NAM Newsletter 14 (2010)

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ARCHIVES

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A year ago the National Archives hosted the 41st International Con-

try of Tourism, the Works Record Room, and the Saint Vincent

ference of the Round Table on Archives (CITRA).

de Paule Residence. Work on the records management aspect did not hamper our active outreach programme, as this newslet-

It was an ex-

tremely busy time for all involved in the archives sector.

Looking

back on that event, we are proud to have managed the organisation

ter clearly exhibits.

of a very successful international event to the satisfaction of the lcA

board and also the 250 delegates who attended. It was also satis-

We also intensified our publications programme with the pub-

factory that the AGM of the same conference approved in principle

lishing of the catalogue for the Gozo exhibition, the book;

the International Declaration on Archives.

Malta's Lost Voices; by Andrew Alamango, and the State of Archives Report 2010 commissioned by the National Archives

This year we focused on the internal structures of the National Ar-

Council.

chives and also the aspects of records management in government.

We have just recruited an Administrator, a Conservator and an

For the year to come we look forward to focus on our security

Inspector of Records.

systems, and also to render the buildings we operate from more

These new members of staff will focus on

areas that were not yet structured, or needed further support and

environmental friendly.

specialization.

thanking all those who supported us during this year,

It was also a year during which we brought over to the archives

also welcome the new members of staff who now form part of

thousands of records from various public offices including the Minis-

our small but dedicated team.

I end this introductory message

particular two members of staff who retired during this year.

I

_ 446mo*if.i of# if^dif f lif eifl During 2010 the University of the Third Age in Gozo organised the second archival awareness course

for its students. The first such course was delivered two years ago by the National Archivist with the theme i-Arki.v/.i. Ma`fi.n. This time around the theme was Mi.//-Awfur sa /-Awhi'v/'u. The idea was to make students

aware that anyone can become an author, and that research in archives is not in any way restricted Students were encouraged to identify historical photos from their drawers (`private ar-

to an elite minority.

chives') and also provide details about the events those photos depict. With the technical workmanship of archives volunteer Mr Anthony Bonello, a multimedia dvd was developed rendering hundreds of historical images into a living memory of Gozitan life in years gone by. The DVD was launched in an event

organised by the Ministry For Gozo under the patronage of the Hon. Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo.

The DVD can be purchased from the National Archives for the price of € 10.

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We wish all the

Far@"@TT &

3ille1corne

best to employees Alfred Farrugia

and

liam

Wil-

Zammit

(top left) who have retired

this year.

Wel-

come to the new employees Theresa Zammit

Lupi,

Etienne Ferrito, lvan

Reno

EIlul

and

Caruana

(below from left to right).

ar.fi S .. a.#uh of F-ratlt.tn¢g During the last years the National Archives made consistent efforts to open its doors to various categories of users. We tried to create a hub of learning for students who are following history courses or other fields of study. This policy has been most successful during the last year. In all we hosted 32 students coming from the following institutions:

Gio-

vanni Curmi Higher Secondary, Junior College, St. Aloysius College, St.

Nicholas College Mtarfa, University of Malta, Paragon Europe and Fu-

ture Focus. The diversity of levels of education, nationalities and backgrounds is impressive. This mix of ideas helps in opening up our institution to wider interaction with the local and international audience. It is

estimated that during these placements the students did circa 3374 hours of work; sorted 97 metres of records, and inputted 950 entries in

our databases, captured 3 metres of metadata from digitised documents and performed administrative work. We take this opportunity to thank all

the students for their input, the sending institutions, and all teachers,

lecturers and mentors who helped us plan these initiatives.

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pl EEiE This experience made me appreciate even more the history of this tiny island and more of what our ancestors went through.

During my practicum,

I came across many applications

for passports and documents of identity, which clearly indicated a great demand for emigration

it must have been really hard for our ancestors to sail across the seas alone, without having an idea what might happen, but that was their only choice to obtain work. I can also appreciate how hard it is for the workers to sort everything out and that includes the difficulties I came

across-lots of heat, torn pages and finding the material mixed up, when its supposed to be already in order. I have to thank all the staff who helped me during my practicum. Thanks for

being so nice to us.

Jessica Aquilina (Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary)

As part of my studies in Archives and Records Management at the University of Malta, I was asked to do a practical training of 100 hours. I did my practical training at the National Archives

of Malta. During our lectures at the University of Malta, we had on site visits at various archives

and thus I was more familiar with the tasks being performed at the National Archives. My work

at the National Archives was to sort documents according to the organisation which created

them. There was a vast selection of documents which ranged from Police Department to the Culture Department. The Police Department documents included shop permits and telegraphy

licences. When sorting the Culture Department documents I encountered records of various cultural activities held in the past 40 years. I enjoyed my time spent at the National Archives

and managed to learn a lot. I would like to thank all the members of staff, but special thanks go to Mr. Charles Farrugia, National Archivist for the great help and sharing of knowledge that

made me more knowledgeable about the running of an archival institution. It was a great experience to spend the 100 hours in practical training at the National Archives of Malta.

