State of Archives Report 2016

STATE OF ARCHIVES REPORT

2016

REPORT ON THE STATE OF MALTESE ARCHIVES, 2016

The Report on the State of the Maltese Archives is a requirement under article 15(2) of the National Archives Act, 2005 (Cap. 477 of the Laws of Malta), which states that the National Archives Council, set up by article 14 of the same law “shall biannually convene a National forum about the archives, to discuss the state of the archives generally after receiving a relative report to be drawn up by the Council.�

Compiled by the National Archives on behalf of the National Archives Council October 2016

© 2016 THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES COUNCIL

Published by The National Archives Council October 2016

c/o National Archives, Hospital Street Rabat RBT1043, Malta www.nationalarchives.gov.mt

Cover Photo: Daniel Cilia

Contents Page Message from Hon Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Education and Employment Message from Dr William Zammit, President National Archives Council Message from Dr Charles J Farrugia, National Archivist and CEO National Archives Council 1.1 The National Archives Council 1.2 Functions 1.3 Council Members 1.4 Summary of Activities National Archives of Malta 2.1 Records Management Unit 2.2 Archives’ Processing Unit 2.3 Conservation Unit 2.4 Public Services Unit 2.5 Outreach 2.6 International and Local Meeting Activity 2.7 The National Memory Project The National Library of Malta 3.1 Digivault 3.2 Exhibitions 3.3 Readers Services 3.4 Conservation The Archives of the Archbishop of Malta 4.1 The creation of a new space to house the Archive 4.2 Digitisation of records 4.3 Conservation project of the Fondo Acta Civila 4.4 Conservation of the Biblioteca di San Calcedonio 4.5 Reception of new ‘Fondi’ 4.6 Promotion and public relations The Malta Study Center’s Projects in Malta Summary of Past and Ongoing Preservation Projects 5.1 The National Archives of Malta in Mdina and Rabat 5.2 The Notarial Archives in Malta 5.3 Vittoriosa Archives of the Inquisition Digitisation Project 5.4 Cathedral Archives of Mdina and Cathedral Museum Parchment and Manuscript Project 5.5 Cathedral Archives of Mdina Archives of the Inquisition Digitisation Project 5.6 Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum in Mdina 5.7 Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti Private Libraries Digitisation Project 5.8 Catholic University of America Order of Malta Digitisation Project 5.9 Magistral Archives and Library in Rome 5.10 The Malta Study Centre Collection at HMML Archives held by Band Clubs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Methodology 6.3 Trends 6.4 Good records management practices 6.5 Conclusion Archives Forum, 2014 7 Highlights of the National Forum on Archives, 2014

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National Archives of Malta, Banca Giuratale, Mdina

Message from Hon. Minister Evarist Bartolo Minister for Education and Employment

A popular quote, often found in libraries across the world, is “Who knows

only his own generation remains always a child”. It has taken modern variances but the significance remains the same: our history defines us and it is our responsibility to understand and learn our historical background.

We live in times where knowledge is not always celebrated and respected.

However it is our duty to preserve the lessons learnt from history, and the path that has led us to who we are.

The role of the National Archives is not to preserve ancient books for the sake of it. It is to preserve who we are,

where we can from and help future generations understand the often difficult history of our country and our culture.

I am happy to note that over the past years there has been a concerted effort to strengthen the profile of the National Archives, and I believe that results have also been delivered on this front. For the past few years public officers

started enrolling for the Diploma in Archives and Records Management at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, at the University of Malta.

It is hoped that this investment enhances public records’ management within the public administration and Government wants to explore ways and means how we could assist private archives to carry out their mission.

I am glad to note that the archives’ national profile is being enhanced and further valued. The 48 deposits of records of enduring historical value at the National Archives by private individuals and entities testify to this. We look forward to continue enriching our historical records for the benefit of future generations.

May I take the opportunity to trigger a debate on how public records, that over the years have ended in private

ownership, may be appreciated once more by the general public. This is a very delicate issue as some current holders

have not acquired these records in an illegal manner. We have embarked on the compilation of a consultation document for a national consensus on this matter.

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Message from Dr William Zammit President of the National Archives Council The years under review in this report have been characterised by some considerable activity where the National Archives Council is concerned.

Entrusted by law to promote the National Archives as well as other recordkeeping institutions and also advising the Minister responsible upon any aspect related to them, the Council has met regularly and, I am happy to say, with very few and justified absences on the part of its members.

The Council’s initiatives are well documented in this report, and I will here refer to what deserves pride of place and what may be described as an absolute first where our national memory is concerned: the proposal and concrete initiative for the construction of the first-purposely built National Archives for Malta. The need for such a project has been felt since practically the foundation of our National Archives in 1989. The initial plans have been drawn up and, once completed, the project will address so many challenges which to date still hamper one of our foremost research institutions. On the physical level lack of adequate space is resulting in the scattering of rescued archival fonds in various depositories, many of which – including the Santo Spirito building itself – present quite formidable issues where preservation is concerned. Researchers would similarly benefit from the project, while it will undoubtedly enhance the people’s perception as to the importance of our national records, with their greater spaces for promotion, visibility and access.

It is such a great relief to note developments taking place where other Maltese archival collections are concerned. The setting up of the Board for the Management of the Cathedral Archives in 2014 has constituted another landmark for that major archival collection. The appointment of Rev. Canon Nicholas Doublet, a professionally-trained archivist responsible for the Curia’s extensive archives is yet another most welcome development. Smaller but highly significant collections are being organised, catalogued and at times saved thanks to greater awareness. Collaborative projects have included those between the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library and privately-owned archival depositories, as in the case of the impressive de Piro archive.

Public awareness as to the national value and sheer interest in our archival patrimony is being fostered by an encouraging number of televised programmes as well as features in the local media. The feedback one receives is encouraging indeed. Council members as well as other individuals prominent in the field have contributed to this effective means of reaching out and the result is there for all to see.

On the academic level, it is a pleasure to report that the first Masters students in archival studies have or are in the process of graduating from our university. Their newly-acquired competence but also their research in the way of Masters’ theses constitutes yet another landmark during the past couple of years. The Council would also like to take this occasion to congratulate Dr Charles Farrugia, National Archivist and CEO, for obtaining a doctorate in archival sciences from the University of Aberystwyth.

The present report includes a number of brief contributions by different stakeholders highlighting developments in the area. The National Library of Malta is forging ahead with much-needed conservation and digitisation projects. Dr Daniel Gullo and Dr Nicholas Doublet provide us with latest updates where the collections under their responsibility are concerned. Dorianne Coleiro, a Masters student in Archive Sciences shares with us some of her findings regarding yet another intriguing area of Maltese archives: those pertaining to band clubs.

These and other initiatives all augur well for an area which has traditionally never featured high on the political or indeed the popular agenda. Perceptions are changing and there is a renewed sense of vigour in the air. The location of this Archives Forum itself was not chosen by accident: one of the most historically-loaded edifice in the Maltese Islands which has been transformed from a state of neglect to yet another cultural jewel which will undoubtedly draw to it the attention of Maltese and foreigners alike. A parallel situation thankfully continues to develop also where our national memory heritage is concerned and I avail myself of this occasion to thank all those who have and still are contributing to this.

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Message from Dr Charles J Farrugia National Archivist and CEO The publication of the State of Archives Report is an excellent opportunity for the archives sector in Malta to analyse its strengths and weaknesses. This year’s report, for logistical reasons, is covering a span of three years (2013-15).

Council decided to keep the format used in the last report that was published in 2012.

However, apart from the account of the work of the Council and the National Archives, the third section tries to shift the focus on different archival institutions – and this year there was the decision to focus on the Malta Study Centre and archives in local Band Clubs amongst others.

A lot of important milestones were achieved during the period in question and I cannot but thank all those ranging from decision makers, archivists in charge, staff and volunteers for the dedication they are showing in managing the sector. I will highlight some important milestones during the period under review.

Most of the measures worked upon during the last three years focused on long term solutions and benefits to the archives community. One of these achievements was Legal Notice 20/2015 entitled ‘Census Questionnaire (Period of Availability for Public Inspection Regulations)’. Through this measure we have ended once and for all the bad practice of the past of destroying all Census enumerators’ reports. Under this new legal amendment, three whole Census have already been preserved by the National Archives for the benefit of future generations.

Another long term measure was the partial implementation of the provisions of article 16 of the National Archives Act. This provides for the appointment of Records Officers in public officers.

This November will see the first such Officers graduate from the University of Malta and eventually take their role as the ‘promoters of good records management practice’ in a number of Ministries.

Following the 2013 General Elections the National Archives was also entrusted with the implementation of two electoral measures (13.031 and 13.032). The measures aim at the consolidation of certain holdings with reference also to audio-visual archives and the setting up of an Oral Archives to document the memories of people. Extensive work has been carried out by the National Archives on both measures and a number of deals with other stakeholders concluded.

These processes are also helping the National Archives overcome the digital disruption we are living through and which is one of the biggest challenges faced by archival institutions worldwide. The benefit from these projects will be appreciated in the years to come.

Notwithstanding the above, we are aware that the sector has numerous shortcomings, especially when it comes to resources, repositories and personnel. The plans for a new national archive building have started to take shape and I do consider this project as the ‘must have’ next step for the whole records management and archives sector to make a huge leap forward.

I augur that this report reaches its aims of documenting the achievements so far and stimulate a health debate on where we need to go from here.

I take the opportunity to thank all those who were involved in the research, writing and design of this publication.

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Fairey Flycatcher floatplane, most probably from 406 (Fleet Fighter) Flight overflying the Grand Harbour area in 1926 or 1927.

Malta Aviation Museum Archives.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES COUNCIL 1.1

The National Archives Council

Article 14 of the National Archives Act (2005) stipulates that: 1. There shall be a National Archives Council, appointed by the Minister, which shall be composed as follows: a) b) c) d) e) f) g)

A Chairperson; The Superintendent of Cultural heritage ex officio or his representative; The Chairperson of Heritage Malta ex officio or his representative; The National Librarian ex officio or his representative; The Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister ex officio or his representative; A person to represent the non-governmental archives or records centres; Three other persons chosen from amongst persons known to be used of and familiar with archives, records management and information professions, or working in non-governmental organisations dedicated to information and archives, one of whom shall be appointed by the Minister responsible for Gozo.

2. The National Archivist and the Assistant National Archivist for Gozo shall attend all the meetings of the Council but shall not vote at such meetings: Provided that the Council may, if it deems so fit, require the National Archivist and the Assistant National Archivist for Gozo not to attend any of the meetings or any part of a meeting.

3. The members of the Council shall be appointed for a term of three years, but the members so appointed shall be eligible for reappointment on the expiration of their term of office.

4. The meetings of the Council shall be called by the Chairperson as often as may be necessary but at least once every two months either on his own initiative or at the request of any two of the other members.

5. Half of the number of the members for the time being constituting the Council shall form a quorum. Decisions shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting. The Chairperson shall have an initial vote and in the event of an equality of votes, a casting vote.

6. Any member who has a direct or indirect interest in any contract of other action made or proposed to be made by the Council in connection with the National Archives, shall disclose the nature of his interest at the first meeting of the Council after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge. Such disclosure shall be recorded in the

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minutes of the meeting, and such member shall withdraw from any meeting while such matter is discussed or decided upon by the Council.

7. Subject to the provisions of this Act and to such procedures as may be prescribed, the Council shall regulate its own proceedings.

1.2

Functions

Article 15 of the same legislation defines the functions of the Council: 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, the Council shall a) Promote the National Archives and other record keeping entities; b) Ensure and facilitate the collaboration between the different stakeholders with direct or indirect responsibility for the protection and management of the archives sector; c) Advise the Minister on the management of archives in Malta; d) Draw the attention of the Minister or of any organisation or person responsible for archives to any urgent action that may be considered necessary for the better management of archives and records; e) Advise the Minister on any matter arising from the provisions of this Act and on any other matter referred to it by the Minister.

2. The Council shall also biannually convene a National Forum about the archives to discuss the state of the archives generally after receiving a relative report to be drawn up by the Council. There shall be invited to attend as such Forum, among others, Departments and other Government entities, Mayors of Local Councils, owners of private archives and their archivists, non-governmental organisations having an interest in the maintenance and safeguarding of archives and public records, the University of Malta, other educational institutions, specialists, consultants, representatives of the commercial sector, persons who make use of the archives, and any such other party showing to the Council in writing that it has an interest therein. The Forum procedures shall be published and sent to the Minister.

3. The Council shall give public notice one month in advance of the meeting of the Forum which shall be chaired by the President who is to be appointed by the Council.

1.3

Council Members

In 2013, Minister Hon. Evarist Bartolo, Minister of Education and Employment, appointed the following members to sit on the National Archives Council for a period of three years, with effect from 31 July 2013: President Dr William Zammit Members Mr Anton Attard Rev. Mgr. Ä wann Azzopardi Dr Joseph Buttigieg, Chairperson of Heritage Malta Ms Joyce Dimech, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (who substituted Ms Marie Lourdes Grech, Director Cabinet Office) Ms Cheryl Falzon, National Librarian (who substituted Mr Oliver Mamo, the former National Librarian and CEO) Mr Max Farrugia Dr Anthony Pace, Superintendent of Cultural Heritage Dr Lillian Sciberras

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The National Archivist, Mr Charles J. Farrugia and the Assistant National Archivist Rev. Dr Joseph Bezzina are requested to attend all Council meetings.

1.4

Summary of Activities

During the period covering this Report, the National Archives Council met on thirteen occasions: twice in 2013, six times in 2014 and five times in 2015. During these meetings, the Council discussed various matters that were referred to it by the National Archivist, raised by the members of the Council, or proposed by administrators of other archives or stakeholders.

