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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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The Friends
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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
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