Blog: Uncategorized

Upcoming Children’s Programming December 2024

Posted on by Cait Quinn

December can be a chaotic month; with holidays, school breaks, winter weather. So we have some fun programs to help entertain your children and give you a little break to enjoy the season.

First up on Wednesday, December 11th at 6pm: we have the very family friendly movie “the Wild Robot”. This movie is still in theaters, but we are able to show it absolutely free. Come by and watch it on our new projection system. It looks great!

Next on Thursday, December 12th at 4pm: we are welcoming back “Teeth Time”. Help your little one feel good about cleaning their teeth. This program has an activity, and approaches the topic in a fun and engaging manner. No registration, just come and enjoy.

On Saturday, December 14th at 3pm: we are hosting performer Steve Blunt for a “Winter Sing-a-long”. Steve will lead us all in fun holiday and winter themed songs. This program is open to children of all ages.

Wednesday, December 18th at 2pm: we are opening the galleries for arts and some crafts. Come make ornaments while looking at the beautiful art the Converse building has on display. It is the perfect space to relax and be inspired. This is an all ages event. The whole community is welcome.

And while you are planning for your holidays please remember that the library takes a short break around Christmas. We strongly encourage everyone to pick up their holds before close on Saturday December 21st as we will be closed on Monday December 23rd-Wednesday December 25th. We will be back and ready to go for December 26th, so if you miss us please stop by then!

Happy Merry December everyone!

Young Adult Pokemon Model Craft, Tuesday Nov. 5th

Posted on by Patrick Brennan

Young Adults in the 5th through 12th are invited to make their own Pocket Monster at the Malden Public Library.

Join us on Tuesday, November 5th from 3:00 – 4:30 in the Maccario Room for this fun and fast craft. Bandai Model Crafts require that you snap your creation together like a puzzle following simple instructions. Sign up is required so make sure to look at our online calendar and reserve your spot today:

https://maldenpubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/young-adult-pokemon-model-crafting/

Young Adult Craft: Spooky Candle Making, Oct 17th @3PM

Posted on by Patrick Brennan

Young Adults in the 6th through 12th grade are invited to the Malden Public Library to get crafty in the spooky season on Thurs. October 17th from 3:00-4:30 PM.
We will be making spooky candles for the fall season with YA Librarian Patrick. All materials are free but sign-up is required so click this link to register today:

https://maldenpubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/young-adult-craft-spooky-candle-making/

Beauty of Nature – Prints and Poetry of Joel Cooper and Deborah Gordon Cooper Extended to January 25

Posted on by Dora St. Martin

Beauty of Nature will be on exhibit from September 28 through November 22, 2024; Extended to January 25, 2025.  Open Wednesdays 2-4 PM; for additional gallery hours or to schedule a group tour,  call 781-324-0218.

From National Gardener Magazine (Fall, 2024).  “The Coopers … worked together delightfully. It took Joel about 100 hours to create a print. Once completed, he would place it on an easel in the middle of everything, hoping that Deborah would find that little thread to inspire the poem that might express the feelings that print brought out in her, much like a fairy tale. Sadly, Joel passed away in 2021.” The Cooper family has donated 85 of Joel’s prints to the Malden Public Library’s Art Collection. The current exhibit showcases 30 prints and poems created by the Coopers over the past 40 years. The exhibition is made possible by the generous contributions of John Giso, Michael Nuttall, Martin Cooper, Kim Taylor and the Trustees of the Malden Public Library.

Joel Cooper (April 16, 1945-October 13, 2021) began fine art screen printing in 1989, having been introduced to the process through a workshop at the Duluth Art Institute. Joel was a talented printer for over 28 years, with a portfolio of over 170 prints. His work has been exhibited at various Duluth Art Institute shows including the Arrowhead Regional Biennial Exhibits. In February 1998 a collaborative show, As We See It, took place at the Duluth Art Institute. It combined 42 screen prints along with poems by his wife, Deborah Gordon Cooper and this began a series of many exhibits they did together, including the Northern Prints Gallery and the Johnson heritage Post Gallery in Grand Marais. Joel owned and operated Cooper Enterprises in Duluth for over forty years and was a founding member of the Northern Printmakers Alliance.

Deborah Cooper is the author of six collections of poetry, including Between the Ceiling & the Moon (Finishing Line Press 2008), Under the Influence of Lilacs (Clover Valley Press 2010) and Blue Window (Clover Valley Press 2017). Deborah’s work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies, among them two collections by her writing group of over thirty years, most recently Bound Together: Like the Grasses (Clover Valley Press 2013). She has co-edited anthologies published by Holy Cow Press: Beloved on the Earth, The Heart of All That Is and Amethyst & Agate. Deborah has conducted writing circles with homeless individuals in her community. She has taught poetry classes in jails and juvenile centers for many years. Deborah was honored to serve as the Duluth Minnesota Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014.