Dr William Zammit

The following is an account of the Council meetings and the main issued that were discussed:

2013 16 October 2013 - -

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The first meeting of this Council took place at the National Archives in Rabat; Mr Charles J. Farrugia, the National Archivist and CEO, explained in detail a memorandum he communicated to the incoming Minister, Hon. Evarist Bartolo, identifying four areas which need to be tackled during the legislature: the short term solution to the lack of storage space at the National Archives, which problem is hindering the institution from fulfilling its accessions process; the need to appoint records officers in public offices; the plans to have a National Archives Portal providing digital images from the holdings to the public: and the building of a new National Archives which will provide adequate space and facilities for the preservation and access to the holdings.

Dr William Zammit added that another priority that needs to be considered is adequate attention to private archives, some of which have national significance and need to be protected. These are to be given better incentives to preserve and give access to their archives; ‘It’s all about Governance!’ was the theme of this year’s Archive Awareness Week (26 November – 3 December) organised by the National Archives.

The highlight of that year’s programme was the Annual Public Lecture entitled ‘Archives and the Maltese legislation on data protection and freedom of information. Square pegs and round holes?’ delivered by Professor Kevin Aquilina, Dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta, on Tuesday 3 December at the National Archives in Rabat. Other activities included a public talk on 26

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Mr Anton Attard

Dun Gwann Azzopardi

Dr Joseph M Buttigieg

Ms Joyce Dimech

Ms Cheryl Falzon

Mr Max Farrugia

Dr Anthony Pace

Dr Lillian Sciberras

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November by Dr Theresa Vann on ‘Digital projects and the future of Malta’s historical archives’ (University Library, Msida), the opening of the course ‘L-arkivji personali u l-valur tagħhom’ at the University of the Third Age in Gozo on 29 November, the inauguration of the exhibition ‘Engagements and Weddings in Gozo Past’ at the Gozo National Archives Section. A visit by students from the Faculty of Law, together with another visit by a group from a social club (Qormi) to the National Archives Head Office in Rabat took place during this week.

The date for the next National Forum on Archives has been set for February 2014, instead of the NovemberDecember 2013 period, due to the General Elections during the year in question.

10 December 2013 - - - - - - - - -

The second meeting was also held at the National Archives, Head Office, in Rabat; Further talks were held about the building of a new premises to house the National Archives. Mr Farrugia explained that it was suggested that the Computer Centre area in Dingli could be explored as it was already Government owned. The problem was not the building but funds, with an estimate of circa 22 million euros; A meeting was held with the FTS (Foundation for Tomorrow Schools) to prepare a technical brief about the space required; however, if the Minister’s proposal that the new building had to house the National Archives as well as the National Library, this brief had to take this into consideration as well; The lack of space at the Gozo Archives was also discussed; The National Archivist explained that no documents were being transferred from the Courts Division because of lack of space. He continued that in the near future, a digitisation project by the then Ministry of Justice was to start on all Court documents; Mr Farrugia explained that all documents prior to 1900 are found at the National Archives while the ones following can be found at the Camerata in Valletta because of lack of space; As regards to a short-term solution, Mr Farrugia explained that part of the Rabat School houses some Archives documents, but these were not going to remain there forever.

The suggestion proposed was that a large building, like a factory, had to be found to be used in any eventuality, only temporarily; Dr Joseph Buttigieg, the Chairperson of Heritage Malta, offered the services of his employees as regards to technical and scientific advice; Mr Charles J Farrugia announced that nearly all Cabinet Papers between 1960 up to the 1980s had been transferred from the Office of the Prime Minister to the National Archives. These are to be digitised and opened to the public after 14 January 2014.

2014 11 February 2014 - - - - -

The third meeting of the Council was also held at the National Archives in Rabat; The discussion about the Cabinet Memos continued and it was suggested that the next public lecture organised by the National Archives will be about the historic importance of these Memos; Mr Charles J Farrugia presented a powerpoint presentation about his visit to one of the Dutch Archives. He explained that the Ministry is giving all its support to the setting up of the new building, which is going to be in a central part of the Island; The National Archivist announced that the Rabat School was being renovated and so emptied from the 3,000 archival boxes and that a practical alternative archival site had to be found; An agreement was reached with the NSO (National Statistics Office) for the depositing of all population census’ documents held in Malta and Gozo in the National Archives. This agreement was also sanctioned by virtue of Legal Notice 20 of 2015 and the Subsidiary Legislation 477.01 entitled “Census Questionnaire (Period of Availability for Public Inspection) Regulations” dated 15th January 2015. These documents will not be open to the public for a period of one hundred years.

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8 April 2014 - - - -

The fourth meeting of this Council was also convened at the National Archives Head Office in Rabat; Further talks were held about the new building to house the national Archives. Mr Charles Farrugia explained that part of the Ospizio in Floriana was offered to the National Archives by the MEDE to house all Court documents and all the documents that were previously stored at the Rabat School; A follow-up of the National Forum held in February ensued and it was decided that certain logistical changes have to be made to attract a better audience; As regards to private archives, the National Archivist suggested an amnesty to be considered by the authorities so that public documents that are in the care of private individuals and entities are returned back to the Government to be recovered and accessed by all.

10 June 2014 - - - - -

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This fifth meeting of the National Archives Council was, once again, held at the National Archives in Rabat; Mr Charles Farrugia announced that archival documents had started being transferred to the Ospizio in Floriana; The Council was briefed for the first time to the issue of introducing Records officers in Public Administration through a call for applications to administer all records in Ministries and Government Departments. These records, according to Law, are to be deposited at the National Archives when no longer in use; A detailed report was presented to all Council members regarding all the acquisitions by the National Archives between December 2013 and May 2014; Finally, after 5 years of hard work, the agreement regarding the supply of oral archives has been signed between the National Archives and the University of Malta. The methodology of these interviews is to be taken care of by the University while aspects of digitisation and preservation of material is to be steered by the National Archives; Rev. Mons. John Azzopardi, the representative regarding other archives in Malta, announced that between the 18th and 20th September an exhibited was going to be held about the Roman Inquisition in Malta. Rev. Azzopardi expressed his wish that a detailed database will be compiled of all the Inquisition processes, and thus he asked for help and support from the National Archivist, who replied in the affirmative; This session ended with Dr William Zammit, the Chairperson of the Archives Council, saying that a new Master’s degree course about Melitensia and Maltese documentation was to start at the University of Malta.

29 July 2014 During this sixth meeting of the Archives Council, held once more at the National Archives in Rabat, - the discussion continued about the new premises and an alternative building for the Archives; - the recovering of public documents from private archives was again mentioned en passant, as well as the People’s Memory Archive and the Conference about the Roman Inquisition; - Mr Charles Farrugia explained a powerpoint presentation about the restoration works that were being carried out at the Ospizio in Floriana, and also about the transferring of all the documents that were previously stored at the Rabat Girls Secondary School. Dr Zammit emphasised that the Ospizio must not serve as an alternative building for the Archives but as a short-term alternative; - As regards to the appointment of Records Officers in all Ministries and Government Departments, Mr Charles J Farrugia explained that all paper work has been finalised and the call for applications for posts will be published in the Government Gazette. Ms Joyce Dimech, the Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, suggested that as an incentive, this post can be combined to a University degree instead of diploma; - The National Archivist announced that a new set of posts cards is being published by the National Archives in conjunction with the Richard Ellis Archives and BDL to commemorate the first century from World War I (19141918).

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21 October 2014 - - - - - - - - - -

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The seventh meeting of the National Archives Council was, once again, held at the National Archives in Rabat; A proposal was made to register all public documents, including Government agreements, for archival purposes; As regards to the building of a new National Archives, the National Archivist and CEO explained that discussions were being held on a regular basis on the venue and other administrative matters; The matter arose about all Court documents prior to Independence Day in 1964, which need to be archived at the National Archives. Besides, retired Judges, very often, keep private documents instead of depositing them at the National Archives; Once again the theme of private archives and documents which need to be recovered by the National Archives was discussed. An incentive is to be introduced so that private owners will offer as a donation these public documents that fell in private households; The Council discussed the agreement signed between the National Archives and the Department of History of the University of Malta about the People’s Memory Archive (the oral archives); As a follow-up of the Conference about the Roman Inquisition in Malta, it was suggested that another Conference will be held in two years time; It was revealed that nine persons applied from various Government Departments to follow the University course of Records Officers; Three Conferences about photography and audio visuals were held in Girona, Spain where Mr Charles J Farrugia, together with Mr Ian Ellis, attended. A collaboration agreement between the National Archives, the Ellis Archives and the Girona Centre was signed; The meeting ended with a discussion about the Archives Awareness Week which was being held between the 12th and 24th November 2014. The theme for this year was L-Arkivji: pont bejn iż-żminijiet, rabta bejn in-nies (Archives: bridging time, uniting people.) The Annual Public Lecture entitled Storytelling, Memory and Archives was held on 12 November 2014 by Ms Marylyn Peringer, a Canada-based professional story teller with Maltese roots; 13th November saw the launching of The Salter Album at St Margaret College Boys’ Secondary (Verdala), St Nicholas Road, Cospicua. On the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, the National Archives, with the support of the Federal Republic of Germany, is publishing a monograph around this album, reproducing the Salter Album (annotated), the story of Mr and Mrs Salter written by Ms Marylyn Peringer; on the 17th and 19th November, students from the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary, Naxxar, visited the head office of the National Archives and toured the processes and building. They also had the opportunity to view records related to their curriculum of history studies; on 20th November, the Archives’ Cafè was held at the Ospizio Respository in Floriana, to bring together archivists reponsible for main archival holdings in the country and also conservators who specialise on paper and related artefacts. Participants assisted to a presentation about the Archives Portal Europe by Mr Etienne Ferrito and a presentation by one of the Conservators of the National Archives, Mr Simon Dimech, about the processes and procedures to be adopted in the case of documents affected by mould.

This Awareness Week ended with the opening of an Exhbition called ‘Gozo Anniversaries’ by the Hon. Anton Refalo, Minister for Gozo at the National Archives of Malta, Gozo Section, Victoria, to commemorate the 150 years since the establishment of the Gozo Diocese and the 25 years since the opening of the Gozo Section of the National Archives.

9 December 2014 - - -

The eighth and last meeting of the National Archives Council for the year 2014 was, once again, held at the National Archives in Rabat; The National Archivist explained that once the Legal Notice about the Census’ Documents was published, these would be transferred to and deposited at the Ospizio for safe keeping; A lengthy discussion was again held about public documents in collections where three types of documents have been listed: material belong to the State that is held in private collections; material that was never State owned but which is of public interest; and material in private collections that has to be retrieved by the National Archives. In fact it was proposed that a meeting should be held between the four main entities – the National Archives, Heritage Malta, the National Library and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage – to discuss and come to conclusions what needs to be done for this problem to be solved.

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2015 During 2015, the three priorities discussed during the four meetings of the Council held at the National Archives were: · · ·

the proposal for the building of a new National Archives; the introduction of Records Officers in Public Administration in line with the provisions of the National Archives Act; exploring possible ways on how to support private archives and private collections, and how to recover collections of national significance.

11 February 2015 - - - - - -

The ninth and first meeting for this year was also held at the National Archives, Head Office, in Rabat; The suggestion that all documents related to all referenda held in Malta must not be destroyed but be archived received great interest. In fact, discussions with the Electoral Office about the subject are to be held; As regards to the premises to house the new National Archives, Mr Farrugia explained that a Task Force has been formed to discuss and study in detail the project. Five foreign experts on Archives are to be identified to form part of the International Advisory Board; All Treaties, Credential Letters, works of art and Foreign Affairs documents must all be preserved and held at the National Archives as these are of public interest. It was suggested that a Memo to Cabinet together with a draft Legal Notice should be presented to further discussion; An Acquisition Report prepared by the Inspector of Records at the National Archives, Mr Ivan Ellul, was presented to all members of the Council. This included a list of all acquisitions, both private and public, made during the previous year; An event was to be held wherein Mr Frans Said and Mr Joe Cilia were to present their donations to the National Archives. During the same event, the National Memory Project was also commemorated with the digitisation of 473 volumes and the conservation of various volumes.

7 May 2015 - - - - -

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The tenth meeting was held at the National Archives in Rabat; The meeting between the National Archives and the Electoral Commission about the Referenda that were discussed during the previous meeting of the Council, was held and a retention policy is to be set up to be abided with in such cases; The Masterplan of the new archives is being prepared by the FTS to be presented to MEPA. The site chosen is the ex-Maria Assunta School in Hamrun; The National Archivist explained that various programmes were being shown on the local TV and Radio stations about the National Archives; The conservation of the Consolate del Mare documents held at the Legal Section in Mdina was being discussed by the conservators of the National Archives as well as European Heads of Conservation. In fact, the report published has been posted on-line for further suggestions. As a public entity pegged by legislation, we insist on transparency in all decision making – both administrative, financial and professional; Mr Charles J Farrugia explained that now that the National Archives is expanding its collections, more staff members are needed to deal with administrative and documentation matters.

28 July 2015 - - - -

The eleventh meeting was again held at the National Archives in Rabat; The National Archivist explained that the ex-Maria Assunta School in Hamrun is to be expanded as an Educational Village and it is will incorporate in it the new building of the National Archives; The call for applications for Records Officers is to be issued once again by the Office of the Prime Minister. It was suggested that all lectures have to end before end of business, as an incentive for more employees to apply for the course; Dr William Zammit introduced the members of the Council to a new Masters course in Documentary Heritage and Melitensia at the University of Malta, whereby he explained that it was a three year part-time course; 15

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The digitisation of the Magna Curia Castellaniæ had come to an end and started being posted on-line in the Archives Portal Europe; Dr Bezzina explained that two tenders had been issued for the digitisation of two projects regarding the Gozo Universitas. Six tenderers submitted their application; Various structural works had been carried out during the summer months at the Ospizio in Floriana as well as at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina; Mr Farrugia presented a draft copy of the Legal Notice (as proposed during the meeting of 11 February 2015) regarding documents of public domain that are in private collections.

