THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF MALTA
ANNUAL REPORT 2019

ANNUAL REPORT

2019

2

VISIT US AT
Head Office
Hospital Street, Rabat RBT 1043
Tel: (+356) 2145 9863
Opening Hours:
Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 08:00 – 14:00
Thu: 10:00 – 14:00, 15:00 – 19:30
Sat: 08:15 – 12:45

The Malta Study Centre
Hill Museum and Manuscript Librarywww.hmml.org

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

Gozo Section
Vajrinġa Street, Victoria VCT 1313
Tel: (+356) 2155 88 33
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 07:30 – 13:30
Wed: 14:00 – 18:00
Sat: 07:30 – 13:00

The National Archives of Malta
https://www.flickr.com/photos/
national_archives_malta/
https://twitter.com/Malta_Archives

Courts and Tribunals Section
Villegaignon Street, Mdina MDN 1193
Tel: (+356) 2145 9919
Opening Hours:
Mon: 08:00 – 14:00, 15:00 – 19:30
Tue, Wed, Fri: 08:00 – 14:00
Thu: 10:00 – 14:00

https://www.instagram.com/
nationalarchivesmalta/
The Archives Portal Europe
www.archivesportaleurope.eu

MEMBER OF

ACARM

Association of CommonwealthArchivists and Records Managers

A publication of the National Archives of Malta© The National Archives of Malta
Contributors: The staff of the National Archives,
volunteers and members of the Friends of the National Archives
ISSN:
1997-6348
Design: Salesian Press
Printing: Government Printing Press

3

CONTENTS
Foreword

5

1

Corporate Services, IT and Finance Management

72

Records Management

133Archival Processing

29

4Conservation Laboratory

35

5

Public Services

39

6

Courts and Tribunals Section

53

7

Gozo Section

59

8

MEMORJA

65

9Supporting Organisations and Volunteers

69

10International Relations and Activities

77

11

Older generation (Active Ageing) at the archive

83

12

Unaudited Financial Statements, 2019

92

Cover
2020 is the 100th anniversary since the setting up of
the L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti, now know as
Akkademja tal-Malti. See pages 27-28,38.

4Archives constitute the memory of nations and societies, shape
their identity, and are a cornerstone of the information society.
Safeguarding the evidence of human actions, reactions andtransactions, archives support administration and underlie therights of individuals, organisations and states. By guaranteeing
citizens’ rights of access to official information and to knowledge of
their history, archives are fundamental to identity, democracy andaccountability.

5

FOREWORD
2019 was another productive year for the National Archives ofMalta. Considerable achievements in records management indepartments, accessions, conservation work, user services
and outreach initiatives were registered. Our collective effort
described in detail in this publication helped the archives sector
acquire unprecedented visibility within Maltese society.
The transfer of land at Ta’ Qali for the building of the nationalarchives complex was a remarkable achievement.
2020 promises to be even more productive one. It is a year ofdecision-making and we expect tangible progress on our newbuilding project. This will be the largest investment our country
has embarked upon within the archives domain.
All this has to be framed in our wider vision for the sector.
For the coming years we have three strategic targets:• to re-engineer our infrastructure• to upgrade the skill sets of our operators• to widen memory capture in terms of typology and media.
We need political, financial and academic support to achieve these targets. Networking between the
involved public bodies and in full consultation with stakeholders making use of services is a must.
Notwithstanding the achievements reported about in this publication, there is widespread acknowledgmentthat the current services are dispersed in ill-fit historical buildings. Through the Ta’ Qali project we will becentralising our services in a state-of-the-art and purposely built repository. The same institution will also
house the National Audio-Visual Institute (NAVI) aimed at providing, not only storage, but professional
training on the preservation and archiving of Malta’s audio-visual heritage.
Obviously, these projects will generate further challenges. We need to make sure that the country offers
the right training opportunities in digital preservation, information security and privacy, and the longterm preservation of audio-visuals. Such capacity building will also require strengthening international
participation in projects and initiatives in the archives domain.
We are also putting a lot of energy in the project Memorja. This is the result of an important transition that
our institution is gradually embracing - the shift from the concept of ‘public records’ into ‘public memory’.
Memorja will have its online portal and will equip itself to gather, organise, store and give access thememory capture in whatever form and medium. This vision will complement the work of the National
Audio-Visual Institute (NAVI) and develop the Ta’ Qali archival complex into an educational and cultural
institution.
I cannot conclude this year’s foreword without thanking Minister Evarist Bartolo for his support to our
sector for many years.
Now, the National Archives will be operating under the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts andLocal Government. We welcome and look forward to work under Dr José Herrera as the new Minister forour sector.
Dr Charles J. Farrugia
National Archivist/CEO

