Malta Township Public Library

06/23/2026

This week Library Director Janet Clark had the privilege of representing our library at the IMLS America250 Library Convening in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The experience provided valuable opportunities to connect with colleagues from rural and small libraries across the Midwest, sharing ideas, challenges, and successes as we prepare to commemorate America's 250th anniversary.

Highlights included tours of the Taft Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Museum Center Library and Archives. One unforgettable moment was seeing an original Rembrandt painting in person at the Taft Museum.

Janet was also moved by the stories shared by podcaster Lee Habeeb, who reminded us that every story matters. The good and the bad alike become part of the narrative that shapes our future and helps us better understand our past.

Janet shares gratitude for the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and bring new ideas back to our community. Participation in this convening was made possible through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), whose support helps strengthen libraries and the communities they serve.

06/19/2026

For : On June 19, 1865, two months after the Confederacy surrendered and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops finally arrived in Texas, the westernmost Confederate state, and spread the word there that freedom was the law of the land.

About 70 years later, workers from the Federal Writers' Project arm of the Works Progress Administration started traveling around the U.S. collecting the stories of elderly Americans who still had firsthand accounts of being enslaved. Many of the people who were interviewed were also photographed. The Library has preserved these stories and images.

This photo is of Betty Simmons, who said she was more than 100 years old when she was interviewed in 1937 in Beaumont, Texas. She said she was married during slave times, and widowed, but was very happy that freedom came when it did because her enslavers were preparing to put her 3-year-old child to work in the fields.

Explore the narratives: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbloc

Image: Betty Simmons, Age about 100. Taken between 1936 and 1938. WPA Slave Narrative Project: Container, A932, vol. 16, part 4. Federal Writer's Project, United States Work Projects Administration (USWPA). Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

An old African American woman in a button down dress stands in front of a chair with her hands clasped, looking at the camera. The chair is outside, positioned in front of a house. A younger woman stands on the porch behind her.

06/18/2026

The Spongebob movie, Search for Squarepants is starting at 1 pm!

06/18/2026

06/17/2026

Look back at last Friday's foam party fun!

06/16/2026

Exciting things are happening! Stay tuned!

06/13/2026

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