27 October 2015 - - - - - - - -

The eleventh and last meeting for the year 2015 was held at the Legal Section of the National Archives in Mdina; The masterplan for the new Archives was still being compiled by the FTS; The call for applications for Records Officers was issued however only two employees applied. More amendments had to be discussed to better the regulations for more to apply; The President spoke about the new University course on Melitensia and Documentary Heritage at the University of Malta and explained that 8 students applied; Dr Bezzina explained that no one applied to restore the Gozo Universitas documents after a tender was issued.

However the digitisation project was to start; Mr Noel D’Anastas, the Assistant Archivist in charge of the Legal Section in Mdina, gave a detailed explanation of the work carried out in this Section; More discussions were held with the Office of the Attorney general regarding the Legal Notice pertaining to the registration and preservation of public documents held in private collections; The National Archivist explained to all Council members that this year the Awareness Week was to be held between the 16th and 22nd November, aiming at educating more the Maltese population about the sector. This year’s theme was “Guarding the Collective Memory of the Maltese Nation.” Other events during this week included several school visits and the signing of agreements with various individuals and Societies after donating their documents and other records to the National Archives. There was also a Blood donation session by the staff, members of the Friends and patrons of the National Archives.

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NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF MALTA

Gabriel Pellegrini donating the records of his father, Dr Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini, to the National Archives of Malta, 18 November 2015.

This section gives an assessment of the activity of the National Archives. It also gives a detailed breakdown of the several activities carried out within specific archival units such as the Records Management Unit and the Archives Processing Unit, as well as information regarding the several events organised for the general public.

2.1

Records Management Unit

The major function of the Records Management Unit (RMU) is to focus on sight inspections and visits to repositories holding public records to ascertain itself of good record keeping. This evaluation is usually performed on documents that are earmarked for accessioning by the National Archives, and when approached by various other entities.

Amongst others, the Petitions’ Board created by the Department of Local Government and the Department of Inland Revenue, to check whether the records kept had an enduring historical value to be archived. Together with the National Archivist, each case is studied in detail and varies from one to another. The appraisal procedure of public records is always performed in line with the National Archives Act of 2005 (Cap. 477) which states that every public entity is to create and maintain “adequate documentation of the functions and activities of their respective public offices through the establishment of good records keeping practices” (Art. 16[1]).

During 2013, the RMU received requests for consultation from various Ministries, public entities and Government Departments. The repositories of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foundation for Medical Services and the Police General Headquarters were among those visited during this year in question. Discussions were also held with, among others, the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), the Value Added Tax Department (VAT) and the National Commission for Further and Higher Education to help in formulating retention policies. In fact, a retention policy for MITA had been finalised and put into practice in June 2013.

In the field of accessions, the Records Management Unit continued its on-going process of depositing at the National Archives important documents of enduring value. In 2013, there were 45 accessions, the largest being that of the Commissioner’s Occurrence Books, Magistrate Books and various other records of significant importance to our social and localities’ history from the Police Stations of Ûurrieq (dating back to 1900) and Ûejtun, together with the Secretariat files dating between 1953 and 1967. Due to the sensitive nature of these records, the 70 year closure period has been applied, meaning that to date, only records dating till 1961 are open to the general public.

A set of plans concerning the setting up of the Railway and Tram system in Malta as well as the permits for monuments and chapels for the embellishment of graves in the Addolorata Cemetery were also accessioned from the Public Works Department in 2013.

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The National Memory Project collection expanded thanks to the numerous private donations during 2013, as in past years. One of the donations was that of Architect Michael Ellul, whose donation consisted of correspondence created during the period when he was Head of the Antiquities Section within the Ministry of Works. He also donated several important photos and informative personal reports on various buildings, many of which have been demolished.

In 2014, the National Archives, in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister, brought about the call for applications issued for the recruitment of Record Officers, after receiving training at the University of Malta. Several discussions took place between the National Archives and the Principal Permanent Secretary, Mr Mario Cutajar, as well as the Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms Joyce Dimech for moving this forward. This step has been a breakthrough in the long term plan and struggle to establish sound records management processes in Malta’s Public Administration. In fact, this year saw the first group of students read for a Diploma in Records Management at the University of Malta and after two years (2016), the first group of qualified Record Officers in the public sector will be in place.

During the year in question, important discussions were held between the National Archives, the National Statistics Office, the Data Protection Commissioner, the Justice Unit and the Office of the Attorney General to discuss the destruction of all census documents held since 1842, resulting in the permanent loss of unique and vital information about Maltese society. These stakeholders agreed to the issuing of a Legal Notice stipulating that the Census Officer deposits the relative questionnaires and documents at the National Archives but shall be open for consultation by the general public after one hundred years.

The number of accessions during this year numbered to 40.

The summer of 2014 saw the transferring of all archival documents which were deposited at the Rabat Secondary School, i.e. 2000m of records to a new repository at the ex-Lorenzo Manchè School in Floriana, better known as the Ospizio.

In 2015, inspections and discussions were held with various Government departments and entities, which included the Armed Forces of Malta, the Office of the President of the Republic and the Office of the Prime Minister. One has to note that it is a major problem for various public entities and departments to store their documents because of lack of space. This is why one of the first things that the RMU emphasises is for an appraisal of the records held and for a Retention Policy to be put into place. Thus, records of historical value will be identified and transferred to the National Archives while the remaining can be systematically destroyed according to the National Archives Act which states that “The National Archivist may certify that particular departmental records which are more than thirty years old do not warrant transfer to the National Archives for preservation, and any records so certified shall be retained in the appropriate public office or, as the case may be, returned to that public office, where they may be retained, or disposed of, subject to the granting of an authorisation ...” (Art. 8[4]).

A large number of historical records are still held by public entities. However when these entities inform the National Archives of their repository, dealings will initiate for the processing of such records which consists in sorting, cleaning (if necessary) and re-boxing before being transferred to the National Archives. During 2015, such negotiations initiated with the Office of the President of the Republic, the Office of the Electoral Commission and the Department of Commerce.

The discussions that had began in 2014 with the National Statistics Office resulted in the major accession of the 1995 Census, of which the return sheets will remain closed to the public for 100 years. Other major accessions during 2015 were the general records of the Ministry of Health and the Processi Verbali from the Office of the Attorney General.

The Private Deposits’ Collection continued to expand when private individuals deposited their private records (or a copy of them) at the National Archives. The major accessions were a large collection of photographic negatives from the Ciancio Photographic Studio and the collection of records from the Nani Family. In all, 38 accessions were made during 2015.

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As from March 2015, the National Archives came into possession of the Agricultural land registry records also known as the Reġistri tal-Kotba tar-Raba’ spanning between 1944 and 2007, which were formerly held at the Agricultural Research and Development Centre in Għammierei (Marsa). Together with these records, other relevant documents such as maps of the plots of land and files were also transferred to our Head Office.

2.2

Archives’ Processing Unit

The sterling work done by the Records Management Unit goes hand in hand with the work performed by the Archives’ Processing Unit, which has a threefold function within the overall operation of the National Archives – the sorting, cataloguing and digitisation of the documents accessed for protection.

During 2013, the Archives Processing Unit worked on reorganisation and relocation of documents, the largest collections being those of pertaining to the Customs Department and the Legal documentation dating between 1880 and 1900.

The cataloguing of various fonds or collections was carried out as in previous years, concentrating mostly on passport applications with 13,500 entries, Army records (Militia/RMA) (6,123 entries) and the Governor’s Despatches between 1897 and 1910 (4,000 entries). Ongoing cataloguing projects which are still being compiled till today are being carried out by the Maltese Mr Mark Caruana who emigrated to Australia several years ago. He is building up an important database on passport applications and emigration records dating between 1900 and 1920, when a large number of Maltese left their homeland for Australia. Another on- Cabinet Secretary and Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar depositing going project is the cataloguing by the Architect Cabinet Papers (1962-1981) at the National Archives of Malta, 14 December 2013.

Michael Ellul of the Despatches from and to the Secretary of State in the UK, a collection which covers nearly two centuries.

The digitisation of documents in the year in question was a very busy one, including the Liber Mortuorum (1677-1849) and The Male and Female Admission Registers (1815-1920) to the Charitable Institutions, the administrative volumes of the Malta Foreign Affairs and the arrival of aircrafts pertaining to the Customs Department dating between 1946 and 1954, all projects carried out by the Genealogical Society of Utah. The oldest Tribunal in Malta, the Magna Curia Castellaniæ Acta Originalia (1545-1798) started being digitised and various indexes of the Military Personal Files are also being preserved through digitisation.

Sorting, cleaning and reboxing of documents was performed on all accessed documents in 2013, the largest number of boxes being those of the Żejtun and Żurrieq Police Station Records (395 and 274 respectively).

Several databases have been made accessible or upgraded for the public during 2013. These included the database relating to the correspondence between the Governors of Malta and the Colonial Office (1800-1911). A very interesting database is that of the early Maltese music, consisting of over 200 tracks of early local recordings from c.1931 of various musicians who travelled from Malta to Tunis. This project initiated by Mr Andrew Alamango in conjunction with the National Archives and the Ministry of Education focuses on the preservation of early Maltese folk and popular music.

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2014 The 3rd of February 2014 saw the opening for researchers for the first time of the Cabinet Papers covering the period between 1962 and 1981. These unique catalogued and digitised documents attracted various researchers from all walks of life, especially the press and academics.

The Passage Assistance Records were brought over to the National Archives from the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations. These records are accessed by persons who availed themselves of this scheme and are now applying for a pension. Since their opening to the public in the year 2014, 63 confirmations were issued.

During 2014, old catalogues were being converted into ISAD(G) and inputted into the AtoM software. The Gozo section started working during this year on the digitisation of two important collections – the Ġurdan Lighthouse Weather Reports (Log Books) and the eighty-eight manuscript volumes enlisting all births, marriages and deaths that took place in Gozo between 1554 and 1934 – the Ġuljana Masini while the Legal Section (Banca Giuratale) at Mdina focused on the Magna Curia Castellaniæ (1545-1798) and the Epoca Gallica (1798-1800) collections.

The National Memory Project was also worked upon during 2014. This included the compiling of the metadata of the Lost Voices recordings, the itemisation of the collection Ħajja Kattolika pertaining to Mr Tony Terribile and the police files data inputting.

As regards to image preparation, 2014 was one of the busiest years in the history of the National Archives. Three hundred and sixty thousand images were processed during the year in question to be made available for public dissemination either on local PCs or over the internet. The preparation process included the cropping and resizing of images when necessary, the renaming of images to match the archival description of the object reproduced, the conversion of the images into various formats and the collating of images into PDF which belong to the same archival item. The fond that had the largest number of digitised images was the Magna Curia Castellaniæ (225,924 images).

2015 The sorting and cataloguing in our reading rooms continued to intensify during this year. The OPM files, Education files for the years between 1955 and 1966, volumes relating to St Vincent de Paule Hospital records have been labelled, arranged by category and by year, re-boxed and had preservation intervention, each fond according to its needs. The School records (EDU02) for the years between 1931 and 1966, which is highly popular with our researchers, were placed in 612 boxes while all Parliamentary Questions relating to the Ministry of Education and the Education Department for the period between 1947 and 1990 were sorted and catalogued into 659 boxes. The Police files were the most catalogued, numbering 3,227 entries.

With regards to the digitisation of documents, the year 2015 was a busy one with a new project sponsored by private partnerships – the Magna Curia Castellaniæ deposited and archived at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina. In fact, this collection numbered 1,606,301 images after being completely digitised by June. Other collections for digitisation included the 2 volumes of the Officium Civile Sacrae Inquisitionis housed at Mdina (3,310 images).

The Legal Documentation Section in Mdina digitised also 37Gb of data of original files belonging to St Edward’s College dating from 1930 to 1969. Besides, digitisation work was also done of the Tony Terribile collection and the music archive of the late Prof. Mro. Charles Camilleri.

The National Archives houses a large collection of old photographs, maps, architectural plans and drawings from the early 1800 to date. All these, numbering over 30,000 images, are being processed, digitised and edited by the Map Room personnel. The aim is to create a database or be made available online in the near future. During 2015, the images digitised by the Map Room numbered 2,048. The Agriculture Maps, forming part of the Agriculture Records, are also being digitised in the Map Room.

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Another interesting project aimed at the preservation of the National Audio-Visual heritage is the digitisation of the Leli Muscat Għana Collection recorded between the 1960s and 1980s. This digitisation started in 2014 but had to be stopped for a short period of time because of lack of funds. After a meeting of the Friends of the National Archives, who funded this project, with the Hon. Minister Evarist Bartolo, the Minister for Education and Employment, the funding for the continuation of the project was granted and so the digitisation was continued to be finalised.

2.3

Conservation Unit

The Conservation Laboratory at the National Archives Head Office is an asset in keeping all the in-coming and already deposited records conserved.

As regards to this sector, during 2013, the Conservation Lab at the National Archives Head Office carried out a conservation intervention on the historic 16 folders of the Minutes of Evidence from the Commission of Enquiry and the 56 single sheets and 2 newspaper inserts of the Unregistered Papers In Common With June Riots – all documents relating to the Sette Giugno 1919 events.

Other work carried forward from the previous year when the Conservation Laboratory was inaugurated, consisted of the Magna Curia Castellaniæe with over 40 bundes totalling to 1,440 folios being treated. Urgent repairs were also done on a manuscript dating back to 1745, maps, prints and the Codice De Rohan, among other works.

During this year, five students conducted their placement at the Conservation Laboratory and Mr Danny Mainwaring offered 50 hours of his time to help out as a volunteer in this Unit.

A detailed condition survey and quantification of costings for conservation treatment was carried out on the Consolato del Mare collection. A presentation was delivered to potential sponsors, mainly businesses involved in the maritime industry, for the restoration of this collection.

