Greetings Friends! Starting today, we will be rolling out a quarterly newsletter filled with announcements and updates from the Friends. You should be able to access past newsletters through our Beehiiv account: https://friends-ofs-newsletter.beehiiv.com/.

Fall Book Sale Report

The Fall Book Sale took place on October 4 and 5 in partnership with the Malden Police Department and featured coffee from Cornucopia. We raised over $3,000, recruited a few new Friends, and showcased our newly reorganized Children’s Section. Thank you to those who stopped by!

Summer Updates

This past summer was heavy with the blossoming presence of the Friends.

In June, we kicked off the Malden Public Library’s Summer Reading Program by handing out free books at Malden High School. We also tabled at Malden’s Race Amity event, Juneteenth celebration at the Ferryway School, Pride festival at Coytemore Lea Park, and the Chinese Cultural Connection open house. We are always honored to be a part of these celebrations of history, resistance, and culture. 

We also held our annual Wine Tasting Gala in the historic Converse Memorial Building and Art Galleries, which raised over $10,000. Guests savored a variety of wines from Kappy’s Fine Wine and Spirits Rte. 1 Malden and food assortments from Malden’s finest establishments. Live piano music by the talented Nate Shaffer delighted the crowd, as well as a Silent Auction with exclusive items. The theme for this year’s gala was “Dressing through the Decades,” and attendees dressed in the style of their favorite decade. Many thanks to the following:

• Gala Sponsors - All-Tech Electric, Buckley Bros. Inc., CRG Graphics, and Philomena Brackett, as well as to donations given by Donnelly and Reed Insurance, Shapiro Legal group and Rosetta Languages.

• Local restaurants that donated gift cards to our Silent Auction: - Mineirão Steakhouse, Pearl St. Station, Exchange St. Bistro, 110 Grill and El Potro Mexican Bar & Grill.

• Martin’s Florist for creating a gorgeous floral centerpiece for the entry table.

• New England Coffee Co. for brewing plenty of coffee for folks to warm up with before exiting out into the cool, rainy night.

These funds from the Gala, book sales, and our tabling efforts go towards supporting the Library, such as the free events they host for our diverse community, and for us to continue our volunteer efforts, such as replacing shelves in the book room. 

In July, we delivered six boxes of books to the Prison Book Program in Quincy. The program was happy with our selections as we make an effort to provide popular items and interesting non-typical items in good condition.

In August, we returned the collection of Worcester Telegram newspaper archives to its rightful home. It was a small celebration handing off the archives to the Friends of the Worcester Public Library, but it established an important connection to our fellow Friends.

We ended the summer by giving out free books during the Fairy House event in Pine Banks.

We kicked off Fall with a pop-up at the Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition’s (GMAACC) mid-autumn festival community celebration.

Next Quarter

The next Friends meeting is on November 12. 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:

• October 13 (Sunday), 12 - 3:30 p.m.

  Hispanic Heritage Festival at Maplewood Square

• October 19 (Saturday) with October 26 rain date, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

  Health Fair at Lincoln Commons

• October 20 (Sunday), 11a.m. - 3 p.m. 

  Malden Reads is hosting an Indigenous People's Day celebration Lincoln Commons

• October 31 (Thursday), 3 - 5 p.m.

  Halloween book giveaway at Malden City Hall Plaza, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce

Thank you for being a Friend!