Blog: Adult Program

Creature Feature on the Library Lawn 10.25 @ 6pm

Posted on by Cait Quinn

POSTPONED TO SATURDAY, OCT. 25! Join us on the lawn for a Halloween creature feature. We’ll be showing Creature from the Black Lagoon on a blow up movie screen. There will be warm drinks and of course Halloween candy. Please remember to dress for the weather as October nights get chilly. Also plan for the main library building to close at 6pm. So bathroom breaks may rely on local business generosity. Movie run time is a crisp 79 minutes. So unlike the current movies, it will be over before you know it. Sundown is at 5:45 and we should be rolling at 6pm. So bring your blankets, chairs, and love of old monster makeup because this is the movie night you shouldn’t miss. Costumes are encouraged but not necessary. Cait, your host, however will be dressed to impress.

140th Celebration for the Converse Memorial Building and the Malden Public Library 10.8.25

Posted on by Cait Quinn

Come and celebrate the Malden Public Library’s 140th birthday on October 8 from 6-8pm! It will be a fun evening of music, history, reading, and food. From 6-7 will be a concert and talk titled “The Life and Music of Mary Parker Converse” in collaboration with Nightingale Vocal Ensemble. From 7:00-7:30 will be a “Read-A-Thon” where staff will read speeches and poetry from the 1885 dedication ceremony of the Converse Memorial Building. From 7:30-8:00 will be a reception for socializing, snacking, and enjoying the visual art on display at the library.

Spooky Paint by Numbers Night 10.14.25

Posted on by Cait Quinn

Ghosts, goblins, witches and ghouls…join Cait for a spooky night of color! This month we will be painting by numbers on haunted canvas. Each participant will select a pre-filled canvas with a spooky scene and follow the guide to fill in the colors. All supplies will be provided but space is limited. This is a craft night for older teens and adults. 16+

Register for this adult program at this link.

Movie Night: Wed., October 15th: 6:00-8:00pm

Posted on by Stacy Holder

Please join us for Movie Night on Wednesday, October 15, 2025: 6:00-8:00pm at the Malden Public Library. We will be showing a film about an AI robot named M3GAN 2.0. The film stars Allison Williams, Amie Donald, and Violet McGraw.

“Two years after M3GAN’s rampage, her creator, Gemma, resorts to resurrecting her infamous creation in order to take down Amelia, the military-grade weapon who was built by a defense contractor who stole M3GAN’s underlying tech.” Rated PG-13 (121 min.) (2025)

Free snacks will be provided. Movie times are approximate.

Movie Night is generously supported by The Friends Of The Malden Public Library.

Gallery Talk on Sept 19 – The Florida Highwaymen – A Legacy of Landscape Painting

Posted on by Dora St. Martin
Join us Friday, September 19th at 3pm. The Malden Public Library will present a gallery talk with Roger Lightle, owner of Highwaymen Art Specialists in Vero Beach, Florida.
The Highwaymen painters created careers as landscape painters against the backdrop of racially segregated Jim Crow Florida. Denied access to gallery representation and excluded from the mainstream art world, they sold their art works wherever they could—including out of the trunks of their cars parked on the side of the interstate. The Highwaymen artists depicted the state’s scenic coastline and wild backcountry, often in dazzling combinations of color and tone. Harold Newton was inducted into Florida’s Artist’s Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Smithsonian permanent collection in Washington D.C. 2016.
hile primarily self-taught, these artist’s works are very much part of the lineage of European and American landscape painting that stretches back to the nineteenth century. They learned the basic skills of landscape painting from the renowned artist A.E. “Beanie” Backus, who welcomed both Newton and Hair into his studio. The Highwaymen paintings follow in the legacy of other important landscape artists in Library’s collection, including Joseph MW Turner, Frederick Watts, George Innes, George Loring Brown, and Thomas Hill.
Following the program, light refreshments will be served. Malden Public Library’s Converse Memorial Building & Art Galleries, 36 Salem Street, Malden, MA. Gallery Hours, WED 2-4, SAT 2-3 or by appointment. Call 781-324-0218 or info@maldenpubliclibrary.org. This exhibition is made possible by the generous donations of John Giso and funds from the Estate of Wilfred J. Carr & the Trustees of the Malden Public Library.

Find Yourself in a Book Challenge 9.1.25-6.30.26

Posted on by Cait Quinn

Summer is over, the Autumn crush has started, and you may be feeling like reading for pleasure isn’t a priority right now. But reading for yourself should always be a priorty! And to give you a little encouragement MPL has set up a low stakes reading challenge.

Step 1: Log in or sign up to Beanstack either on the web or via the Beanstack Tracker app. (Make sure you are signed into Malden Public Library’s Challenge site. Don’t use Beanstack Go)

Step 2: Register for the “Find Yourself in a Book Challenge”

Step 3: Read (at least) one book a month that is strictly for you. Not a school book, something for work, not a side hustle. Just something you think you will enjoy.

Step 4: Collect a stamp from the library that shows you’ve completed the monthly reading. (Bookmarks available at Info and the Children’s desk, so you can log your stamps).

Step 5: Get a stamp for each month between September and June and qualify for a fun enamel pin to celebrate your accomplishment.