With the financial help of the Friends of the National Archives, the Conservation Laboratory purchased several conservation materials and equipment from the Cathedral Museum after the closure of its laboratory. Among the equipment bought, one could find a heat set press and tooling equipment used in gold tooling on bindings.

An inspection was held by the two conservators at the Conservation Laboratory, Mr Mario V Gauci and Mr Simon P Dimech, to the Gozo Section of the National Archives to see the bookbinding work being done on volumes from the Universitas Gaudisii.

2014 Throughout this year, the Conservation Laboratory started spreading its reach by embarking on the conservation jobs belonging to private entities and individuals. Conservation work on a nineteenth manuscript compiled by Count Saverio Marchese and which is now deposted at the Archbishop’s Seminary, was carried out.

Work continued on the Magna Curia Castellaniæ, maps, drawing and prints, besides other in-house jobs that crop up on a daily basis. Besides, five parchment bulls housed at the National Archives had restoration intervention as well.

Eighteen students carried out their internship or practicum at the Conservation Laboratory this year. The work performed was mainly on architectural drawings and the cleaning of documents.

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DOI - Martin Attard

Prof John Chircop and Dr Charles J Farrugia after the signing of agreement between the Public Memory Archive (University of Malta) and the National Memory Project (National Archives of Malta), 19 May 2014.

2015 The Consolato del Mare Preservation Project was launched on 23rd April 2015 in the presence of the Hon. Minister for Education and Employment, Mr Evarist Bartolo. The actual work started on 1st June. By the end of the year, three hundred and three volumes/bundles had been processed, i.e. 64% of the whole collection.

Besides the on-going project of the conservation of the Magna Curia Castellaniæ and the usual day to day conservation work, other important interventions were carried out on two volumes from the Corte Capitanale, namely Libro Di Carcerati 1773-1781 and the Libro Di Carcerati 1800-1803. The first volume includes the list of people held in connection to the 1775 Uprising of the Priests with Gaetano Mannarino being noted as “Capo di tutti.” The second volume gives details of the imprisonment and extradition of Mikiel-Anton Vassalli. These two projects took an estimated time of 185 working hours to complete.

This year saw a drastic increase in the number of students who carried out their practicum at the Conservation Laboratory. These numbered thirty-eight students. Two other volunteers dedicated one hundred and forty hours between them working at the Conservation Laboratory mainly on plans and drawings pertaining to the Malta Railway and Tramway and on the sorting, cleaning and removing of metal fixtures from various Police files.

A Condition Survey was also carried out by the National Archives’ Conservators on the collection of the Addolorata Cemetery Permits and Drawings.

During these three years – 2013-2015 – well over three hundred persons visited the Conservation Laboratory at the Head Office during cultural and student visits organised by various groups and schools. Moreover, distinct people also paid visits to this Laboratory, mainly the Hon Minister Evarist Bartolo and Dr Bassam Deghastani from Dubai.

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2.4

Public Services Unit

Specialised members of the staff at the National Archives deal with all researchers and visitors in all three reading rooms of our entity. Besides they also deal with telephone calls from the general public and the customer-care e-mail on which the public, mainly foreigners, send their queries regarding their research which are mostly related to their ancestry. Thus, certain catalogues, especially the Civil Defence and the Army personal files were updated to give a better service.

One has to bear in mind that all our Reading Rooms at the Head Office and the Legal Documentation in Mdina benefit from the services rendered by various volunteers who carry out different tasks in various sections and on various collections, e.g. the cropping of the Magna Curiae Castellaniæ Collection which were digitised by the HMML as well as the sorting and cataloguing of the private donation pertaining to Notary Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini by volunteer Mary Buttigieg, and the migration of thousands of digital images from various DVDs by our veteran and regular volunteer Anthony Bonello. Other volunteers give their sterling cataloguing work ‘virtually.’

Other help is given by students, both local and foreign, who pursue their internship or practicum at the National Archives by working on various collections.

2013 During this particular year, a pilot programme was launched when two computers started being used at the Head Office Reading Room for internet access and for databases, images from the photographic collection housed at the Archives and images of plans of the Cabrei (maps and drawing originating from Pious Foundations which were held at the Public Works Record Room and were transferred to the National Archives during 2010) that are frequently requested by the public.

During 2013, January was the most popular month during which researchers visited the National Archives Head Office for their consultation of about 378 documents, totalling to 296 hours. At the Legal Documentation in Mdina, July was the most populated month with 28 researchers consulting 64 documents in 103 hours while at the Gozo Section, December was the most popular month with researchers. In Gozo, the GH-Ġuljana Masini collection was by far the most popular, followed by the Medical and Health Section.

2014 The greatest milestone this year was the acquisition and opening to the general public of the Cabinet Papers covering the period 27 August and 20 November 1981 at the Head Office in Rabat. These highly sought documents both by academics and the media were presented to the National Archives during a visit by the Principal Permanent Secretary from the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Mario Cutajar on 23 January 2014. These documents can be accessed in a digital way on the Reading Room computer.

Statistics show that 187 researchers made use of 489 documents in 459 hours at the Head Office in Rabat while at the Legal Documentation, June was the most popular month, with 58 documents consulted during 68.45 hours.

2015 The greatest achievement for the Head Office Reading Room was the Agriculture collection, which is usually sought by members of the public (farmers and land-owners) who do not normally make use of our services. Notwithstanding, a third computer was installed where the high definition scanned agricultural plans are accessed by the researchers.

As regards to statistics, the month of August saw the highest number of researchers during this year in question – 130 in all, who spent 310 hours between them viewing 232 documents. Another 240 members of the public contacted the National Archives by mail while others made use of telephony.

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2.5

Outreach

The National Archives organises extensive programmes every year to reach out to the public, create awareness and to explain the mission of the Archives to society at large. Besides, two regular annual outreach initiatives are the issuing of the Annual Report and the Newsletter, published in November and February respectively.

2013 During this year, a great number of students and groups from various schools, University Faculties and other cultural organisations with avid interest to get acquainted with the place, history and the written heritage in the documents deposited within, paid a visit to the National Archives Head Office, the Banca Giuratale and the Gozo Section. These visitors included foreign ones from Australia and the USA. Besides, various public lectures, seminars and exhibitions were held. These included the socio-religious public lecture delivered by Dr Joseph Grima in collaboration with the Malta Historical Society entitled “The development of the iconography of the Holy Week processional statues in Malta and Gozo” and the Annual public lecture during the Archives Awareness Week held in the end of November by Prof. Kevin Aquilina, Dean of the Faculty of Laws, entitled “Archives and the Maltese Legislation on data protection and freedom of information.”

In May, during the annual Medieval Mdina Festival, the Banca Giuratale presented an audio-visual programme depicting the Maltese ‘Lost Voices.’ This was delivered by the local musicologist Mr Andrew Alamango.

A unique event was also held at the National Archives on 16th May wherein the Irish Professor Frank Zeal and Dr Karl Partridge were the main speakers of a public lecture about the Maltese bagpipe – iż-żaqq and several other Maltese folk instruments. Their presentation was interspersed with sound bytes from several folk recordings. The public in attendance showed avid interest in this subject.

2013 hosted also the launching of a book published by the National Archives entitled “Valletta: Porta Reale and Environs” by Architect Michael Ellul, an expert in architectural history. This event was held in Valletta on 2nd August.

Two exhibitions were also held, one by the Ministry of Tourism in May entitled “Not Just another exhibition: Malta’s Tourism Development in the 60s” and the other one in the Gozo Section of the Archives during the Archives Awareness Week in November about “Engagements and Weddings in Gozo Past.” The highlight of this second Gozitan exhibition was a full collection of the paintings depicting The Wedding of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Joseph and The Wedding at Cana found in various churches and chapels in Gozo. Due to the subject, it was given media coverage and visited by a record number of visitors, both local and foreign.

During the National Book Festival of this year held also in November at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, the National Archives launched a new initiative to reach out to the younger audience – a Newspaper bearing the title “The Archived Post” based on Maltese history, aiming to aid students in discovering the rich collective memory of the Maltese nation through the holdings of the National Archives. Besides, students could participate in a competition built around the primary sources from the Maltese Archives, and the winner received a set of publications issued by the National Archives.

Interaction with the public was also increased during 2013. Several interviews were aired on PBS news, One TV news and on a radio programme of the Radju Bastjaniżi FM. Surfing our website and Facebook page by the public increased as well, besides making use of Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare and Issuu Online Library.

2014 As in previous years, a number of groups and students visited the National Archives Head Office and the Legal Documentation Section in Mdina. The largest group was from the Faculty of Tourism Studies within the University of Malta, with 75 attendees. Besides, various students, including foreign students mostly Italian, conducted their internship at the National Archives, with a total number of 406 hours performed by these Italians alone.

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This year’s edition of the Medieval Mdina Festival held during May saw once again the opening of the Banca Giuratale, where the National Portrait Gallery was displayed for the public. Besides, an audio-visual presentation on the Richard Ellis Photographic Archives was also screened to steer awareness among the general public of this valuable collection of photographs which will be an important cornerstone of the National Memory Project.

One special initiative organised by the National Archives during this year in question was a Forum for paper conservators and archive curators to discuss areas of common interest – the Archives Cafè held at the Ospizio in Floriana during the Archives Awareness Week in November. The attendance for this event was a numerous one.

The Annual Public lecture, entitled “Storytelling, Memory and Archives,” was held during the Annual Book Festival at the Mediterranean Conference Centre and was delivered by the Canadian-Maltese professional story-teller, Ms Marylyn Peringer. It is imperative to note that storytelling is a form of oral history, a topic on which the National Archives are working upon especially in fulfilling one of the electoral manifesto promises.

Another means of outreach was, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the preparation and publication of The Salter Album, Encounters in Malta’s Prisoner of War Camps (1914-1920) a book commemorating the first century anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918) and a set of postcards, in collaboration with the Richard Ellis Archives and BDL Books, was also launched for the hundredth anniversary since the promulgation of the proclamation announcing the beginning of World War I on 5 August 1914.

The social media network like Flickr, Issuu Online Library, You Tube, Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter continued to increase their viewing and consultation during 2014, while programmes and events in the media were given extensive coverage in different national newspapers, and on various radio and TV stations like RTK and PBS.

Ian Ellis (owner, Richard Ellis Archive), David Iglesias (Centre for Research and Dissemination of Images, Girona) and Ivan Ellul (Inspector of Records, National Archives of Malta) during the assessment of the Ellis holdings, 4 June 2015.

2015 The Social Network activity during this year in question increased drastically, especially the Issuu Online Library with 5,828 reads. Media programmes were more numerous, with new Tv and radio stations airing programmes and interviews regarding the National Archives and its collections. In fact 5 programmes from the NET TV series Libreriji u Arkivji were dedicated to the National Archives Head Office and its other sections, including the one in

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Gozo and on two other projects, mainly the Consolato del Mare records dating between 1697 and 1814, as well as the National Memory projects. Radio Malta also aired 2 programmes about the Consolato del Mare and Libraries and Archives. Through these programmes on the media, the general public gets acquainted with the outstanding work carried out at the National Archives and the importance and value of its holdings.

On 28th May, the National Archives Head Office hosted a lecture, which was open to the general public, delivered

by Mr Simon Cusens organised by the Institute of Maltese Studies about the Role of Women during World War II. The attendance for this lecture was quite numerous.

The Medieval Mdina Festival of this year saw once again the participation of the Banca Giuratale in Mdina where the usual National Portrait Gallery was increased by about 25 other photos of Maltese personalities. The number of people who visited this display was numerous and many interested themselves in the artistic photographic collection of the late Maltese tenor Paul Asciak’s operatic career, which was also displayed in the entrance of the Banca Giuratale. Concurrently an audio-visual production about the First World War Prisoners of War was shown.

In collaboration with the APS Bank, we also opened a joint exhibition entitled “The Calm before the Storm” depicting the Silver Jubilee celebrations in Malta held between the 5th and 12th May 1935 just before the beginning of World War II in 1939. All the photos exhibited form part of the Photographic Collection at the Archives and the Richard Ellis Archive.

Our Institution also took part in the International Exhibition organised by Heritage Malta in collaboration with the National Library of Malta, entitled “1565 – The Great Seige of Malta.” This was held in the State Rooms of the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta, under the patronage of H.E. the President of Malta. The National Archives participated with a poem on the Great Seige written in 1565 which was discovered by coincidence by the Maltese scholar Carmel Cassar written on the last folio of the second volume of the “Cedulae, Suplicae et Taxationes” for the years 1565-1566, a series under the Magna Curia Castellaniæ. This poem, entitled “Ad Patriam” (O Melita Infelix) consists of twelve lines written in simple Latin and bears the signature of Lucas de Armenia, Patricius Melevitanus, a Maltese citizen resident in Mdina.

As in previous years, the National Archives, through the Friends of the National Archives, participated once more in the National Book Festival held during November by having a book stand selling a number of the publications issued by the National Archives, including the Arkivju Journal which had just been issued for the year in question.

Of great importance for the outreach of the National Archives is the Archives Awareness Week which is nearly always held annually during the month of November. This year’s theme was “Guarding the Collective Memory of the Maltese Nation” – the mission statement of our Institution as stipulated in the National Archives Act (Cap. 477).

The highlight of this week was the Annual Public Lecture held on Tuesday, 17th November, at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa (Birgu). President Emeritus H.E. Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici delivered his lecture (in Maltese) entitled “Memorji Nazzjonali Oġġettivament Korretti: L-Arkivji Nazzjonali.” Besides, the unveiling of a commemorative plaque took place at the Head Office of the National Archives in Rabat by the Hon. Minister of Education and Employment, Evarist Bartolo, in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary from the first Maltese legislation founding the National Archives. The plaque, designed by one of the employees at the National Archives, who is also a sculptor hailing from Rabat, Mr Joseph G. Scerri, represents the Maltese flag in the form of an open document and images of the Maltese people moving forward towards a future destination.