Jenkinson Report, May 1944

6

TRANSFER OF LAND TO BUILD THE NEW NATIONAL ARCHIVE
Monday 3, June 2019. A plot of public land at Ta’ Qali was transferred to the National Archives of Malta
so that we build a new National Archive.
While this ceremony can be seen as the point of arrival, we consider it more as the first step on a journey.
At the end of the Second World War seventy five years ago, Sir Hilary Jenkinson (1882-1961), one of
the world’s most renowned archivists, was sent to Italy to assess the state of the archives. While in Italy,
he was commissioned to compile a similar report on the state of Maltese archives.
Jenksinson arrived in Malta on 6 May 1944. After visiting a number of archives, he submitted areport with a number of recommendations including the statement that a “new building is a necessity,
an opportunity now offers, which will not recur, of planning a Public Record Office for Malta”.
Although no building was built, over the years several developments were undertaken including the setting
up of the National Archives.
Now we are starting on this new journey that includes the design, the building and the commissioning of
the new premises of the National Archive of Malta that will enable us to fulfill our mission and address thesignificant issues that hamper our work at the locations we currently operate from.
Our vision is a National Archive of Malta that is•a beautiful icon of the Maltese memory and identity;•
a functional and accessible state-of-the art centre of preservation and research; and•a sustainable green building, designed and operating in line with the latest international standards.
Transfer of land for the construction of the new National Archive, 3 June 2019

1

CORPORATE SERVICES,IT AND FINANCE
MANAGEMENT

1.1

Corporate Services Management Unit

Main responsibilities
The Corporate Services Management Unit is responsible for the management of the National Archives’
human resources, procurement, stores, logistics and the general administration of the premises. Apartfrom the daily administration management of the head office in Rabat (Malta), the unit has four further
functions.
•

Procurement is the core function that this unit manages. Tender procedures for large purchases
are managed by this unit. Other relatively small purchases require quotations for the goods orservices to be obtained and the unit has the task of ascertaining that the best quality is being
obtained at the cheapest possible price.

•

HR-related administration such as roster planning, staff records and leave records are managed
by this unit. The recruitment of new employees and staff development are further responsibilitiesof the Corporate Management Unit.

•

The unit also deals with the drafting, monitoring and execution of HR-related policies andadministration. It is also entrusted with the coordinating role in the management of Parliamentary
Questions (PQs). During 2019, the unit provided draft replies for 27 Parliamentary Questions.

•

The administration of the premises includes, structural and assets’ maintenance, management
and compilation of reports as requested by various ministries and government authorities,
administrative office management including reception and customer care office, maintenancesection and cleaning services.

Human Resources Development
Recruitment
Our human resources complement was strengthened in 2019 by two part-time Archives Assistants who
were assigned to the Memorja team. Two public sector employees joined the National Archives, one ofwhom was assigned to the Gozo section whilst the other was entrusted with duties within the Records
Management Unit. By the end of the year under review a call for Projects Coordinator was also issued
through Jobs Plus followed by a public call.

8

Staff training
Staff training during the year included the attendance by various staff members to general and specialized
training sessions, together with attendance to international meetings and conferences, held locally andabroad. The staff members involved gained exposure to new methodologies and ideas and benefitted
from training sessions and workshops. Knowledge management sessions were regularly held and thesewere devised to help spread the knowledge gained by a single employee amongst his/her colleagues,
benefitting them in their job skills. This was done through various theoretical and practical in-house training
sessions held at the Archives’ premises.
Further training on procurement, ECDL courses, inventory structuring, accountability and good governancewere attended by several employees to further strengthen the agency’s performance in these areas.
Tenders
During 2019, three tenders were issued. These included a tender for the management of our accounts,
another one covering cleaning services and a tender for the supply, installation, commissioning andmaintenance of a lift, including all the civil works and structural works required, to serve the four floors of
the edifice.
These were issued by the MEDE Procurement division and the agency assisted through. The Restoration
Directorate prepared the specifications and tender documents related to the lift tender and conducted theevaluation process.
Works and Maintenance of Buildings
During 2019, the National Archives set up a new digitization room. Documents were shifted at a groundfloor level room at Santo Spirto head office, part of which was partitioned and secluded to host the new
The new digitization setup: work on the herbarium from our Gozo section

