NAM Newsletter 13 (2009)

\.' ,,'\ ,, , \ , , ,I,\ , ' \„ I I '\',1`, `, , ,'' , \'' I.11 ' Wk \\'

* on pol.a. fr. tn c­ .

i5j_­_

I;«be „ N­ 31 tgiv ZOO,

•+RC'Hl\ I() ST()R[l`() ML!I.T]MED]^LE DF,L MED]TERR^NEO

IIn I)onte fra tre continenti \ • ­­ 'E,

/ ,,„'

'`.{`..,I tl,;I ___ ­­ _ _ __ _ ­

(;u4 jJ,I, ­I­L,tc`tL .I a,ir,:_:­

/un4k~ JAoui.

J{ is with a sense of trepidation that I am writing to such a spe­

Yes, CPD matters.

cialised group of people ­archivists. Yet, as I set down to discuss matters, with some archivists; see what the work actually entails;

I also subscribe to need to develop a clear and focused CPD

and read about the world that archivists live in, then I started to

strategy. The strategy needs to be one that, first and foremost,

realise that there was a common language that you were using,

is relevant, focused and a possibility for all those involved in the

common beliefs and values that I adhered to. I felt more at home as

archives. Secondly, the strategy needs to be one that respects the people it's meant to engage. For any course or programme to be effective one needs to address and work on needs.

I came across words and phrases such as `continuing professional development', `Iearner­based training', `communities' and `adhesive

Linked to this is a strategy that encourages learning from col­

strategy'.

leagues. So, the strap line of the strategy needs to be `Learning I picked these words from your draft resolutions. What is clear is

from each other, learning from what works'.

the belief that continuous professional development (CPD) needs to

be part and parcel of our work, of our personal and professional

In itself this means that ways need to be explored so that indi­

existence. As an educator I constantly harp on the need to make

vidually and collectively ­ through different modes ­ they can

sure that every child will leave education with high levels of skill.

share good practices. Boundaries may need to be brought

More importantly they will need to have a confidence in their ability

down as people learn to share and learn from each other.

and a desire to continue learning throughout their lives. They will

not have that confidence or desire unless their experience in

The final point I would like to share here in this brief contribution

schools has been one of success in learning. This is an absolutely

is that a strategy and varied practices can help us to strengthen

fundamental building block. That's why for every government from

the sense of expectation of all archivists and potential archivists

now on, they will have to have an obsession with the quality of the

to take responsibility for their own CPD. It should not be left for

teaching and learning at every stage in the education process.

someone else to address. In our respective countries and set ups we need to create an environment that nurtures learning as

Likewise the role of archivists can play an important role in the lives

of our people ­ young and old ­ to turn them into communities that

people ­ staff and visitors/students alike ­ engage in different ways. In this way can we truly create professional learning

appreciate our heritage; that help us to critically analyse and review

communities. Such a community is felt, lived.

our lifestyle, our attitudes towards anything that can be deemed The challenge awaits us.

archival.

5gr€;republishingthisissueofournewsletterontheeveofthehostingofthe41stlnternationalconfer­ ence of the Round Table on Archives. Between 17 and 19 November 2009 the leading world archivists will be in Malta to discuss the theme `lmagining the twenty first century archivist: new strategies for edu­

cation and training'. During the last two years we have prepared for this event which will put our archives

sector on the international map. We are excited to meet this challenge which, I am sure, will be of great benefit to our local profession.

On 31 July 2009 I was honoured by an invitation from the Director General of the Italian State Archives to

give a speech at the launching of the Archi.vt'o Stort'co Mu/fi.med;.a/e de/ Medi.terraneo. This is a thrilling initiative which will make it possible for the rich archival heritage preserved in Mediterranean countries to

see the light of the day via internet technology. For that event, I chose to deliver a paper entitled `Celebrating Voyages of Discovery'. I opted for such a theme as it is my true belief that researchers do

experience this feeling of a voyage of discovery in our reading rooms. And the tools we are creating, not I , , ,I , ,

only with the Mediterranean portal, but also with other initiatives we are involved in such as the European Archives Gateway (APEnet), are making it possible for researchers to reach what renowned historian Fernand Braudel called `purest historical gold'.

Lately we also launched a new web­site at www.nationalarchives.qov.mt We tried to depart from the traditional informative mode into some­

thing innovative which focuses on e­government services. It is now possible for our patrons to order copies of documents, and receive some of our services at the click of a button. This is just the first step which we hope will make it possible for wider interface with our users, I conclude this editorial by inviting all delegates who will visit Malta for CITRA 2009 to embark on their voyage of discovery of the Maltese

archives sector and the beauty of our country; I am sure that they will discover a great richness and excellent hospitality which gives scope for celebration. It will be opportunity for Malta to give another proof of the valuable international contribution it can make notwithstanding its small size.

•`7`resentation of the book 'Guardians of Memory' to the then President of Malta H.E.

Dr Eddie Fenech Adami on

13 January 2009

c;TeHon.Dolorescristina, Minister responsible for

archives addressing the first National Archives Forum on

22 October 2008

Et:£±B_i­&i±a'±=.iE;€T==a­a ;','`­fife ­i_­_­­­i I_­_+ ,.­­­­

TT_±=­fRE ­­~­­Jf= ­=#g­­,: . ­±Tiii##.