Our entity strengthened its policy to open up the Institution for visits by student. Planned educational tours were held and these included students from church schools, MCAST and the University of Malta. Besides, cultural tours were organised by various organisations. In fact, the former entity MEPA organised a cultural tour once a month during 2015 for those interested in visiting the old pharmacy housed at the National Archives. The attendance for these tours was a very strong one, with groups sometimes numbering over 70 visitors. Other foreign entities and personalities, like the Bulgarian delegation from the University of Sofia and the Ambassadors’ spouses residing in Malta, visited the National Archives Head Office.

Besides visiting students, a large number of students conducted their placement and practicum at the Head Office and the Banca Giuratale, the work conducted being the cleaning and pagination of volumes and metadata, the labelling of preserved boxes of certain records.

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Provost Prof Andrew Abela and Dr Daniel Gullo (Malta Study Centre, HMML ) signing of agreement for the digitisation of the Catholic University of America Malta Collection, 9 December 2015. Standing from the left: Dr Charles J Farrugia, Chev. Joseph S. Micallef and Prof Christopher Grech.

2.6

International and Local Meeting Activity

The National Archives of Malta’s participation in meetings and fora, both locally and abroad, could be staggered into three – project management, work packages in European projects or operational meetings and country managers meetings. All three types are extremely important for the smooth running of and to make best use of all opportunities to promote our country’s National Archives.

2013 • The first Archives Portal Europe network of eXcellence (APeX) Meeting for Country Managers was attended by Dr Bezzina, who took part in a workshop and training session entitled The European Archival Community on its way into the Archives Portal Europe held at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo della Carovana in Pisa; • The following meeting for Country Managers was also attended by Dr Joseph Bezzina, Assistant National Archivist from the Gozo Section of the National Archives. This was held at the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid, Spain; • Participation by Mr Charles Farrugia in the European Bureau of National Archivists (EBNA) and the European Archives Experts Group (EAG) between the 2nd and 3rd April 2013 held in Dublin; • Mr Mario V. Gauci, the Chief Conservator at the National Archives, attended the Fifth Meeting of the European Head of Conservation Meeting held on 4th April in Dublin. The topic discussed was “Archives: Mould and Dust”; • Malta hosted and participated in the Seventeenth International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries (TPDL) between the 22nd and 26th September. The National Archives supported this event organised

by Professor Milena Dobreva; • The APeX & EBNA meetings held in Vilnius, Lithuania on 8th October 2013 were attended by Mr Charles Farrugia while the APeX Project Work Package, held between the 4th and the 6th of November were attended by Mr Etienne Ferrito who administers the IT Unit at the National Archives; • The National Archivist and CEO Mr Charles J Farrugia participated in and co-chaired a Seminar regarding Cartography and Cadastral Maps held in Pisa on 7 November, co-organised jointly with the Budapest State Archives, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and the National Archives; • The Università degli Studi di Parma invited the Maltese National Archivist to deliver a lecture entitled “Digital Curation: the Challenge for National Archives” to students reading for a Masters in Information Studies; • Following a four-year term heading the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records managers (ACARM), Mr Charles J Farrugia was voted once again as Chairperson during the meeting held in Brussels on 22nd November; • The participation of Mr Charles J. Farrugia at the International Council on Archives (ICA) Annual Conference held in Brussels between the 23rd and 24th November 2013.

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Collaboration • An attempt was made for collaboration with the Catalonia and the Girona Archives in Spain. This resulted in the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the three entities; • Research Collaboration between the Department of Geography Department of the University of Malta and the National Archives with the aim of highlighting the geographical realities exhibited by a series of sketches in a forthcoming publication of a book pertaining to settlements in Maltese villages in the early twentieth century; • Collaboration with the Università degli Studi della Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy regarding the European Project on Family Historical Archives.

2014 • In January, the National Archivist and CEO attended the 4C Advisory Board Meeting held at The Hague to discuss the costs of digital curation of archival documents. He also visited the Gelders Archives in Arnhem in the Netherlands together with the Chairman of the Foundation for Tomorrow Schools to start the process of capacity building, aimed at developing plans for a new archives building in Malta; • In May, Mr Farrugia, being a guest of honour of the Ilfov Association of Archivists, addressed a Conference entitled Contemporary Challenges: Managing, Connecting and Making Electronic Archives Visible commemorating the Tenth Anniversary from the re-foundation of the Ilfov County Archives in Bucharest, Romania. The paper presented by Mr Farrugia spoke about “Digital Curation: the way forward, at what cost?”; • Mr Farrugia participated in the EBNA/EAG and APeX meetings held in Athens, Greece between the 5th and 6th June. During the EBNA Board meeting, the National Archivist presented a paper entitled “From mission to citizens’ expectations: The experience of the National Archives of Malta.” He was also accompanied by Mr Mario V. Gauci, Chief Conservator, who also presented the Maltese experience of conserving its paper records during the Sixth Meeting of the European Heads of Conservation, the theme of which was Prioritisation of Conservation Work; • Dr J Bezzina represented the National Archives at the third meeting for the country managers of APeX at the National Archives of Denmark in Copenhagen. He also attended another APeX related Conference entitled “Building Infrastructure for Archives in a Digital World” held in Dublin between the 26th and 28th June; • Assistant Conservator Simon Dimech from the National Archives attended a one-day course entitled Breaking the Mould organised by the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. This course gave a deep insight into mould related problems found in certain archival documents and ways and means of how to identify and prevent it; • In October, the National Archivist visited Girona to participate in the Second Annual Conference of ICA, in the Thirteenth Image and Research Seminar, in the Forum of National Archivists, as a speaker in the Ninth European Conference on Archives; as well as to chair the ACARM Bureau and ACARM Annual General Meeting. While in Girona, a joint presentation about the Richard Ellis photographic archives co-authored and presented by the National Archivist and Mr Ian Ellis was given; • Mr Charles J Farrugia participated and also presented a paper entitled “Surviving, thriving, evolving? A snapshot of current research in archives” in the Annual Conference of the Society of Archives (UK) held in Newcastle during the month of August; • In the beginning of November, the National Archivist and CEO participated in the EAG/EBNA Joint Meetings held in Turin in Italy. Besides he also carried out discussions regarding potential help for PBS audio-visual archiving with the RAI technical team in Turin. Mr Farrugia was accompanied by the Assistant National Archivist Dr Joseph Bezzina and the APEx Project Manager Mr Etienne Ferrito who both attended the APeX meetings.

Collaboration • In May 2014 the National Archives collaborated with the Department of Library, Information and Archives Sciences at the University of Malta and the Culture Directorate in the workshop Sound and Moving Images Collections: Digitisation, Access and Preservation, organised by Professor Milena Dobreva. Mr Farrugia delivered a 28

presentation explaining the vision of the National Memory Project in fulfilling two electoral manifesto proposals; • An agreement was signed with the Public Memory Archive founded and managed by Prof. John Chircop at the University of Malta to create collaboration with the National Memory Project. By means of this agreement, the National Archives will benefit from the content of this oral archive, while the University of Malta will benefit from the expertise of the National Archives of Malta; • The initiation of collaboration with the National Archives of Georgia; • Collaboration between the Gozo Archives Section, the National Statistics Office in Gozo and the Episcopal Archives of Gozo in the publication of the book entitled Ordinazzjonijiet ta’ Qassisin Djoċesani Għawdxin (18642014) to mark the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Diocese of Gozo by Pope Pius IX on 16 September 1864. This publication consists of a list of the 613 Gozitan priests with their date of birth, date and place of ordination and the name of the ordaining Bishop and, where applicable, their date of death; • A second Agreement (the first one in 2007) was signed between Mr Charles J Farrugia for the Maltese National Archives and Dr Daniel Gullo on behalf of the Malta Study Center of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML) in September which provides for the setting up of a second laboratory by the latter in Malta for the digitisation of the three metre law court records (33,879 images in all) of the French period in Malta (the Epoca Gallica 1798-1800), 25 boxes of miscellaneous records of various Tribunals during the Frendh stay in Malta, 3 volumes of civil legal proceedings related to the Roman Inquisition in Malta, the volumes of the Sacra Audentia dating 1538-1788 and the unique volue of original acts of the Tribunal Fabricae Sancti Petri de Urbe; • The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the National Archives of Malta, the Richard Ellis Archive and the Girona Centre de Recerca i Difusió de la Imatge (Centre for Research and Dissemination of Images), aimed at establishing closer mutual cooperation in discovering, protecting, promoting and disseminating their photographic assets.

• On a national basis, the National Archives collaborated also with a number of Government entities and explored the possibility of giving employment opportunities under the LEAP Project. Mr Matthew Bugeja was assigned for a period of eight months with our Entity. He was assigned work in the Laboratory, mainly the reorganisation and cleaning of shelved documents. Matthew also supported the Inspector of Records on a number of specific assignments in other Government Departments.

2015 During this year in question, our international activity was shifted from the traditional EU collaboration to a more diverse area by participating in meetings and fora in the America and Canada, besides other countries.

• The first outreach event for this year (2015) was on 23 January when Mr Charles J Farrugia, our National Archivist and CEO, addressed the National Cultural Heritage Forum; • The Minister for Education and Employment, the Hon. Evarist Bartolo visited once again the National Archives, this time the Legal Documentation Section at Mdina and was present during the donations of the private records pertaining to the veteran radio personality Mr Frans Said and the veteran footballer Mr Joe Cilia; • Mr Leonard Callus from the National Archives and Maltese historian Judge Giovanni Bonello attended the Conference organised by the Turkish General Directorate of State Archives held in Istanbul entitled “Documents of the First World War Centenary” between the 19th and 21st March. This event brought together officers from a large number of National Archives as well as historians to share records and documents related to the First World War (1914-1918). A presentation was delivered by Judge Bonello entitled “The Proposed ‘Malta Trials’ of Leading Turkish Personalities after World War I – Justice by the Winners” during the said Conference; • Participation of Mr Charles J. Farrugia and Mr Leonard Callus from the National Archives in the COPEAM Conference organised by the Public Broadcasting Services addressing the audio visual heritage and TV archives held at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in March; • A lecture entitled “The International Language of Archives” was delivered by the National Archivist and CEO Mr Charles J Farrugia at the Department of History at the University of São Paolo in Brazil, after being invited by the Society of Archivists of São Paolo and the Working Group on Photographic Archives; • In May, Mr Ivan Ellul, the NAM Inspector of Records, attended a 3-day Photo Digitisation and Preservation Study Visit in Spain as part of the initiatives agreed upon in the MOU signed last year in Girona; • The National Archivist participated in the FOSTER Open Access Conference held on 29th May; • Mr Farrugia participated in the International Scientific Seminar in collaboration between the University of Malta and the State University of Library Studies and Information Technologies of Sofia held in Malta during the first 29

week of June; • Participation by the National Archivist in “The Commonwealth and its People: Diasporas, Identities, Memories” Conference held at the Valletta Campus of the University of Malta; • Participation of our Chief Conservator Mr Mario V Gauci in the Seventh Meeting of European Heads of Conservation held in the National Archives of Latvia in Riga between the 25th and 26th June of the current year. Mr Gauci gave a presentation of the on-going project regarding the preservation of the Consolato del Mare volumes and their preservation project, deposited at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina; • Participation of the Assistant National Archivist Dr Joseph Bezzina in the Fifth Meeting of the Country Managers of APeX at the National Archives of Latvia. This was the last scheduled meeting for APeX and each country represented in this Meeting presented its input. Malta’s input was the uploading of thousands of images into this portal and more are to follow; • Dr Bezzina also represented the National Archivist at the Thirty-first Conference of the European Board of National Archivists (EBNA) and the Eighteenth Meeting of the European Archives Group (EAG) held at the National Library of Riga in Latvia; • Participation of Mr Etienne Ferrito in the International APeX Conference “Collaboration and networking for a digital archival future - Sustainable perspectives through the Archives Portal Europe,” held in Budapest between the 7th and 9th September; • Dr Bezzina attended the regular EU meetings of the EAG and EBNA in Luxembourg during the month of October; • Mr Charles J Farrugia was invited to deliver a keynote speech entitled “Popular Cartography and photographic archives: building blocks in cultural tourism” at the International Geographic Seminar ‘Dimitrie Cantemir’ organised by the Alexander Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi in Romania last October; • The National Archivist addressed the EU Cultural Attachées on the invitation of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML) and the Maltese Embassy in Washington at the EU representation for Washington DC Headquarters in the United States of America between the 8th and 11th December, focusing on the successful collaboration between the two entities – the National Archives of Malta and the HMML. The theme discussed was “Archives: Common Heritage Transcending Boundaries.” During this visit, Mr Farrugia familiarised himself with the Maltese collection at the Rare Books section of the Catholic University of America and attended the signing of agreement between this University and the HMML; • The foreign meetings for this year in question ended on 15th December when discussions were held between Mr Charles J Farrugia and the Committee of the Maltese Canadian Club of London, Canada. During this visit in Toronto, discussions were held on how the Maltese National Archives can support the work done by the club through the sharing of emigration data and the reciprocal input these migrants can give to the National Memory Project.

Collaboration • The initiation of collaboration with the United Arab Emirates during a visit by Dr Bassam Deghastani, Head of Conservation of the Juma Al Majid Center in Dubai to the National Archives in August 2015; • New relations were also established with the Association of Archivists of São Paolo (ARQ-SP) and the Grupo de Pesquisa Acervos Fotogràficos of Brazil. Discussions were held on how the Focus Group on the Richard Ellis Archive between the Maltese National Archives and the Centre for Image Research and Dissemination of Girona can collaborate in the work the São Paolo Group is doing in Latin America; • A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in December 2015 between the National Archives and The People of Malta facebook site managed by Mr Stephen Buhagiar and Mr Roderick Vella. The aim is to preserve all the documentation and photography gathered of daily depictions of customs, traditions and daily life around Malta and Gozo. This will also be part of the oral archives audio visual initiatives; • Discussions were held between the Maltese National Archivist and the National Archivist of the US, Dr David Ferriero on the Maltese Archives sector.