9

digitization room. The place has been transformed to a modern professional digitization lab equipped withthe latest photographic and computer technology.
The area comprising of the CEO’s office and adjoining rooms including a new Reception area werecompletely redecorated and refurbished. A new first floor terrace entrance together with another two
was opened to avoid unnecessary public passage way through the archival restricted areas. Modern
equipment for facilitating video conferencing was also set up within these offices.
The Maintenance workshop was shifted to a more secluded area to avoid sound and dust nuisance,
and the place was fitted with proper shelving and storage place for equipment, tools and storage. An old
Maltese balcony and a number old wooden apertures were carefully renovated. Waterproofing works
were carried out at Santo Spirito, the Ospizio in Floriana and at the Banca Giuaratale in Imdina. Pest
control was this year given more attention with the further installation of pigeon roosting deterrents andthe setting up of rat bait stations.
A technical report was commissioned about the structural movement at the back end of the Santo Spirito
building that had been noticed for some time. Further monitoring was recommended and a number ofmonitoring devices have been put in place. This report was presented to Infrastructure Malta in view of
the roadworks in the adjacent road.

1.2

IT and Finance Management Unit

IT Management
All planned major achievements were achieved: the servers have installed and set up, cataloguing on thecentral database software now housed on the new repository in Rabat continued at an increasingly quick
pace and the development of the Memorja project continued at a sustained pace.
Over fifteen thousand new items spanning over various collections were catalogued on the archival
software. These figures were achieved mainly due to the hard work of members of staff from other sectionsin the archives and the efforts of our volunteers.
Beside the normal day-to-day repairs and maintenance of all the PCs at the National Archives, a numberof new PCs were purchased for new employees joining the archives and others that were beyond
economical repair were also replaced with new systems. In addition, some of the older systems, that werestill functional but were getting too slow for efficient use, were upgraded to improve their performance. It
is envisaged that the process of replacing PC systems that are more than eight years old shall continue
in 2020.
New servers
The server systems acquired in the end of 2018 were installed and set up during the first months of 2019.
The system setup went according to plan with a secure repository installed in the archive’s premisesin Rabat and a public server in a separate location. The archival repository in Rabat is made up of twoparts, one that is accessible to cataloguers, both in house and through VPN access even externally, andan archival store of the data. The archival store is only accessible by the system administrator, and twocopies of this data is kept on separate storage. During the year various collections were uploaded into theserver, totalling slightly over 50TB of documents stored by the end of the year.
The second server system was set up in a data centre in Madliena. This server had the archive’s
cataloguing software installed, tested and is now fully available to the public. Any web portals that shall becreated by the National Archives, shall be hosted on these servers.

10

Archives Portal Europe content
The old server is still running and is currently serving digital images to the Archives Portal Europe. During
the third quarter of 2019, a plan to modify the data in the European portal, that amounts to over 90,000
entries, was drawn. The plan consists of two phases: first modifying the xml data to direct users to theMadliena servers and second to change the data completely to the updated records found on AtoM, thearchive’s cataloguing software. Whilst work on this plan has already started it is envisaged that it willcontinue in 2020.
Memorja ProjectWork on the Memorja project continued unabated. The team continuously catalogue the thousands ofitems that are included in the scope of the project. Major successes were achieved in the IT side of theportal with the beta of the portal just finished in the last week of 2019. Integration with AtoM software wastested and functions appropriately. In the first quarter of 2020 it is planned to thoroughly test the software
to be launch-ready by the start of the second quarter.
Digitisation
Various improvements were done to the digitisation infrastructure in 2019. A new digitisation laboratory
was set up to be able to scan glass plate photo negatives. This setup also can digitise any document to
up to A2 size.
Digitisation equipment to efficiently digitise bound volumes was acquired in the third quarter of 2019 andis currently housed in the Gozo section. This specialised equipment will further facilitate the digitisation ofbound volumes without the need of unbinding or damaging the volumes.
Finance Management
Finance at the National Archives is managed in-house with the assistance of an outsourced accountancy
firm who that carries out financial reporting. Most of the tasks are recurrent on a weekly, monthly, quarterlyor yearly basis.
During 2019, the finance section managed all finances of the National Archives with a range of tasks
varying from the preparation of 2020 budgets and costings of planned expenses for 2019, to creditor
payments, tranche requests and other day to day tasks like cash management and invoicing.
Day-to-day data is collated on custom databases and is passed on to the accountants who issue monthly
accounts that are presented to the MFIN through their FDRS (Financial Data Reporting System).
Budgets 2020-2022
Every year the Ministry for Finance (MFIN), through the Ministry for Education and Employment (MEDE)
requests the budgets for the three years following the current year. Requiring a considerable effort to
finalise realistic budgets, the CEO and all managers are consulted for their requirements that are costed
by the team. The report is presented to the MEDE, who include the projections in their ministry wide claim
from the MFIN. The budgets also include the HR plans of the archives for the same period.
Payroll
All payroll together with any pay related issues were addressed by the finance section with minimal issues
arising, being dealt with instantly. Related HR functions like recruitment planning and skill requirements
were also included in the remit of the finance section.