 

Remembering Dina Malgeri

Posted on by Caron Guigli

Former Library Director Dina Malgeri (1929-2024) passed away last evening, soon after celebrating her 95th birthday .  Dina was a fierce advocate for the Library and I am sure everyone has their own personal stories of her amazing time as Director from 1972 to 2013.

For those that never got a chance to meet Ms. Malgeri, we are attaching a lovely article that was in the Boston Globe at her retirement, as well as the UMA video of Dina touring the Library.

https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2013/02/23/library-losing-its-top-advocate/

https://maldenpubliclibrary.org/converse-art-archives/converse-memorial-building/virtual-tours/

Here are a few words from our community about Dina Malgeri’s legacy.

Miss Malgeri
“was the smartest and most well-read person I have ever met. She was well-versed in almost all topics from books and music to art, politics, history, film, theater, languages, social issues, Boston history and the Red Sox. She was a classic, old-school Librarian, who honored the importance of libraries in a community, honored the books on the shelves, was fair and considerate, had integrity, was dedicated, and knew that the people who visited the Malden Public Library were always the most important part of the Library. There will never be another Librarian quite like Dina Malgeri.”

–Stacy Holder
Miss Malgeri
“did an amazing job ensuring that the original Converse building was restored to its former dignity.”

–Rebecca Smith
My favorite memory
“of Miss Malgeri is celebrating birthdays with my family. She loved sharing chicken feet with me (that was one of her favorites). Over the years we shared lots of good food and memories.”

–Carol Woodruff
Moments
“Miss Malgeri was a great boss. She was fair and kind. She stood beside and helped me through some of the toughest times in my life. She was a real class act.”

–Marge Glennon

 

Malden Reads
“We thank you for your support and guidance for establishing Malden Reads 15 years ago. Our continued work promoting literacy and community is in part due to your hard work as Director. We have always resepected your involvement in the community and your ability to connect different groups around Malden for the benefit of the Library.

–Linda & Jodie Zalk Malden Reads
Dina
“was an independent spirit and a strong woman that did not fit the mold of many women of her era. Just before she retired, I had the pleasure of working on a documentary about the historic section of the Malden Public Library, along with my colleagues Ron Cox and Brent Robie. Dina hosted and narrated the video. That experience led to a continued connection after she retired where I learned more about her life and got a sense of her curious nature and her love for books and learning and culture. We exchanged good old fashioned letters – hers were handwritten, mine were typed, and I occasionally visited her in her beloved North End neighborhood, where she grew up and lived till the very end of her life. She never drove a car and proudly called herself a city person who commuted by public transportation to work during her 40+ years at the library. She loved reading the Boston Globe every day, along with reading and listening to books. She deeply loved the Malden Public Library and the community she served.

–Anne Durso Rose Trustee

The Friends

When I started volunteering with the Friends, over 20 years ago, I usually had the booksale room to myself, because no one else wanted to sort the donations and organize the shelves.  It became my hobby.  Dina would show up carrying a heavy box of donations, and I would insist on going back with her to her workroom, to fetch the rest of them.  I loved chatting with her—she was interested in everything and everyone.  I was soon telling people at the library, “I want to be Dina when I grow up!”  I often brought a bag lunch to eat in the booksale room, and Dina would sometimes join me, so we could keep on talking.  She had fascinating stories about growing up in the North End, working in army base libraries overseas, all the history she’d seen, and her decades at the Malden Public.  She never seemed to eat much at those lunches, and she didn’t care for sweets, but she liked to bring me pastries from her favorite North End bakery.
She must have been in her seventies then, and she had more energy than I’d ever had at any age.  Even when she started having medical problems or injured herself falling in the winter, she was indomitable.  I was still telling people, “I want to be Dina when I grow up!”
Now I’m in my seventies, and I still do.
–Devra Kunin

Young Adult Craft: Needle Felting, Thursday, Oct. 3rd @3PM

Posted on by Patrick Brennan

Young Adults in the 6th through 12th grade are invited to the Malden Public Library to learn a new craft: Needle Felting. This class will take place in the Program Room on the second floor at 3:00 on Thursday, Oct. 3rd. This is a fun hobby that involves tufting wool into cute shapes with needles. This is a serious craft and sign up is required, so click on this link to secure your spot in the program today:

https://maldenpubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/young-adult-craft-needle-felting/