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2.7

The National Memory Project

The National Memory Project, launched by the National Archives in 2004, is an umbrella platform for several initiatives, undertaken by both individuals as well as institutions, to preserve and disseminate the Maltese national memory. Since public memory cannot be a single entity’s monopoly, the National Archives espouses the long-term vision to develop this repository into an active and interactive centre together with other players.

According to the mission entrusted to it by its legal foundation the National Archives has continuously sought to serve as the national focus for such initiatives, to provide professional archival guidance and to manage a showcase of the richness of Maltese identity.

The national memory project is now serving as the basis for the implementation of two of the current administration’s electoral commitments (13.031 and 13.032), namely the consolidation processes whereby material from the National Archives, the National Library and other entities (such as the DOI and PBS) may be publicly available and the setting up of the national oral history archives.

The National Memory Portal is being developed as the platform to carry out these two electoral manifesto commitments. Extensive work is being undertaken to bring stakeholders on board, to gather and organise the archival material as well as to develop the electronic data storage facilities and other components of the IT platform.

Over the period under review, the mapping of the hardware and software requirements has been concluded; data gathering continued gaining momentum and data input has started.

On 19 May 2014 a collaboration agreement was concluded with the Public Memory Archive of the University of Malta. In virtue of this agreement, the National Archives and the Public Memory Archive started their collaboration in the development of research in public memory as well as the archiving, preservation and dissemination of the results to establish in order to run jointly the Public Memory Oral History Archive within the National Archives.

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This requires the employment of the latest research, methodologies, theoretical and archival approaches, as well as state-of-the-art techniques and IT to collect, record, transcribe, preserve, and make available for research, interpretation and educational reasons, and divulgate to the general public shared and individual memories, oral history , traditions, knowledge and experiences.

Several recorded oral interviews from the hundreds already housed by Public Memory Archive (University of Malta) were analysed by IT persons and archivists from the National Archives to integrate them and the created metadata with the National Memory project in a seamless manner. The diversity of the artefacts and ephemera accompany each interview presents a particular challenge in this regard.

A memorandum of understanding was also concluded between the Richard Ellis Archives, the Centre de Recerca i Difusió de la Imatge of Girona and the National Archives in October 2014. Following this agreement, an expert from the Girona centre visited Malta in June 2015 and, assisted by the National Archives, completed a detailed assessment of the current state of the Ellis holdings and prepared a plan on how this collection may be strengthened in terms of preservation measures, archival description, digitisation and dissemination.

This MOU led also to training in photo digitisation in Girona for the National Archives staff and collaboration with the Photographic Group of the Society of Archivists of São Paolo (Brasil).

The digitisation of over 200 reels of live għana music recorded on site by collector Leli Muscat between the 1960s and 1980s was initiated in 2014 and has been concluded this year.

Assistance has been provided to the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) Ltd in the development of metadata protocols and standards for its recordings and archives. Discussions were held with the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (Paris) for a training-the-trainers programme about public broadcaster’s audio-visual archives’ metadata.

Last December the National Archives concluded an agreement with The People of Malta site on the long-term preservation of this Facebook page that seeks to document the customs, traditions and daily life around Malta and Gozo.

Besides collaboration with other entities, the National Memory project holdings has been enriched by several donations during the period under review.

In May 2013, Dr Karl Partridge donated to the National Archives several Maltese folk music instruments, including a żaqq, and field notes of his and Prof Frank Jeal’s research. This żaqq is presumed to be the oldest surviving chanter in Malta and the bequest photographs and sound recordings of original music and oral interviews carried out in the 1970s.

Several records of the footballer Joe Cilia’s career (1955-1973) were donated by his brother Paul last year, while veteran broadcaster Frans Said donated his work on Aesop’s fables complementing his earlier donation related to the children’s broadcasts and Christmas activities for needy children in the 1950s. A large collection of photographic negatives from the Ciancio Photographic Studio and the collection of records from the Nani Family were deposited also at the National Archives.

During 2015, Gabriel Pellegrini donated a collection of photos, recordings, works and other memorabilia of his late father Vincenzo. Notary Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini (1911-1997) was a poet, author, playwright, translator of literary works, opera and cantata librettist and painter. He founded the Institute for Cultural Exchanges, where he organised art exhibitions, music recitals and cultural talks and was also a member of the Manoel Theatre Management Committee (1960-1971) when this theatre was restored and brought back to life.

Mr Pellegrini donated also the papers and designs of Francesco Saverio Sciortino (1875-1958), an artist from Żebbuġ working in Canada, whose works were shadowed by those of his brother Antonio.

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THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MALTA Ms Maroma Camilleri The Bibliotheca, besides being the historic library of the Knights of Malta and the depository of the national imprint, is home also to three major archival record groups – the Archives of the Order of St John (1107-1798), the Archives of the Treasury of the Order and the Archives of the Universitas of Mdina and Valletta (1350-1818).

The significance of these documents for scholars of Melitensia and Hierosolimitana is undisputed in terms of the important historical information they yield, and for this reason they have been the focus of study and research over the years. However, the mission of the National Library, which is the custodian of these priceless archives, is to render them accessible not only to scholars and researchers but to as wide an audience as possible.

3.1

Digivault

One way of providing National Library material for consultation at the touch of a computer screen is via the portal Digivault which now hosts the digital assets of a considerable amount of newspapers and books from the National Library collections. The digitisation of archival material has begun to be undertaken, but this is an extremely long process due to the compilation of the metadata, since the General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G)) requires very detailed metadata down to Item level.

By mid-2016, there were over 500,000 items featuring mostly newspapers and books, engaged in Digivault. These ranged from items having been captured digitally to items that were completely accessible on Digivault, also including those existing in the different stages of processing. The selection of material to be digitised is based on the rarity of the items, on the state of conservation and on the demands of the public. Once the images are captured, the ensuing processes of editing, grouping, downsizing, saving as PDFs and indexing are carried out. The input of foreign volunteers, usually Erasmus students, is vital for the progress of the project. They assist in the scanning process under the supervision of the Digitisation studio staff. The indexed images are eventually joined to their respective metadata before being uploaded on Digivault. On 2nd December 2015, Digivault was officially launched by the Hon. Minister of Education, Mr Evarist Bartolo.

3.2

Exhibitions

Another way to giving visibility to the documents contained in the archives housed at the National Library is through the medium of exhibitions and publications. The year 2015 was characterised by the commemoration of one of the most notable events in the history of Malta – the Great Siege of 1565. The National Library of Malta contributed to the celebrations by organising an exhibition entitled “Obsidio Melitae: the 1565 event in National Library holdings”.

The exhibition, which was open between 18th May and 16th August 2015, explored the theme of the Great Siege by means of the holdings conserved in the National Library collections. The main focus of the display consisted of documents from the archives, among them the original letters of congratulations from European sovereigns sent to Grand Master Jean de Valette after the lifting of the siege. Other interesting exhibits included the original prints by Matteo Perez d’Aleccio depicting the highlights of the siege. On view were also published contemporary accounts 33

of the siege, including the 1567 and 1568 editions of Francesco Balbi da Correggio’s day-to-day diary. Modern scholarly studies of the 1565 event also featured in the display.

Most of the above items were transferred to the Grand Master’s Palace, Valletta, in September as part of the exhibition 1565: The Great Siege of Malta which was organised by Heritage Malta in collaboration with Malta Libraries. The exhibition, which was accompanied by the publication of a lavishly illustrated catalogue, was open until 6th December. A total of 40 items, many of them from the archives, were loaned by the National Library whilst an impressive number of artefacts featuring in the display were flown over from museums abroad. The exhibition attracted a huge number of visitors during the three months of opening.

The 450th anniversary of the Great Siege was also commemorated by the publication of a two-volume collection of essays entitled Besieged: Malta 1565. The volumes, edited by Maroma Camilleri and published by Malta Libraries and Heritage Malta, contained 41 essays written by Maltese and international academics who based their research on material gleaned from the Archives of the Order kept at the National Library as well as archives in various countries, including Turkey. Many of the scholars who contributed to the publications were invited to present their papers during a two-day conference on the Great Siege organised by Heritage Malta and held at Fort St Angelo, Birgu, on 29th and 30th October.

Also in 2015, the National Library lent out a number of items from its archives to be displayed in various exhibitions held in other venues. Between 21st and 30th April, an exhibition was organised at the HSBC premises in Valletta to mark the 400th anniversary of the Wignacourt Aqueduct, as part of the HSBC Water Programme and its ‘Catch the drop’ campaign. Among the volumes loaned by HSBC from the National Library were manuscripts from the Archives of the Order concerning the building of the aqueduct, most notably the renowned Poncet album (AOM 1034), as well as volumes from the Library Manuscript collection.

On the occasion of the European leaders’ summit held at the Auberge de Castile in Valletta, a small exhibition was mounted there between 10th and 13th November 2015. The display featured five important documents from the National Library holdings, namely, the Magna Carta Libertatis of 1428 from the Archives of the Universitas; the Liber Conciliorum of 1530 from the Archives of the Order of Malta; a letter from Tsar Paul I of Russia to Grand Master Hompesch, dated 1797, also from the Archives of the Order of Malta; the Journal de Malte of 1798; the George Cross Citation of 1942 and the Letters Patent relating to Independence, 1964. Thus the European leaders were given the opportunity to view the highlights of Maltese history in documented form.

The principal event that occurred so far during 2016 was the organisation of a major exhibition marking the 450th anniversary of the foundation of Valletta. For this occasion, Heritage Malta and Malta Libraries once more joined forces to create another common project aimed at providing visitors with an authentic historical experience. The exhibition, entitled Melita Renascens, explored the theme of Valletta in its various facets. The display of archival documents, books and artefacts was mounted in two separate venues – the National Library of Malta and the Vendome Bastion in Fort St Elmo. Visitors were able to walk through a purposely designed layout recalling the grid pattern of Valletta and enjoy the history, sights and main events that took place in the city during the past 450 years.

The exhibition was inaugurated at the Vendome Bastion on 22nd July 2016 by the Hon. Minister Dr Owen Bonnici and will be open until July 2017.

3.3

Readers Services

The National Library persists in the endeavour to provide the best possible service to readers, both to those who personally visit the library as well as those using the services from a distance. By living up to its reputation as a centre of scholarly study and erudition, it continues to attract a number of Maltese and foreign researchers. The Archives of the Order of St John in particular generate a considerable amount of interest in European countries, especially those originally pertaining to one of the Order’s eight langues. During 2015, over 5000 persons – an average of 20 per day - used the Library for research purposes. The Reading Room staff delivered more than 6000 items comprising manuscripts, newspapers and printed material. Of these, almost 1000 volumes were fetched both from the Archives of St John and the Universitas, while others came from the Library manuscript collection and from the Adami papers which remain popular among professional genealogists and others who simply wish to delve into their personal genealogy.

Whereas the number of researchers actually visiting the library has declined over the years, technological advances enable many to conduct their research from the comfort of their homes. In 2015, 400 requests from many parts of the world reached the Library by electronic mail. Queries requested information mostly from the Archives of the

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Order of Malta although a number of them concerned other library holdings. The vast majority of requests came from Malta, followed by Italy, the UK and France. Queries arrived from as far away as Australia, Argentina, Japan and India.

3.4

Conservation

The digitisation of National Library material, besides rendering such material readily accessible in digital format, is also a means of conserving the original books and documents. The other conservation process which runs parallel to digitisation is restoration, since many of the volumes selected for digitisation undergo restoration once they have been digitised. So while the original volumes are made available digitally in order to minimise handling, they are restored as far as possible to pristine condition so that they are preserved for posterity, thus fulfilling the National Library’s main raison d’être.

It is a fact that the environmental conditions within the 220-year-old building housing the Bibliotheca are unfortunately far from optimal. For this reason, the prevention of the deterioration of its holdings, especially its unique archival documents, is a key issue which is being addressed. A preservation policy has been adopted in order to mitigate the deleterious effects of the adverse conditions on the holdings, whereby items in a good or discreet state are preserved in the best possible environmental conditions while items which have been restored are temporarily accommodated in alternative storage until the original shelves are thoroughly cleaned. It is hoped that the implementation of these basic preventive measures in view of a more ambitious and comprehensive conservation project go some way in creating a more holistic and sustainable approach to the conservation concerns of the national collection.

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THE ARCHIVES OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF MALTA Rev Dr Nicholas Doublet The Archives of the Archbishop of Malta (AAM) contain the diocesan records from the second half of the fifteenth century up to the present day. It is thus not only a historical archive, but one that continues to grow. Since the Church was the only institution who up to the second half of the nineteenth century preserved records on the population in general, the material conserved in its archives constitutes a valuable, and indeed indispensable, source of information not only for historians interested in the history of our nation, but also for researches who embark on studies as varied as demographic growth, social studies, economic history, as well as all those eager on reconstructing their family history.

The Archdiocese of Malta has embarked on the project of completely refurbishing its Diocesan Historical Archive, so as to better provide for the conservation of the documentation held within it. This Archive stands as a visible witness to the constant service that the Church in Malta has offered throughout the centuries, as it continues to do, to the people of these islands.

This archive holds a vast collection of documentation spanning more than five centuries, including documents related to Pastoral Visits, and the Status Animarum, both indispensable collections in society studies, those related to the Bishops’ secretariat, to parishes and confraternities, all necessary sources in the study of the ecclesiastical and civil history of Malta. Other collections include those related to the institution of marriage, most useful for the research of family trees, and yet others stand as a documentary testimony to the development of the artistic patrimony of our islands.

4.1

The creation of a new space to house the Archive

The present project includes the restoration of hall within the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana to better house this archive, as well as its complete furnishing according to present-day archival standards. It also includes the creation of a study hall so as to render a better service to the many researchers who make use of the documentation housed within it for their study. Since a good part of our collection has already been digitalized, the project also includes the provision of screens, which will limit the handling of the original documents so as to better assure their preservation.