11“records means recorded information regardless of form or medium created, received and maintainedby any public office...” (The National Archives Act, art 2)

Financial Estimates 2020
During the fourth quarter of 2019, the financial estimates for 2020 were prepared. The financial estimatesdiffer from the budgets done during the first months of the year in that they are fine-tuned, as morefinancial data is available as the year progresses.
Audit of 2018 financial statements
The financial statements of 2018 were audited at the start of the third quarter and the audited accounts
presented to the Minister of Education and Employment and the Minister of Finance as requested by the
National Archives Act.
Tender for accountancy services
Since the contract with the providers of accountancy services, was due to end in December 2019, a callfor tenders for the provision of accountancy services was issued during the third quarter. The call for
tenders was concluded successfully and a contract signed by the end of the year. The new accountants
are expected to take over as from the start of 2020.

12

1
2
4

1. German student Hatice Nur Mafratoglu on a two-monthinternship programme at the National Archives. May-June
2019.
2. Alessandro and Simone Bajada donated a digital copy of
8mm footage of Malta shot in the 1950s and 1960s. August
2019.

3
5

3. National Archives staff on a day trip to Sicily. October 2019.
4. Dr Simon Paris and his family donated records belonging toMons. Enrico Dandria (1892-1932). May 2019.
5. TESSIE, a biographical collage by Giola Cassar inspiredby Tessie Scerri, a 102-year old former teacher. OctoberNovember 2019.
6. Diana Isabel Jervis-Read, on behalf of Robin Conway
Jervis-Read and John Lancelot Jervis-Read, donating their
grandfather Arthur George Jameson’s collection of photos
while serving in the Mediterranean (1900-1) and their parents’photo collection. June 2019.
6

2
2.1

RECORDSMANAGEMENT

Onsite Inspections

The Records Management Unit (RMU) continued to carry out visits and inspections to the records’
repositories of various public entities, departments and ministries during 2019. The main objective of
these inspections and visits is to identify historical records and plan their transfer to the National Archives,
while assisting the entity in ensuring proper records management practices. Ultimately an official retention
policy, endorsed by the National Archives under the provisions of the National Archives Act (Cap 477), isdeveloped.
This table is a list of the entities (public and private) that were supported by the Records Management Unitduring the year under review.
Public Entities supported by the Records Management Unit during 2019
Armed Forces of Malta (AFM)
Automated Revenue Management Services (ARMS)
Electoral OfficeEnvironment & Resources Authority (ERA)
Malta Information Technology Authority (MITA)
Malta Police Force
Malta Tourism Authority (MTA)
MEDE – Directorate Curriculum Lifelong Learning & Employability (DCLE)
MEDE - Education Logistics & Support Unit (ELSU)MEDE - Exemptions Board
MEDE - Ġużè Ellul Mercer Education Programme (GEM16+)
MFCS - Benefits Compliance Directorate
MFCS - Department of Social Security
MFH - Dar Kenn għal Saħħtek
MFH - Department for Health Regulation - Health Care Standards
MFH - Directorate for Environmental Health
MFH - Directorate for Health Information and Research
MFH - Directorate for Health Information and Research
MFH - Directorate Pharmaceutical Affairs
MFH - Directorate Programme Implementation (DPI)14

Public Entities supported by the Records Management Unit during 2019
MFH - Foundation for Medical Services
MFH - Office of the Chief Medical Officer National Highly Specialised Programme - Treatment Abroad
MFH - Office of the Commissioner for Mental Health
MFIN - Commissioner for Revenue
MFIN - Department of Contracts
MFIN - Department of Contracts
MFIN - Inland Revenue Department
MFIN - Treasury Department
MFTP - High Commission of the Republic of Malta - Canberra
Ministry for Education and Employment (MEDE)
Ministry for Finance (MFIN)
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion (MFTP)
Ministry for Health (MFH)
Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government (MJCL)
Ministry for Tourism
Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects (MTIP)
MJCL - Arts Council Malta
MJCL - Law Courts
MJCL - Rabat Local Council
MTIP - Public Works Department
MTIP - Transport Malta
National Statistics Office
Office of the Attorney General
Office of the Notary to Government
Office of the President of the Republic
Office of the Prime Minister - People and Standards
St Vincent De Paul ResidenceSuperintendence of Cultural Heritage
Water Services Corporation
Private Entities supported by the Records Management Unit
Friends of Villa Frère
Farsons Foundation
HSBC Bank
Malta Aviation Museum
RSM - Malta

15

2.2

Appraisal of records

In cases of emergency or in the case of dormant collections of records that are no longer required by theconcerned entity, the National Archives issues a letter of appraisal with the decision taken on the casein question. During 2019 the National Archives published several such letters which helped entities todecongest their repositories.