­, , ' .,,,. (c®`,,, ''' ,,,,,,,., ' ,,,,

+ ` ­ ­ _­`_ ­­,­­­­­­­

I ,..­. `' +.,.`0`', .,de.., `,I... '` `"

==`­.­­i­­­­;I;ii=f`f::ijfF­­!!f!!f±.­'=i­€!.!­­­.­­­­i:.

r=:,.­';,­:r'­ut­­­r; ­­i .­.­­ :­:i:i,­.­­ I_i `: ,­.­.­­­. I.j'­.

'`#:.I:,­`;:i,#:'f­:,~fa±_ i,zH[EHTbHiEFE=hEEi­i ¥:¥#Tg=i=|=ifi=::T'::'­:~=±iFTEtil+i:#ia `.I.'..I.,` :­. ,I `,.'='. ­, `r'`

Eife'¥­?ife:¥

I:„_,,;:;:I;:r<zGF;.I;=irl ­;iu­`^ :i;. ­;i.:...­ :=„..:`­ iL_­­,­*,T=.=rict­­ink:=*.i­­­=;;aTTizz:=z;;;­itritr­Ldr­

;.:,­fff3fapfsef±jte±_, I( .... ', I,, .rr'`. '**"

i­­

a |t ! pa uJ i)I n lad O>!JO}s O!^!LiaJ`r

WWSY a.uE..a+!Pa|d lop

• /he island of Gozo is the proud guardian of a millennia­old craft ­

The skill of the mason consisted in raising a wall by placing the

the building of the FJ/tan fas­Setl./'eh, in English dry­stone walls.

rough pieces of stones without taking any measurements whatso­

These are built with pieces of stone that are fitted together without

ever, basing his judgment solely on experience, on his able hands,

mortar. They are also referred to as rubble walls as the masonry is

and his selective eyes.

constructed using rough unfinished stones masonry.

The walls are constructed with stones of various dimensions placed

one upon another without the use of any sort of clay or cement.

Every piece of stone is laid with its maqgfiad or flat face downwards for robustness. The space behind the pieces and between one layer

and the next was filled with maskan, stone chippings, as this eased the percolation of excess rain water without damaging the structure.

The dry­stone walls serve several purposes. First and foremost they break down the slopes of hilly Gozo into manageable fields. Most

This craft and the most interesting dry­stone walls of Gozo were

important the walls prevent the soil from being washed away into the

demonstrated in an exhibition of forty first­class photos shown for the

valleys by the rain water, On flat ground, where they are built very

first time for the IVo#e Gozitana on 23 May 2009 at the NAG ­ Na­

low, they mark the boundaries of various holdings. In some areas

tional Archives Gozo Section.

they also serve to protect the sprouting vegetables from the withering north westerly winds. Along lanes and paths, they prevent trespass­ ers and animals from stealing or causing damage to the crops. Next

to farms they form enclosures to impede fowls and other farm ani­ mals from roaming away.

An i.mtenqa and a string to sign the limits of the wall were the only tools employed in its building. An i'mferqa is a small axe similar to a

hatchet with a short handle and a heavy metal head for use with one

hand; it has a flat edge on one side, and a sharpened edge on the other.

The traditional way of constructing a field consists in first levelling the

ground by removing prominences of rock and filling in cavities with

stones and then spreading a layer of soil about a metre deep over the evened surface. The terrain is parcelled out into small areas by an extensive network of rubble walls.

­St3jlROIIS,'':Y.ap„ I®f€{.lE . . \\ \'

'`­9D ffierpetu&m fflem¢rtam' r­,tt ,+`­ ": I:, i,. ­1 \J.­­`` ' ­­..,.­.­.. _. , ­\ '~,

I,`.,.,,

'','¢bje 8ritbfto`eS o{,.,the ®rS±..t ot 8t'.: 9bbtt ­"'tl

o7,,,i.1798

'f'~' .. .' '' T' ''r`_`'n: /` ' `. '` .''',I, .~ ..,, "­­ _ ,,.­...... : . ,I

I.;;,.,:...'.:'.'::...:;:i;;.f i.­:'.:'..:.::...I....:::i:i:::.i;;::­.._.. :,'.'.,_::­:I.,:I.::.:_:..I:. ` .' .. ` . ` , ;:::`::...`: `':

rift­"i~o,I,ta:bo.r­¢tt'ri:ft­TP£­­t'jb,ib­­e':`ri.stt'orm'I\¥tbrarpofrialtd (,

L|

!xp9£, €¥btbttto« tot ll be t«d«.qu"teb b'urt.«ri­ o«; of the cheriJig ap3Rg to«{,e,re«te­naqD to.I(I be ripe'it. to tbe giva'Ites¢ tb.e jBat('o­it&I %`tbroffp itT Pffllftta ~. '^ ..,.,,.,. ' `.h'. . ' ........... i ,. = `.: ­,.. [

i7heNationalArchivist has the pleasure to invite you to the loth Annual Public Lecture

5RTth the theme De Poincy's sugar island: at what cost?

by Victoria Borg 0' Flaherty Director of the National Archives of St. Kitts ­ Nevis

C7n 20 November 2009 at 18.00hrs

at the Intercontinental Hotel St. Julian,s EL*,

f