Malden Friends Newsletter

December 2024

Author

Friends of The Malden Public Library Newsletter
December 30, 2024

Image description: The logo of the Friends of the Malden Public library, featuring a gargoyle sitting on top of books, superimposed on an image of the Malden Public Library. The text underneath the logo reads “Newsletter”.

Greetings Friends! As we close out a busy 2024, this is a reminder to pay your annual membership dues. You can pay dues by

  • Mailing your dues to The Friends of the Malden Public Library, 36 Salem Street, Malden, MA 02148

  • Dropping it off with a Membership form filled out with your information at the front desk of the Malden Public Library (you can get a Membership form at the Library)

  • Stopping by the members-only book sale (date and time to come)

If you have any questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

FAQs

How much is the membership due?

  • Individual - $15

  • Seniors and students - $10

  • Family - $30

  • Lifetime- $500

What forms of dues do you accept?

We currently accept dues in the form of cash and checks. We do not have a set-up for virtual payment yet.

If you are paying by check, please make it out to The Friends of the Malden Public Library.

What do my membership dues pay for?

The Friends view our membership dues as donations to the Malden Public Library so that they can continue to host the Library’s diverse and enriching programming.

Your membership dues also gives you access to members-only events, such as members-only book sales.

I joined after January, why do I have to renew at the beginning of the year instead of when I joined?

2024 was a transition year for the Friends. We moved from a rolling membership year to a calendar membership year, running from January to December. This means that from now on, our membership campaign will always be in January and the membership dues cover until December.

This decision was made because the Friends of the Malden Public Library is run by unpaid volunteers. In order to simplify our work so that we can focus on supporting the Library, we set everyone’s membership to renew at the same time, at start of the calendar, regardless of when you joined and do not prorate if you joined after January.

What happens if I don’t pay my membership due?

You will still receive updates from the Friends. However, if you want to attend members-only events such as members-only book sales, you will be asked to pay your membership due then. Please remember that the dues is one of our principal means of income, permitting us to function as the Library’s non-profit, fundraising arm.

How can I be more involved with the Friends?

Come to our monthly meeting on the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Library. This will give you excellent insight regarding our activities, committees, diversity, and the FUN we have doing it all!

December Events

once a snowflake fell

on my brow and i loved

it so much and i kiss it

and it was happy and called its cousins

and brothers and a web

of snow engulfed me then

i reached to love them all

and i squeezed them and they became

a spring rain and i stood perfectly

still and was a flower

Nikki Giovanni (RIP), Winter Poem

This year’s Annual Holiday Concert, in partnership with the Malden Historical Society, featured the Malden High School Choral Arts Society under the direction of Todd Cole. Due to the size of the Choral Arts Society and attendees, we held the concert at the Malden First Baptist Church. The Choral Arts Society gave a fantastic performance and afterwards the Friends provided snacks and refreshments.

Image description: The Malden High School Choral Arts Society and Todd Cole facing the audience. Some students are wearing black dresses, while others are wearing white button-downs with a black tie.

Image description: Todd Cole in a suit standing with his hands clasped near the pop-up table with books for sale.

Image description: A Friend standing at the pop-up table with books for sale.

This year we held our first Winter Holiday Book Sale. We curated displays with books as potential gifts for the holidays. We also had free gift-wrapping and information on digital privacy from Consumer Reports. Many thanks to those who came by, we raised over $1,600!

Image description: Books for two displays at the Holiday Book Sale, featuring books by MacArthur Fellows and cook books and chef memoirs related to the show, The Bear.

Image description: Three Friends behind the cashier’s table.

Image description: A Friend, wearing an elf hat headband, pushing a cart full of books with a patron following him.

Image description: Volunteers giftwrapping patrons’ book purchases.

Image description: A Friend handing out information on digital privacy to a patron.

We also joined Malden Reads at Malden City Hall for Winter Wonders. We handed out winter holiday books and read books in different languages to attendees.

Image description: Two Friends holding membership forms and standing in front of the pop-up table full of winter holiday books.

Image description: President of the Friends, Mary Ellen O’Meara, reading a book in Spanish to attendees.

Next Year

The next Friends meeting is on January 14. As a reminder, the Friends meet every second Tuesday of each month on the second floor of the Malden Public Library at 7:00 p.m. We hope to see you at the next meeting!

Aside from that you can catch us at some of the following events:

  • January 13 (Monday), 6 - 7 p.m.

    Local History Trivia sponsored by the Friends at the Malden Public Library

  • January 18 (Saturday), 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

    Lunar New Year Celebration hosted by the Malden Chinese Cultural Connection at Malden High School

  • Date and time to come

    Members-only book sale at the Malden Public Library

Stay tuned for more events and surprises in 2025 as our organization grows and develops! Our 2025 Events calendar will be approved at our January meeting and subsequently posted on social media and at the Library. Thank you for being a Friend!

P.S. We recently reconciled our membership email list. Therefore, if this is the first newsletter you’re receiving, you can access our previous newsletters on our Beehiiv site: https://friends-ofs-newsletter.beehiiv.com/.