Blog: Malden Public Library

Nature Journaling at Malden Library

Whether sitting by the Pine Banks’ Pond, exploring the heights of Waitt’s Mount, or digging in the Malden Community Garden we have so much nature to explore here in Malden. Our city is so full of life if we just take a moment to pause and take it all in. Nature Journaling is a tool and practice to help one learn more about nature. Through the use of art, writing, and numbers the nature journaler learns to notice more, ask more and better questions , and make deeper and more complex connections. The end result is more creativity, improved art skills, and often a cultivated sense of joy. Though one’s art skills will improve as one applies them to nature study, it should be emphasized the goal of nature journaling is not great art but a greater appreciation for and understanding of the natural world. Nor is nature journaling all about exploring nature ‘out there’. In this session we are going to explore the natural world right here in the library’s front lawn.

This event is open to all ages 13+, teens, and adults. No previous art experience required. Pencils and paper will be available but participants are welcome to bring their own drawing, and painting tools. If the weather is fair, we will have the program out on the front lawn. If we end up having some rain, we will move the program inside.

This program is free and open to the public. The Malden Public Library is located at 36 Salem St., Malden, MA 02148. To learn more about our 2023 Summer Reading Programing, email us at info@maldenpubliclibrary.org .

 

 

 

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”.

Jack Kerouac @ 100

Jack Kerouac at 100 3.12.1922-3.12.2022

Jack Kerouac at 100 3.12.1922-3.12.2022

Poet and novelist Jack Kerouac was born one hundred years ago today on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac explored themes of personal exploration, rejection of the status quo, and explicit portrayals of the human condition.  He had a major influence on cultural figures in the 60s. This influence continues to the current day. In celebration of his continued legacy among the great American literary figures, here is a collection of some of his works found in our library.

 

Libraries would  celebrate his work if for no other reason than this beautiful passage from Dr. Sax (1959) :

“By Saturday morning the sun is shining, the sky is piercingly heartbreakingly blue, and my sister and I are dancing over Moody Street Bridge to get out Saturday morning Library books.  All the night before I’ve been dreaming of books – I’m standing in the children’s library in the basement, rows of glazed brown books are in front of me, I reach out and open one – my soul thrills to touch the soft used meaty pages covered with avidities of reading – at last, at last, I’m opening the magic brown book – I see the great curlicued print, the immense candelabra first letters at the beginnings of chapters – and Ah! – pictures of rosy fairies in blue mist gardens with gingerbread Holland skylark rooftops (with breadcrumbs on them), talking to wistful heroines about the mean old monster on the other bosky side of the dale …”

The Jack Kerouac Society will be hosting events in Lowell, MA this weekend and throughout the year to celebrate Kerouac’s enduring legacy.

Thursday, August 5th 7-8:30PM
11th Annual Public Reading by
The Malden Writers’ Collaborative

Celebrate writing! Join Malden’s own creative writing group, the Malden Writers’ Collaborative, for their 11th Annual Public Reading on Thursday, August 5th 7-8:30PM online on the Malden Public Library’s YouTube Channel. The group meets twice a month to workshop each others’ work, share ideas, and practice writing techniques. A direct link will be posted shortly before the event.

Members of the 2020-2021 season will read original works.

Some content may be inappropriate for children.

Check out last year’s public reading on the Malden Public Library’s YouTube Channel

Outdoor Board Game Night for Adults
Tuesday, July 20th 6:30PM-8PM

Join us outside on the portico (Salem Street entrance) to play board games with your neighbors! We will provide games (Settlers of Catan, chess, Scrabble, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Risk, Monopoly, and more) and beverages. Feel free to bring along a game you want to play with others.

Thank you to the Friends of the Malden Public Library for sponsoring this event!

AAPI Voices: Graphic Novels & Graphic Memoirs

Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with these stunning graphic novels and graphic memoirs! Check them out in our catalog.

Did you know you can read a large collection of comics and graphic novels online using Hoopla and Overdrive? Download the Hoopla and Overdrive apps or access them through your browser (Hoopla, Overdrive).

Moving Forward: Recovering from PTSD, Anxiety, & Addiction

We have all experienced a great upheaval in our lives because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we re-enter the world around us, we may struggle with PTSD, anxiety, and addiction. Here are resources to help you manage your mental health as we find our way out of isolation.