That’s it! Just at least one book a month. We know how hard it is to make a reading commitment sometimes. And also how easy it is to let free time slip away without using it to recharge. This challenge is here to combat that with a gentle nudge to do something wholly good for you. And to up the stakes just a little, we are adding a community goal of 10,000 books read by June. The hope is that all the other books you read each month will make their way into our stats and help us celebrate how spectacular our reading community really is. So lets make a commitment together to try to read at least a little bit every month, as a community. It will help inspire the busy library staff to keep up on their reading too, so do us a favor and sign up!

Welcoming Week Movie Night: Wed., Sept. 17th: 6:00-8:00pm

Posted on by Stacy Holder

Please join us for our Welcoming Week Movie Night on Wednesday, September 17, 2025: 6:00-8:00pm at the Malden Public Library.

We will be showing a “hidden gem” of a movie about Peace By Chocolate. “When a Syrian family flees civil war to small-town Canada, the son is torn between his dreams of becoming a doctor and helping his father rebuild his suddenly burgeoning chocolate business. Based on the incredible true story.” Not Rated, All Ages (96 min.) (2021)

Free snacks will be provided. Movie times are approximate.

Movie Night is generously supported by The Friends Of The Malden Public Library.

Welcoming Week: September 12-21, 2025

Posted on by Stacy Holder

Join us at the Malden Public Library for Welcoming Week on September 12-21, 2025. The theme for this year’s Welcoming Week is “Stories We Share.” Celebrated in communities around the globe, Welcoming Week is an annual campaign that connects neighbors of all backgrounds through community-informed activities and events. Welcoming Week provides communities the opportunity to publicly proclaim welcoming values, foster a mutual understanding between immigrants and non-immigrants, and build a deeper sense of belonging for all.

Throughout Welcoming Week we will provide information about local community organizations, including resources for English classes, food & housing information, job information, language learning, and more. We will also have some take & make craft kits for children and adults.

The Malden Public Library will have some resources and information for the Welcoming Week Kickoff which will be at Malden City Hall on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 215 Pleasant Street, City Hall Plaza. You can find out more information here: https://www.cityofmalden.org/1130/WELCOMING-WEEK-2025

On Tuesday, September 16, 2025 we will have a Story Time for children (ages 4-8) at 3:00pm and a “Take & Make” craft for children (ages 3+) at the Malden Public Library.

And don’t miss our Movie Night on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, from 6:00-8:00pm. We will be showing a “hidden gem” of a movie about Peace By Chocolate. “When a Syrian family flees civil war to small-town Canada, the son is torn between his dreams of becoming a doctor and helping his father rebuild his suddenly burgeoning chocolate business. Based on the incredible true story.” Not Rated, All Ages (96 min.) (2021) Free snacks will be provided and movie times are approximate.

This year on Saturday, September 20, 2025: 10:00-11:00am we will have our 3rd Annual “Coffee, Cookies, and Conversation” at the Malden Public Library. Meet your neighbors in a relaxed environment for a cup of coffee and great conversation! The Welcoming Week theme this year is “Stories We Share.”

All events are co-sponsored by The Friends of the Malden Public Library.

 

Summer Reading Ending Soon!

Posted on by Cait Quinn

This is not a drill! Summer session is ending soon. We have just two more weeks of prizes before we wrap up our summer reading program and move onto the Fall season. Minutes must be submitted before August 31st and prizes must be picked up before September 1st. Also the week 8 prize in this year’s summer reading iron on patch. It is an exclusive MPL design and the most fashionable accessory of the year.

Stil need to sign up? You can back date all your minutes for the summer and collect prizes now before we run out. (We have supplemental prizes for the weeks that have run out, so don’t worry). To add to our minutes and help us reach our goal of 600,000 hours read as a community log in or set up your Beanstack account. It is the Beanstack Tracker app on mobile or use this link to get to the website. bit.ly/BeanstackMPL

Mind Your Business! A Local History Game

Posted on by Katie Walsh
TONIGHT! Malden Public Library and Malden Chamber of Commerce is hosting ‘Mind Your Business: a logo guessing game’ on August 11, 6-8pm, in the library’s historic Converse Memorial Building. Participants will guess edited logos of local businesses for a chance to win prizes! It will be a fun night, so be sure to register using the QR code, or at: bit.ly/lh-myb
This is a recreation of a game that Mary Caroline (Parker) Converse devised in 1896. On December 31st of the same year, Malden Evening News describes the event: “Mrs. Converse had prepared a large number of popular advertisements, such as are seen in newspapers and in street cars, and had omitted the advertiser’s name. The game was to guess the advertiser.” She hosted this game for her Malden High School peers with whom she graduated four years earlier.
Converse had varied interests. In addition to creating the clever game mentioned above, she was a sea captain and composer. Her nautical passion began in her early adult years when she and her husband, Harry Converse (son of Elisha Converse), would sail on their personal ship, Penelope. She would pursue this further to become the first woman awarded a government issued ship navigating license and the first woman commissioned by the United States Merchant Marine.
Mary Parker Converse was also one of Malden’s notable musicians. She was a vocalist, pianist, and composer, and, in January of 1910, she demonstrated all three of these talents in one performance. Converse sang (while accompanying herself on piano) her ‘Wonder Songs’ for an audience in Boston. ‘Wonder Songs’ is a collection of tunes for children. The score is unique in that it is illustrated, much like a children’s book. She was involved with several other local concerts and served on the ‘Committee on Musical Exercises’ for Malden’s 250th anniversary celebration.
Please join us in celebrating Malden’s rich history and industry in this fun game on August 11, 6-8pm, at the Malden Public Library!