Norman Sammut (Archive and Records Management University of Malta)

I am currently following a Diploma in Archive and Records Management course at the Univer-

sity of Malta. As part of the studies, students were asked to spend one hundred hours performing duties within a recognized archival institution. I chose the National Archives in Rabat which

is housed in Santo Spirito Hospital. During the time I spent at the National Archives, I got

hands-on training on how to sort documents according to the Fond (Different sections according to their origin of creation). I was really surprised to be able to observe various application

forms submitted by individuals who were applying for various types of shop permits. The oldest

of these permits dated back to 1945 and they belonged to the Police Department. Moreover,I sorted various departmental files from the Culture Department. From these files I noticed that the names of the Government departments changed from time to time. This causes a lot of problems when it comes to assigning them to the archiving system. My experience during this period was very positive and l'm sure that this will enrich my knowledge and will serve as a

great ?xperience for my studies.

Janet Chircop Bray (Archive and Records Management University of Malta)

This has been a wonderful experience for me since my course is related to archives. All the strange words one hears during lectures start making sense. A lot of work is involved before the

researcher has access to these records. There is a huge difference between sitting in a lecture I room and a hands on experience like this one.

Antida Mizzi (Archive and Records Management University of Malta)

izzi proof reading PW

CITRA - the Conference Internationale de la Table ronde des Archives, the .international round table conference on archives -was this year held in Oslo, Norway. Malta, that hosted CITRA 2009, was represented by Joseph Bezzina, the Assistant National Archivist.

The conference was held in the beautiful Holmenkollen Park Hotel Rica, situated on

one of the hills surrounding Oslo but very much detached from the city, between 13

and 18 September 2010. It was hosted by lvar Fonnes, Director General of the National Archives of Norway, and EURBICA Vice-President.

This 2010 conference theme was TRUST AND ACCESS . Challenges to Managing Records and Archives in the Digital Age. The speakers and chairs were all international names in the fields of archives and archivistics. During the conference, a num-

ber of pressing issues were raised highlighting the challenge of the preservation of digital archives, presentations of workable solutions already in operation in govern-

mental and private institutions, as well as the role that accessible digital archives can play as a tool in providing citizens with access to information.

APEnet -Archives Portal Europe -is a Best Practice Network project supported by the European Commission in the econtentplus programme and its objective is to build an Internet Gateway for Documents and Archives in Europe where fourteen European National Archives in close cooperation with the EUROPEANA initiative will

create a common access point to European archival descriptions and digital collections. One of the partners is the National Archives of Malta.

APEnet held its second General Assembly in Le6n, Spain on the 30 June 2010. The

National Archives was represented by Dr Joseph Bezzina, Assistant National Archivist, and Noel D'Anastas, Assistant Archivist. Saveriano Hernandez Vicente, Head of

State Archives at the Spanish Ministry of Culture, opened the assembly. He wel-

coined all those present wishing them a fruitful discussion towards the advancement of a common European Archives portal.

During the conference, the APEnet project management team reviewed the progress of the project and informed all partners on the latest developments. This will eventually lead to the launching of the pilot of the Archives Portal Europe in January 2011.

The EUROPEANA Plenary Conference with the theme `Creation, Collaboration and Copyright' was held in September 2009.

The National Archives participant Mr Noel

D' Anastas participated during the meetings and also discussed our participation in

both APEnet and EUROPEANA. National Archivist Charles J. Farrugia represented Malta during the 8th Meeting of

the European Archives Group and the 21st Meeting of the European National Archivists on the 18 and 19 May 2010 in Madrid. Amongst the themes discussed

there was preservation and disaster prevention, the DLM Forum an MOReq2, Eurono-

mos and APEnet.

Outreach events During this year we continued with our outreach initiatives. Amongst the events we organised tours to the following groups: Local Council Dingli, Faculty of Geography

students, Higher Secondary students and an open day and exhibition on Stanley Fraser at the Banca Giuratale, Legal Documentation Centre in Mdina.

On 15 May 2010, the National Archives Gozo Section once again opened its

doors for the Gozo version of the IVo#e Bt.anca, the IVofte Gozitana. An exhibition entitled ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF HOUSES OF CHARACTER IN GOZO .