This project will be completed in a number of successive periods. The first phase included the restoration of the main hall, formerly an auditorium, and a number of adjacent rooms, so as to adapt them to their new purpose. This included primarily the restoration of a good part of the roof, especially through the consolidation of the wooden beams supporting the ceiling. It also included the redecoration of all the adjacent rooms, formerly used to house props and changing rooms, as well as the adaptation of a room which will be later used as a restoration laboratory.

Having thus completed over a two year period, the consolidation of the ‘fabrica’, we have now embarked on the planning of the archive in itself. Through the support of the Notarial archives, an architect with expertise in this field, was contacted, and a project brief was presented. The plans presented allow for the maximum use of the space available, creating an archive that is both visually and functionally according to the highest standards demanded by 36

archival standards. The space will also include a study hall, laboratory, as well as offices for archival staff. It will also include an adequate space for the housing of temporary exhibitions of documentation. The study hall can easily be converted into a conference hall, which can comfortably seat around 40 people. One side of the hall will also include a space for the permanent exhibition of a number of works of art already held within the Curia’s collection. Such a space will thus allow visitors to the both the archive and the Curia to get a glimpse into this building’s long and impressive history.

A third stage will entail the installation of the steel structure to support the shelving space. This space will be divided on two floors. At ground level, it has been decided to install compressed shelving, so as to both maximise space as well as better protect the documents from dust. Compressed shelving will also allow for better climatic control, minimalising the effect of climatic fluctuations. The upper level will include open shelving, and will house the more recent collections of this archive.

4.2

Digitisation of records

As to the ongoing digitisation project, its genesis must be traced back to the initiative of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, who in 1973 began microfilming the archival collections of the Cathedral of Mdina, Malta, under the direction of Mgr. John Azzopardi. Filming concluded in 1989 after 8,229 books and manuscripts had been filmed. The microfilming project at the Cathedral also included books, music manuscripts, and archival materials from other ecclesiastical institutions and private collections in Malta and Gozo. The contents of the materials filmed date from the eleventh to the twentieth century.

As part of this project, a part of the archival collection held at the Archives of the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana were also microfilmed. This part has now been digitised and most of it is already available to researchers online.

This digitisation programme is now being continued, to include more collections, such as the ‘Supplichi’, the ‘Brevia et Constitutiones’, as well as the ‘Status Animarum’, which all include a wealth of information as to the religious, social, legal and economic history of the Maltese people.

The Archdiocese of Malta has transferred all its microfilms into digital media to make them available over the internet. This will enable the Archives to be more accessible by researchers and the casual visitor alike.

4.3

Conservation project of the Fondo Acta Civila

This ‘Fondo’ includes a vast amount of documentation pertaining to the ‘processi’ held in front of the Bishop’s court.

Raging from the mid-16th century to the mid-19th century, the material includes a wide variety of cases raging from those of a strictly canonical nature to civil disputes. This documentation takes the form of ‘fascicoli’, each one pertaining to a particular court case. The contenders are clearly indicated on the cover of each file. Unfortunately this documentation had lay abandoned, piled up in a room, for a number of years. About a decade ago, it had been

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carefully sorted out in a chronological order. Unfortunately, given that it was not placed in boxes, and at one point it moved to another room, most of the piles, simply tied together by string, got mixed up again.

The present conservation project, carried out through the dedicated work of a volunteer, consisted in once again sorting the material in chronological order, dusting the cover page of each file, and placing the material in adequate cardboard boxes, with the dates clearly indicated on the outside of each box. These boxes have now been placed in a deposit room.

4.4

Conservation of the Biblioteca di San Calcedonio

This collection is the one most tied to the history of this building, as it pertained to the Jesuit fathers who constructed this building as a retreat house in the eighteenth century. It is a historical library which includes books from the late sixteenth to the first part of the twentieth century. The material, including a number of incunabula, includes books on canon law, dogmatic and moral theology, hagiography and other material related to the sacred sciences. It thus allows one to understand better the formation of students to the religious and priestly life as well as what nourished their life of piety, over a period spanning four centuries. Unfortunately most of the library was destroyed through an irresponsible decision that in the 1970s decreed its destruction. The little that remains, including a couple of hundred volumes, have been saved through the effort of Mr Lorenzo Zahra, who has dedicated these last thirty years of his life to the untiring service of the Curial archives.

The office space of the new Archive will also include wall to wall shelving, which will house this collection, conserving it until restoration of these volumes becomes possible.

4.5

Reception of new ‘Fondi’

Our archives serves both as a current, and a historical archive. As such it is a living reality, continually receiving ‘fondi’ of ecclesiastical institutions, which have either ceased to exist, or else find themselves to be no longer capable of assuring the proper conservation, or do not have the physical space necessary to store their archives. Thus in this last year, the Diocesan archive has received the fondi of a number of pastoral diocesan commissions, which due to changes to the diocesan administrative structure, have ceased to exist, the archive of the Kummissjoni Djoċesana Żagħżagħ, as well as a small collection of papers of a former archivist, the late Mgr. Joseph Busuttil.

4.6

Promotion and public relations

The Diocesan Archives have also felt the need to embark on initiatives with the aim of promoting the importance of the sources it contains, entering the social media so as to promote knowledge of this archive among the general public. Our hope is to recruit more volunteers that can assist with the carrying out of work to ensure the better conservation of our documents, as well as the hope of raising some of the funds necessary that would allow us to embark on the restoration of the most important documents in our collection.

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THE MALTA STUDY CENTER’S PROJECTS IN MALTA SUMMARY OF PAST AND ONGOING PRESERVATION PROJECTS* Dr Daniel K. Gullo

5.1

The National Archives of Malta in Mdina and Rabat

Overview The Malta Study Centre signed an agreement with the National Archives of Malta in October 2007 to digitize the archives of the Magna Curia Castellaniæe Acta Originalia, the largest secular tribunal in Malta during the time of the Knights. There are 1,411 volumes of Acta Originalia covering the cases that appeared before the tribunal period between 1543 and 1798. The MCC AO project was completed in June 2015. The Centre also signed two agreements with the National Archives of Malta in 2014 to digitise the Epoca Gallica Fond and the Officium Civilis Sacrae Inquisitionis collections. The Epoca Gallica Fond (56 volumes and boxes) contains the civil and criminal court records of Malta during the French occupation of the island between 1798 and 1800. The Officium Civile Sacrae Inquisitionis (OSI) collection contains records from the civil court of the Roman Inquisition that date from 1605 to 1798 (3 volumes). The initial EGA and the complete OSI projects were completed in January 2015.

Current year The remaining volumes of the Epoca Gallica collection were completed in September 2015. However, 25 boxes of documents belonging to the collection were discovered in Rabat in January. This collection was organized and named Law Courts Miscellaneous and was digitised in September and October 2015. Another two small collections, the Sacra Audientia (SAU) and Tribunal Sancti Petri (TSP), was also completed in October 2015. As of October 2015 (4 volumes and two volumes), the Centre completed all projects with the National Archives of Malta and removed the studio from the Banca Giuratale in Mdina. The metadata for these projects was completed by Ms. Sara Ramírez Catalayud. As part of her work on behalf of the Centre, Ms. Ramírez Catalayud also helped with the outline of the organization of the EGA collection to provide a proper hierarchical structure detailing the collection’s contents.

5.2

The Notarial Archives in Malta

Overview Aided by a grant from the Laura Jane Musser Foundation, the Malta Study Centre began a pilot project in March 2010 to solve the technical problems of digitising the notarial registers. After the successful completion of the pilot project in 2011, the Centre signed an agreement with the Notary to the Government and the Notarial Archives Council to digitize 1,335 of the oldest registers, dating from the 16th-century.

* For logistical reasons this report also describes some activity carried out during 2016.

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Status Nadine Genovese, Principal Notary of Malta, advised the Malta Study Centre that the Steering Committee for the rehabilitation of the Notarial Archives had stopped the Digitisation project for the time being. The reason is that there is a plan for a holistic project to rehabilitate the Notarial Archives in St Christopher Street Valletta.” At the end of the project, 219 notarial registers were digitized by the Centre.

5.3

Vittoriosa Archives of the Inquisition Digitisation Project

Overview The initial microfilming project at the Cathedral Archives did not film the complete collection of inquisitorial manuscripts in the ecclesiastical repositories of the Archdiocese of Malta. The project failed to film AIM manuscripts found at the parish church in Vittoriosa. We identified 17 volumes of AIM records in the parish archives and signed a contract to digitize the collection with Dun Gwann Azzopardi in March 2015.

Current year The Centre completed the digitisation of the 17 volumes of AIM materials in Vittoriosa in September 2015. The preliminary study of these volumes was published by Dr. William Zammit, while additional metadata was compiled by by Ms. Sara Ramírez Catalayud.

5.4

Cathedral Archives of Mdina and Cathedral Museum Parchment and Manuscript Project

Overview We received a grant from the Rahr Foundation to conduct a preliminary review of the medieval codices, fragments and early modern parchments at the Cathedral Archives. Our investigation discovered 64 manuscript fragments and 489 parchments that were not inventoried or catalogued during the original microfilming project between 1973 and 1989. The Centre signed an agreement to digitise these collections in March 2015 with Dun Gwann Azzopardi, which included the right to digitised 11 large antiphonals from the Cathedral Museum. Forty-two additional manuscripts were digitised as part of this project, including all the medieval codices and some rare Syriac and Arabic manuscript in the ACM Misc. Collection. As part of this project, the Centre paid for the rehousing of the parchment and fragment collections, and hired Ms. Sara Ramírez Catalayud to aid Monsignor Azzopardi in the organisation, inventory, metadata processing of the collection.

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Current year A visit to Malta in July revealed that we needed two archival book furniture and other items for digitisation to take place. A new 36.3 Nikon camera was needed to photograph the large antiphonals manuscripts. We constructed the new furniture in July and after weeks of testing, were ready to begin in October after the Vittoriosa project. Filming began in October 2015 and was completed in February 2016. The studio was removed from Mdina and moved to Valletta.

5.5

Cathedral Archives of Mdina Archives of the Inquisition Digitisation Project

Overview The initial microfilming project at the Cathedral Archives did not film the entire AIM collection at the cathedral archives, some 35 boxes and volumes were later discovered and required digitisation to complete the collection. We signed a contract to digitise the collection in March 2015 with Dun Gwann Azzopardi.

Current year The digitisation of the project began in March 2015, but was temporarily suspended. A few remaining volumes were completed in September 2016. The project is now complete. A study of these documents was published by Prof.

Carmel Cassar, while additional metadata was compiled by by Ms. Sara Ramírez Catalayud.

5.6

Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum in Mdina

Overview The Malta Study Centre signed an agreement with the Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum in 2015 to digitise the manuscripts of the Palazzo’s Library and Museum and the Olof Frederick Gollcher Archives. The library and museum house nearly 129 manuscript codices and rare Melitensia. The Olof Frederick Gollcher Archives contain over 71 boxes of archival material dating from the 18th through the 20th centuries. This eclectic collection was the first project completed with the help of the Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti.

Current year The Centre completed the digitization of the Palazzo Falson’s three collections in August 2015. The Centre applied for a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation to support digitisation and the purchase of acid-free archival boxes to preserve the collection for future use. Over 100 boxes were purchased and sent to Malta to support this project. The Centre also built a free open-access online library catalog for their entire library collection, which is now available on their website (http://www.palazzofalson.com). The Centre also helped the local librarian and curator to reclassify their archives for clarity and future use. Several medieval manuscript fragments were found as part of this digitisation process.

5.7

Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti Private Libraries Digitisation Project

Overview The Malta Study signed a new partnership agreement with the Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti (FPM) to begin digitising private pre-1800 manuscript collections in Malta in September 2015. Previously, the Centre had microfilmed a few select manuscripts from private collections during the 1970s and 1980s under the direction of Dun Gwann Azzopardi.

However, this is the Centre’s first attempt to systematically catalogue and digitise the extensive, valuable cultural resources found in private collections in Malta. With the aid of the FPM, the first agreement was signed with Marquis Nicholas de Piro at Casa Rocca Piccola in February 2016.

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Current year The digitisation of the Piro collection project began in March 2016. The complexity of the collection required the hiring of Ms. Cláudia Garradas as a local Site Director to prepare, foliate, and rehouse the collection. Though and initial inventory was completed by the de Piro, the current state of the collection requires an on-site director to prepare the materials and inventory the archival boxes before digitisation. Additional help was initial offered by the FPM, but a second metadata cataloguer was needed to process the over 200 manuscripts, nearly 100 pre-1820 broadsides, and 100 pre-1800 archival boxes found in the collection. The Centre is paying for new archival boxes and rehousing the materials in acid free conditions as part of the digitisation process. We expect digitisation to be completed in January 2017.

5.8

Catholic University of America Order of Malta Digitisation Project

Overview The Malta Study Centre signed an agreement with the Catholic University of America (CUA) to digitise the Maltese manuscript collections in CUA’s Rare Books and Special Collections, over 200 small manuscript dealing with the Order of Malta from the late 17th through the early 19th century. The collections come from two major donations, the Carol Saliba donation in 1994 and the Foster-Stearns donation in the 1950s. Both collections have been inventoried, but neither has been fully catalogued.

Current year Digitisation of the CUA Order of Malta collections will begin in October 2016.

5.9

Magistral Archives and Library in Rome

Overview In 2005, the Malta Study Centre formed a partnership with the Grand Magistry of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to begin digitizing the archives, rare books, and manuscripts in the Magistral Archives and Library in Rome.

Some of the materials include descriptions of the Order’s European properties, the minutes of the meetings of the Sovereign Council after 1798, diplomatic correspondence, and patents of nobility. Several other letter collections, including the Hompesch archives, and at least 400 bound manuscripts are found in the archives and library.