Letters of Appraisal issued in 2019
Reference No.

EntitySubject

APL2019-01

MFIN - Commissioner for
Revenue• Insurance Reports• Intervivos + Architect’s Report• IRS File
• IV Architect Report Values Correct• Old Cash Cards• Receipt Registers Monte di Pietà• Registers Cash Office• Share Transfer Causa Mortis• Share Transfer Intervivos• Share Transfer IV Cont.

APL2019-02

MFTP - High Commissioner,
CanberraPension files

APL2019-03

National Statistics Office

Balance Payment Records (1974-1994)

APL2019-04

Ministry for Education and
Employment

Inventory Ledgers

APL2019-05

MFIN - Office of theCommissioner for Revenue

Duplicate copies of the Capital Transfer Duty - theDenunzji Records

APL2019-06

Armed Forces of Malta

Task Force Identity Cards

APL2019-07

Appraisal of Finance and Procurement Records:• Recharge Invoices, Support Documentation
including supplier invoices and emails.
MFH - Foundation for Medical• Purchasing: Invoices, Receipts, Purchase Orders,Services
Procurement Request Forms and Evaluation reports(where applicable).
• Creditor Statements.

APL2019-08

MEDE - Mikiel Anton Vassalli
College

APL2019-09
APL2019-10

2.3

MFCS - Department of Social
Security
MJCL - Rabat Local Council

Appraisal of cumulative record cards belonging to
ex-students whose date of birth are in the 1990s.
Appraisal of Sickness Records
Appraisal of Financial Records

Processing of historical records still held by public entities

Once historical records are identified, the originating office is instructed on the way forward for the transferof such records to the National Archives. The arrangements include sorting, finding the original order,
cleaning (when necessary), placing into archival-quality boxes and listing. In cases where the records
have traces of pest contamination, the documents are treated professionally before being transferred.
The treatment process is completed with the qualified guidance and under the supervision of the NAM
Conservators.

16

2.4

Retention Policies

While the implementation of retention policies for public records has been a legal requirement under theprovisions of the National Archives Act of 2005 (CAP), last year the requests for retention policies by
public institutions kept the momentum of the previous one in view of the GDPR requirements. A goodnumber of retention policies have been finalised during the year under review (see table), while discussion
about other policies is in a drafting stage; hopefully, they will be completed in 2020.
Retention policies completed in 2019
Reference No. Entity

Status

REP2019-01

MFH - Department for Health Regulation - Health Care Standards

Finalised

REP2019-02

MFIN - Department of Contracts - Tender Records

Finalised

REP2019-03

MEDE - Exemptions From Fees at State Educational Institutions

Finalised

REP2019-04

MEDE - GEM16+

Finalised

REP2019-05

MEDE - Stores Section – Strategy Support Department

Finalised

REP2019-06

MFH - Dar Kenn Għal Saħħtek

Finalised

REP2019-07

MFH - Financial Monitoring and Control Unit

Finalised

REP2019-08

MEDE - Travel Section

Finalised

REP2019-09

MFIN - Inland Revenue Department

Finalised

REP2019-10

NAM - Public Services Section

Finalised

REP2019-11

MFH - Directorate Programme Implementation (DPI)

Finalised

REP2019-12

MFH - Office of the Chief Medical Officer-National Highly Specialised
Programme - Treatment Abroad

Finalised

REP2019-13

MEDE -Directorate Curriculum Lifelong Learning & Employability(DCLE)

Finalised

REP2019-14

MEDE - Directorate for Research, Life Long Learning & Employability(DRLLE)

Finalised

REP2019-15

Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion - Accounts Records

Final Stages

REP2019-16

MFIN - Commissioner for Revenue - VAT Department

Finalised

REP2019-17

MEDE - Department of Examinations

Finalised

REP2019-18

MEDE- Inventory Section, Strategy & Support Department

Finalised

REP2019-19

MFH - Directorate Pharmaceutical Affairs

Finalised17Group photo of the participants of the Records Management Forum

2.5

Accessions

This is a list of the accessions that became part of the National Archives of Malta’s holdings during
2019.
Accession
Ref.
2019-01
2019-022019-032019-04
2019-05
2019-06
2019-07
2019-082019-092019-10Source and description