DETTALJI ARKITETTONICI FID.DJAR ANTIKI TA' GHAWDEX was set up for the

The exhibition featured forty first-class photos of houses of character in Gozo

emphasising the disappearing features of the architecture of farmhouses of the past three centuries. The exhibition was opened from 8.00 am to 1.00 pin and from 6.00 pin to midnight. A

good number of people visited the exhibition during these eleven hours. Many of them grasped the occasion to learn more about the deposits at the Gozo Section of the National Archives.

The annual Gozo Archives Exhibition The annual exhibition at the Gozo Section of the National Archives was this

year held between 7 and 23 October 2010. The exhibition -Gozo domestic architecture -a dwindling heritage . i-arki.fe#ura domesfi.ka f'Gfiawdex - wi.rf defy.em /'onqos - was inaugurated by Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo in

the presence of the Joseph Scerri, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Gozo; Charles Farrugia, the National Archivist; Joseph Bezzina, the Assistant National Archivist; Dr Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary; and a number of distinguished guests.

The stone was the protagonist of this exhibition that was made up of two parts. The FIRST consisted of documents related to the granting of building

permits from 1575 onwards. The SECoND was made up of old and recent

photos that demonstrated the dwindling domestic architecture of bygone times.

The exhibition was sponsored by Dr Victor Bajada LL.D, Managing Director,

VB Ho/di.ngs Ltd. His sponsorship made it possible for the NAG to publish a

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full-colour catalogue of the exhibition, as well as a souvenir postcard. This is

the fourth special postcard issued for the occasion. It is hoped that this exhibi-

Or Gozo, going round the exhibition; with `quom left to

LL.D., the sponsor; J. Bezzina,

peg?ry.edÂŁ.`Farr

AJfgiv`jvist;J.

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tion will further spur the authorities to safeguard this dwindling heritage that is certainly an enhancement to a more eco-Gozo.

The National Archives would like to convey its deep appreciation to Dr Victor

Bajada LL.D., Managing Director, VB Ho/di.ngs [fd, whose support and sponsorship greatly enhanced this exhibition.

InaugrrationofdigitallaboratoryandlaunchingofGozopictureGauery On the occasion of the opening of the annual exhibition in Gozo on 7 October 2010, Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo, inaugurated a digital laboratory at the Gozo

Section of the National Archives. There are two other similar labs at the other two sections of the National Archives at Rabat-Malta and Mdina. It is hoped that as a

result, the written heritage of Gozo will be better preserved and will eventually be made available to a world-wide public.

On the same occasion, the Minister launched the Gozo Portrait Gallery. The National Archives Malta donated to the Minister six photos of six Gozitan personalities, taken by Tony S. Mangion M.O.M., to be preserved at the National Archives. This

number will hopefully increase towards the creation of a portrait gallery of well-

known Gozitans.

artolo, National Archivist

lateLJfuido de Ma

uring an event at

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ln the early years of the 1930s, when music entertainment was the order of the day in the capital city of Valletta, the music establishments started sending musicians to Milan and Tunis to make the first records of Maltese music. Recorded on the major labels of the day including HMV, ODEON, Zonophone & PATHE RECORDS, these gramophone records, played at 78revolutions per minute, are the earliest documented sound of the country.

Malta's Lost Voices is a project initiated by Andrew Alamango, and is funded by

the Ministry of Education and the National Archives. It aims to

gather information, catalogue and document this phenomenon of early recording in Malta (1931-32) by collecting and digitizing the

records, with the aim of making them publicly accessible through a database housed in the National Archives for research and posterity. This includes the release of a publication which includes a double CD with audio files, images, and the biographies of the musicians and music agents involved.

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A Publication under the National Memory Project sponsored by the National Archives and Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family.

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Opening Hours to the Public:

'[:.-iFkRE!hw#Sfle,

Published by the National Archives of Malta

The national entity responsible for archives and

records management

Head Office, Rabat Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Friday Thursday

8.00am to 2.00pm

Head Office: `Santo Spirito', Hospital Street,

10.00am to 2.00pm / 3.00pm to 7.30pm

Rabat RBT 1043 -Malta

Saturday

8.15am to 12.45pm

Legal Documentation Section Mdina Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday

8.00am to 2.00pm

Mon'day

8.00am to 2.00pm / 3.00pm to 7.30pm

Tel:

+ 356 2145 9863

Fax:

+ 356 2145 0078

E-mail:

customercare.archives@gov.mt www.nationalarchives.gov.mt

Gozo Section, Rabat Monday - Friday

7.30am to 1.30pm

Wednesday Saturday

7.30am to 5.30pm 7.30am to 1.00pm

Editor:

ChariesJ. Famugia

lssN

1605-7058