As we say: “Little things done together make a big impact”.