ExtentPrivate Deposit by Composer John E. Zammit Pace 5 compositions
Original music compositions
Superintendence of Cultural Heritage - Appraised HR
23 filesRecords
Superintendence of Cultural Heritage - Salvaged records
pertaining to the Rausi & Sons retail business, Valletta.
1 linear metre(ca.1930s-1950s)
Private Deposit by Simon Paris and family - Private papers
1 linear metreof Mons. Enrico Dandria. (ca.1900s-1930s)
Private Deposit by Theresa Vella - The Edward Sammut
photographic and memorabilia collection. (ca.1960s0.3 linear metres
1990s)
Private Deposit by Rita Ann Ellul - Digitised Photographs 13 digital images. Total 710
of Fort Manoel. (1997)
MBs
St Vincent de Paul Residence - Salvaged and appraised
Charitable Institutions Records. (ca.1900-1990)
Private deposit by Ettore Raffi (MEMORJA - MaltaLampedusa Connection) - Interview(s), notes andphotographs. (1950s-1980s)
Private deposit by Pietro di Maggio (MEMORJA - MaltaLampedusa Connection) - Interview(s), notes andphotographs. (1950s-1970s)
Private deposit by Giovanni Fragapane (MEMORJA Malta-Lampedusa Connection) - Interview(s), notes andphotographs. (1960s-1980s)

ca. 7 linear metres
Total 970.91 MBs
Total 656.05 MBs
Total 2.74 GBs

18

Accession
Ref.
2019-112019-122019-132019-142019-152019-162019-172019-18
2019-192019-20
2019-212019-222019-232019-242019-25
2019-26
2019-272019-28
2019-292019-30
2019-31

Source and description
Private deposit by Carmelo La Magra - (MEMORJA Malta-Lampedusa Connection) - Interview(s), notes andphotographs.
Private deposit by Salvatore Davi - (MEMORJA - MaltaLampedusa Connection) - Interview(s), notes andphotographs. (1950s-1980s)
Private Deposit by Lt. Colonel E.G.A Baron - Records ofthe King’s Own Malta Regiment (KOMR) Association. (ca.
1917-1965)
Office of the Attorney General - General files of the Officeof the Attorney General. (1980-1985)

ExtentTotal 435.6 MBs
Total 688.4 MBs
4 bound volumes, loose
photographs and cuttings
ca. 42 linear metres

Ministry for Health - Architectural drawings of the St Luke’s
ca. 5000 drawings
Hospital and other health buildings. (1930-2015)
Private Deposit by Joseph Schirò - Records re Permanent
1 folderCharges on Crown Property. (1800s)
Private Deposit by Eddie Fenech Adami - Eddie Fenech
Adami Personal Papers. (1987-2009)

Private Deposit (Anonymous) - The private papers of Sir
Ugo Mifsud.
The Notarial Archives - Government reports and otherhistorical publications. (1901-1965)
Ministry for Health - Department of Nursing Services Staff Nurses and Midwives self-assessment portfolios.
(2016-2018)
Malta Tourism Authority - Video footage on Malta filmed
and produced by the World Life Video Productions.

19 linear metres
2 linear metres
23 items
3 linear metres
23 PAL SPBeta tapes

Office of the President of the Republic - San Anton Palace
1 linear metre
Visitors’ Books. (1993-2003)

Private Deposit by Max Farrugia - Records and ephemera
0.2 linear metres
related to Mgr. Enrico Dandria. (ca.1920s-1930s)
Ministry for Tourism - Appraised HR Records
10 filesPrivate Deposit by Bernard Schembri - Digital copies of
Photographs re Religious events, Imtarfa Hospital andpublic transport. (ca. 1940s - 1990s)

MEDE - Gudja Primary School Records (1882-1997)
Private Deposit by Mikelina Vella (MEMORJA - WWII
experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1927-1945)
Private Deposit by Albert Ganado (MEMORJA - WWII
experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1924-1945)
Private deposit by Henry Louis Gatt - (MEMORJA - WWII
experiences) - Interview(s) and photographs. (1924-1945)
Electoral Office - General Files. (1976-1990)
Private deposit by Vincent ‘Censinu’ Caruana (MEMORJA - WWII experiences) - Interview(s), notes
and photographs. Including one wartime Royal Corps of
Signals workbook. (1922-1945)