Status The Centre has to date received 800 digital object from the Magistral Archives and Library in Rome. We hope to continue this relationship in the future, but it will likely require a visit to Rome with Fra’ Rousseau to organise and plan the future of the project. The archives and library split into two repositories in 2013, and significant work will be needed to re-index the digital collections.

5.10

The Malta Study Centre Collection at HMML

Overview The Malta Study Centre Collection at HMML contains over 200 manuscripts and 50 early printed rare books in its collection. As part of the vHMML Reading Room project, the Centre’s collection will be locally digitised and made available online for the public.

Status Digitisation of the Centre’s collection began in earnest in 2014, and only a few recent acquisition and a few large objects have not been digitised. These will be placed in vHMML Reading Room in 2017.

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ARCHIVES HELD BY BAND CLUBS Ms Dorianne Coleiro

6.1

Introduction

Records in band clubs can be divided into two main groups; the administrative collection, and the music collection.

The administrative collection consists primarily of the day-to-day management of the band club, its finances, and of other records such as photographic material that portray the activities of the club. On the other hand, the music collection comprises music scores owned by the band club.

There are ninety band clubs in the Maltese Islands; 79 in Malta and 11 in Gozo. Research about the management of archives in band clubs was carried out between 2014 and 2016. Band clubs are also management units and thus for this reason they require sound records’ management policies and practices. The ultimate aim of the research was to raise awareness of the significance of these archives and to educate those responsible for taking care of such archives on ways of handling records correctly and lawfully. Such closeted records require more promotion and support for their validity in recounting the past. Furthermore, the majority of the persons handling these records have never followed adequate professional training on the subject or in the event of having attended some kind of training, it was not delivered by a qualified person on the subject. Consequently, the intention of the study was to learn about the current situation, and subsequently educate the persons concerned about the way to handle, preserve and promote their records adequately.

6.2

Methodology

After the objectives for the research were identified, a plan of action was compiled. The plan included the preparation of detailed interviews to gather the desired data for the research. The study aspired to bring out information about: • the current ways and means of archiving in band clubs; • the attitudes towards document management, and • the knowledge that the responsible persons have regarding records management.

A qualitative research was chosen for the study. This type of research studies the interviewees’ knowledge and practices and takes into consideration the diversity of perspectives and habits due to the different subjective viewpoints and social environments related to them (Flick, 2009).

The research sample covered 40% of the band clubs in Malta and Gozo, i.e. thirty-six band clubs.

The subjects researched were methods of accession of the records found in band clubs, their preservation of the records, the finding aids available to retrieve information, and accessibility to the records. These four areas of study covered mainly the well defined phases of the records life cycle, from creation to disposition; Creation, Use, Retention, Appraisal, and Disposition (A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology, 2016). The basic questions chosen for each subject were in the majority open ended questions, inviting the respondents to describe precisely the management of the band club’s records.

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The working questions aimed to retrieve information about: • the different types of collections found in band clubs, and from where and how they were acquired; • where and how the different types of collections are kept; • any tools used to facilitate the retrieval of information within the collection of records; • accessibility in general to records and information.

On site interviews were performed in order to research the four areas of study extensively. This approach complemented the study with valuable comments and perspectives from the respondents which enriched the statistics and the data collection. This method in addition provided an opportunity to see the records and the repositories when access was granted.

6.3

Trends

• Accessions When band clubs were asked what type of collections they possessed, they all mentioned music, and sometimes one other item such as photographs. From the answers given, it was evident that the administrative records are not considered as important and as valid a collection as music is.

Thirty two interviewed band clubs (88.9%) stated that exchange of music scores with other clubs was a common occurrence. Nine of these added that they also obtained music from other band clubs without giving any music of their own in exchange. Four band clubs, whose music collection was rather small, stated that they did not resort to exchanges but merely obtained music from other band clubs. Overall, all clubs maintained that they either exchanged or acquired music from other clubs.

• Preservation Digitisation tends to be a new element to band clubs. The interviewed clubs answered that past minutes which were written by hand were recorded on registers. Asked if they had digital copies of these minutes scripted on registers, two band clubs (5.6%) replied positively, one (2.8%) said that only a few of the registers were digitised. The majority, thirty two band clubs (88.9%) did not have digital copies of these handwritten minutes. One club established in 1997 said that they did not have any handwritten minutes since they were founded a mere eighteen years ago.

As for electronic communication, the majority of the band clubs (86.1%) said that they kept a hard copy serving as a back-up.

Most of the band clubs started keeping an additional digital copy of the books and feast books published by the club between 2008 and 2011. It was only possible to acquire a digital copy from the printing company from the time when the use of computers was made available.

Interviewees were asked where the photographic prints were kept. Twenty four band clubs gave one answer, mainly photo albums, whilst twelve clubs gave more than one answer. The majority (twenty nine band clubs) said that they kept all or some of the photographic prints in photo albums.

The majority of the clubs kept the promotional material in cabinets and glass fronted cupboards. Most of the band clubs kept this collection in boxes, carton boxes and box files. In general this was not regarded as a collection that was being preserved but rather as leftovers which had not been sold or given away.

The majority of the band clubs kept the cassettes or compact disks of marches recorded by the band in a glass fronted cupboard or a wall unit. Precisely, 38.9% of the clubs kept these in a glass fronted cupboard as an exhibit for everyone to see the tangible output of the band. Same as with audio recordings, most of the band clubs kept their video material in a glass fronted cupboard or in a wall unit.

Patterns regarding sorting of the music collection showed that the majority of the band clubs (two thirds) had some type of sorting.

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As for the majority of the collections, digital copies started to be kept after the beginning of the 21st century.

A general question about preservation was asked with regard to precautions taken against insect infestation. The respondents gave a variety of answers. The majority of them (61.1%) took no such precautions.

• Finding Aids For document management purposes, the agenda could well serve as a quick reference to the date of a committee meeting and the matters discussed in that particular meeting. The agenda can be utilised as a finding aid in the eventuality that a subject discussed was being looked up so that the user could delve into what has been discussed on the subject during previous meetings. For this reason, questions were asked if the agendas were held separately from the minutes for quick reference or together with the minutes. Two thirds of the band clubs interviewed had both agendas on paper and saved electronically. The majority (83.3%) of the band clubs keep paper agendas together with the minutes. The majority of the band clubs (46.7%) which keep the paper agenda filed with the minutes were founded between 1851 and 1900.

Attendance sheets mark the presence of persons in the band club or for a service given by the band club. When asked about attendance sheets, the majority of the band clubs referred only to the presence of band players at rehearsals and during band services. Just a few of the band clubs interviewed mentioned the logging of the committee members’ attendance at committee meetings.

In the case of the majority of the interviewed band clubs, the director general was responsible for compiling inventories, or the cashier when the band club did not have a director general.

The majority (83.3%) said that they had a list of music scores, with one club saying that they also kept a separate list of marches. The majority of the band clubs detail responsibility for the music collection to the music archivist, or the band delegate, or in some cases, to both of them.

• Accessibility Band clubs were asked if they gave access to external researchers who were nonmembers. The majority (80.6%) answered affirmatively but many of them (70.0%) qualified their answers by listing restrictions.

One club commented that access was given to band players if they asked for it. This comment highlights the fact that access is not a privilege granted to band players although in many cases local band players play with the band without receiving any remuneration. This is also shown in the majority of the band clubs (77.8%) not mentioning band players as having access to music scores in their statute.

The majority of band clubs’ statutes do not mention accessibility to music scores, yet many of them (63.9%) still said that they would give access to external users.

The selected band clubs were asked if they had information about their collections online. Only three band clubs answered in the affirmative. Analysing the online information of these three band clubs, Għaqda Karmelitana Banda Queen Victoria had some information about their music collection on their website, links to photographs, audiovisual material, and recent publications. Soċjetà Santa Marija u Banda Re Ġorġ V also had links to photographs, publications, a list of audio and visual material. Similarly, Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp of Għajnsielem showed a list of recent publications and a list of compact disks on their website. None mentioned the actual administrative collections comprising minutes, financial expenditure records or correspondence which form part of the collection as important as photographs, publications, and audio / visual material. Moreover, none of the band clubs gave an explanation of how the records were being preserved. In the event that a club was preserving its history and activities diligently in acid free boxes, with a proper backup and digitising the collection, one would expect that the club would make much of such a project.

6.4

Good records management practices

• Digitisation From the study it transpired that both Mqabba band clubs have all their photographic prints digitised. One of the reasons might be that as both band clubs are nationally well known for their fireworks displays, photographic images are useful evidence of this prowess. Therefore both band clubs felt the necessity to preserve this vital evidence by digitising the collection. Another possibility might be that as both band clubs commissioned the history of the club to be written in 1995 and 1998, respectively, the process might have triggered action to compile the collection and later digitise the material.

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The Peace Band Club is transcribing the handwritten music that the band club possesses on Sibelius and Finale (score writer programs). This was the only band club from those interviewed that took the initiative to copy the scruffy handwritten music to neater computer written music. In addition, they are acquiring a backup of the music score in digital format.

Another band club which started digitising the music scores is Soċjetà Santa Marija u Banda Re Ġorġ V. This club started scanning the music scores and uploading the scans on the cloud in order to be accessible by more than one person. In the process, the individual music pieces are being sorted according to instrument and stored in a fire retarding plastic button folder. The interviewee explained that the main scope is to have a digital archive rather than a paper archive. In addition, it was explained that in this way there would be no need to take out the music from the actual archive but rather print what is needed from a computer. The interviewee also foresaw that, in the near future, musicians will not play anymore from sheet music but rather from a tablet.

• Back-ups Back-up of records is essential for sound records management. The research evidently enquired about copies of all the different collections. Għaqda Mużikali Sant’ Elena, saved the financial expenditure records both on a personal computer and also on a computer located at the band club. This club uses the system of transferring the data from one computer to the other by means of a pen drive and thus having the data effectively in three locations; band club’s computer, personal computer, and pen drive. An additional copy to these records is also kept handwritten • Guidelines Some band clubs have already taken the initiative to detail procedures concerning the person responsible for the particular collection and on how the collection should be preserved. The statute of Soċjetà Mużikali Madonna talĠilju is very well formulated in this regard. It goes into such detail as to specify what documentation each specific commission, section, or subcommittee should compile and preserve. They have acknowledged the fact that records of commissions, sections, or subcommittees also form a vital part of the collection.

• Exhibitions The only appointed archivist taking care of the administrative collection which featured in the sample had enough time to promote the band club’s collection through several exhibitions. For an exhibition of cribs during Christmas of 2015, held at Għaqda Mużikali Marija Bambina, Banda Vittorja, the administrative archivist took the opportunity to exhibit records relating to similar past events organised by the band club.

6.5

Conclusion

The study was a first attempt to analyse these institutions as records creating units and delve into depth about the way they manage their institutional memory through documentation. The research managed to enter into the internal administrative workings of band clubs and analyse to what extent their organisational structure is changing and whether the record keeping policies and procedures are changing at the same pace as the organisational structure.

It also managed to link what is happening in these administrative units at village level with the corpus of national legislation which they have to adhere to.

Most importantly, the study tried to plan a way forward for action. This was done by presenting a number of recommendations that band clubs can easily adopt in order to have better records management of their institutions.

As the recommendations developed from the analysis of the answers provided by the band clubs themselves, they were purposely designed for band clubs in general but could also be adopted by any other private archive having the same environment as band clubs. In all instances, the feasibility of the recommendations was fully weighed up, whilst keeping in mind that band clubs are voluntary organisations which rendered cost effective measures a priority.

A further objective of the research is to disseminate these recommendations and guidelines to all the band clubs in Malta and Gozo. The ideal measure would certainly be information sessions for the benefit of records managers and secretaries. Other means to disseminate the recommendations is to distribute a handbook in Maltese, listing the helpful guidelines to aid all those who would like to improve, to understand, and to implement the required norms.

References:Flick, U. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications Ltd Society of American Archivists. (2016). A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology, Definition of ‘Life cycle’.

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ARCHIVES FORUM, 2014 7

Highlights of the National Forum on Archives, 2014 St Ignatius College, Qormi 19 February 2014

In his address Minister Evarist Bartolo explained how archives are crucial for a country’s identity since these are intimately linked to its memory. Thanking all those who have contributed towards the current situation, Minister Bartolo expressed his commitment to attract more resources to develop further this sector as well as shared his dream that the National Archives has purposely-developed premises.

A robust and healthy debate touching on several issues followed the presentation of the State of Archives Report and the minister’s address, including •

the need for training and engaging records officers to serve within the public administration. This has been a legal requirement since the enactment of the current legislation and would ensure a quality leap in records management within the public service;

•

records officers should not be viewed as a panacea and increased training to public officers, particularly in records management, archives’ legislation and data protection was called for;

•

a strategy for the preservation of digitally-born records has to be developed. However this has to factor in the current hybrid environment;

•

more storage space is required to house Gozo public records. Currently the archives are sharing the premises with a school and a library, while notaries cannot deposit their records for lack of space availability;

•

the increased centralisation of records, coupled with improvement in internet-based accessibility, was proposed by a researcher saying that this would promote interest and research. Increased marketing of archival material would surely foster public interest. Purposely-designed outreach efforts targeting young children were recommended.

•

it is presumed that certain public records are in private hands, sometimes through legal channels. Efforts should be undertaken to ensure their preservation and to make them accessible.

•

private enterprise and archives are to find ways and means how to increase their resources and not just wait for government handouts.

•

however, public assistance to private archives to manage better their holdings, particularly in catalouging and records management, was called for.

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National Archives of Malta, Passport Collection

The National Archives of Malta Head Office, Hospital Street, Rabat RBT 1043 Tel: +356 2145 9863 Fax: +356 2145 0078 E-mail: customercare.archives@gov.mt Website: www.nationalarchives.gov.mt