76 digital images. Total 91.6
MBs
ca. 1 linear metre
Total 996.77 MBs
Total 1.063 GB
Total 4.10 GBs
ca. 9 linear metres
Total 5.35 GBs + physicalephemera19

Accession
Ref.
2019-32
2019-33
2019-34
2019-35
2019-36
2019-37
2019-38
2019-39
2019-40
2019-41
2019-42
2019-43
2019-442019-45
2019-46
2019-47
2019-48
2019-50
2019-51
2019-52
2019-53

Source and description

ExtentPrivate Deposit (Anonymous) - Giulia Barnett
Photographic Album. ca.1950s-1970s

1 photo album

Private Deposit by Alessandro Bajada - Digitised video
19 digital files. Total 7.62
footage of Maltese locations. (ca. 1950s)
GB
Private Deposit by Robert A. Stains - Digitised video
19 digital files. Total 4.67
footage of Maltese locations filmed by Susan Farrugia.
GB(ca. 1960s)
Private deposit by Theresa Muscat-Fenech - (MEMORJA WWII experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs. Total 651.31 MBs(1928-1945)
Private deposit by Laurence Mizzi - (MEMORJA - WWII
Total 1.13 GB
experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
Private Deposit by John Zammit - Luqa Parish Church
Altar Designs. (1930)
Private deposit by Alfred Guillaumier - (MEMORJA - WWII
experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1927-1945)
Private deposit by Loulou Mifsud Bonnici - (MEMORJA WWII experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1900s-1970s)
Private Deposit by Michel Attard - (MEMORJA - WWII
experiences) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1926-1945)
MEDE - Sliema Primary School - School Records. (18742011)
MEDE - Għarghur Primary School - School Records.
(1900-1984)
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion (MFTP) Correspondence files. (1965-1968)
Private Deposit by Max Farrugia - Funeral and memory
cards
Private deposit by Consiglio ‘Konsu’ Mamo - (Memorja Malta Bus Archive) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1936-1970s)
Private Deposit by Joseph “Boq Boq” Ellul - (Memorja Malta Bus Archive) - Interview(s), notes, photographs andephemera. (1946-2018)
Private Deposit by Oscar Attard - Digitised images of theDoris Scerri Collection.
Private deposit by Charlie ‘Kalatru’ Borg - - (Memorja Malta Bus Archive) - Interview(s), notes and photographs.
(1953-2018)
MFH - Health Care Standards Directorate - Sample ofInspection Records. (2003-2019)
Ministry for Health - General Files. (1946-1955)
Private deposit by John E. Zammit Pace - Classical guitar‘Marmela’ music composition (digital). (2019)
Private Deposit by Mark Xerri - Copy of Theatre Script “Il-Ġaħan ta’ Binġemma”. (1985)

2 A0 designs
Total 421.72 MBs
Total 2.08 GBs
Total 1.56 GBs
ca. 1 linear metreca. 1 linear metre
4 filesca. 10,000 cards (2 linear
metres)Total 5.27 GBs
Total: 3.78 GBs + physicalephemera
1,453 digital files. Total 35.2
GBs
Total 8.06 GBs
9 items
ca. 50 linear metres
12 digital files. Total 2.08
MBs
1 script

20

Perspective of proposed plan for the Intensive Care Unit at St Lukes Hospital. Part of Accession 2019-15

Accession
Ref.
2019-54
2019-55
2019-56
2019-57
2019-59
2019-60
2019-61

Source and description

ExtentMalta Tourism Authority - Malta Tourism promotional
videos and documentaries.

33 VHS Tapes + Digital
Copy Total 26.2 GBs

Office of the President of the Republic - Events and State
Visits Programmes. (1970s-1990s)
Office of the President of the Republic - Original designsof Republic Day awards - Ġieħ ir-Repubblika, Qadi tarRepubblika and Qlubija.
MEDE - Qrendi Primary School - School Records (19561998)
Private deposit by the K.O.M.R. - Photos of the Royal
Malta Regiment of Militia and the King’s Own Malta
Regiment of Militia. (1890s - 1920)

3 boxes (0.5 linear metres)
15 drawings
0.5 linear metres
36 large format
photographs

Private Deposit by Patrick J. Micallef - Autographed Italian
1 textile sash
Tri-Colour Sash. (1932)

Private Deposit by Miriam Bonsfield - Digital images of the
203 images. Total 4.08 GBs
Joseph “Żeppi” Farrugia Photographic Collection. (1960s)

Mgr Enrico Dandria Papers
On 9 May 2019 Dr Simon Paris and his family donated a collection of records belonging to Mons. Enrico
Dandria (1892-1932) to the National Archives. Mons. Dandria was a very influential figure in both thereligious and political spheres of early twentieth century Malta. He was a member of the National
Assembly, played a role in the Sette Giugno riots and served as a minister of education between 1923
and 1927 and in 1932.
Four weeks later Max Farrugia donated records related to Mgr Dandria, complementing the collection
donated by family Paris. (Accession 2019-23)

21

Jervis Read Collection
In June, Diana Isabel Jervis-Read, Robin Conway Jervis-Read and John Lancelot Jervis-Read donated acollection of photos in memory of their parents who were married in Malta in 1937 and lived here before
WW2. They also donated their grandfather Arthur George Jameson’s collection of photos while serving on
the HMS Theseus in the Mediterranean (1900-1).
Alessandro and Simone Bajada Collection
Alessandro and Simone Bajada donated on 12 August a digital copy of footage shot in Malta in the 1950s
and 1960s on 8mm film. This generous donation strengthens the national collection, particularly the
Memorja project.

2.6

The Records Officers Forum

In 2016 five Records Officers were appointed in five different Ministries, implementing one of the provisions
stipulated in the National Archives Act. Last year, there were a total of 12 Assistant Manager Records/
Records Officers present in 12 different Ministries.
Ministry

Assistant Manager
Records/Records Officer

Ministry for European Affairs and Equality (MEAE)

Jessica Farrugia

Ministry for Education & Employment (MEDE)

Mary Anne Farrugia

Ministry for the Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity (MFCS)

Ethel Delia

Minister For The Economy, Investment And Small Businesses (MEIB)
Ministry of Energy and Water Management (MEW)

Melanie Bezzina

Mariella Grima

Ministry for Health (MFH)

Simone Camilleri

Ministry for Finance (MFIN)

Nathanael Zammit

Ministry for Gozo (MGOZ)

Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion (MFTP)

Ministry for Transport & Infrastructure and Capital Projects (MTIP)

Joseph Grima

Mariella Galea
Anne Farrugia

Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government (MJCL)

Josephine Camilleri

Entity/Department

Assistant Manager
Records/Records Officer

Armed Forces of Malta

Neville Zammit

Central Bank of Malta

Emmanuel Cachia

Environment & Resources Authority

Carmen Debattista

Heritage Malta

Maria Micallef

House of Representatives

Eric Frendo

Mater Dei Hospital

Margaret Baldacchino Cefai

Planning Authority

Ray Cremona

Public Works Department

Mary Anne Debono

Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)

Norella Darmanin

For the third year running, the National Archives of Malta held meetings for the Assistant Managers
Records/Record Officers. The aim for these sessions is to create a space for the Records Officers toshare their initiatives and experiences related to records management.

22

Records Officers Forum - Sessions - 2019
Date
Participants
Entities represented
Presentations
22 February 16
AFM,
Electoral
Office, Presentation 1: Records Management
Environment and Resources issues within the Ministry for Transport
Authority, Heritage Malta, and Infrastructure by Anna Farrugia –House of Representatives, Assistant Manager (Records).
MEDE, MEIB, MESDC, Presentation 2: Maltapost Records
MFCS, MFH, MFTP, MGOZ, Management Services by Robert Cassar
MHA, MJCL, MTIP, OPM, - Head Business Relations, Sales
Planning Authority.
Department
23 April
12
Environment and Resources Presentation 1: The Central Travel
Authority, Heritage Malta, Management System by Sean Barbara
House of Representatives, from the Public Sector Performance and
MEDE, MESDC, MFCS, Evaluation Directorate within the Ministry
MFH, MFTP, MHA, MJCL, for Finance.
MTIP, Planning Authority.
Presentation 2: Standard Operating
Procedures for Records Officers &Assistant Manager (Records) by Mary
Anne Farrugia, Assistant Manager(Records) within the Ministry for
Education and Employment.
Presentation 3: Transferring of Hospitals’
Drawings to NAM. By Simone Camilleri,
Assistant Manager (Records) within the
Ministry for Health.
11December 10
Environment and Resources Presentation 1: The ERA Experience
Authority, Heritage Malta, Archive & Record Management by
House of Representatives, Carmen Debattista – Senior Officer
MEDE, MFCS, MFH, MFTP, (Records) within the Environment and
MJCL, MTIP.
Resources Authority.
Presentation 2: Consistency throughPolicies and Procedures – Retention
Policy Procedures – The Record
Management Team at the National
Archives. (Horace Vella and Ivan Ellul)
Private Deposit - The papers of Mons. Enrico Dandria. Accession 2019-04

23Highlights of the Records’ Officers’ Activities during 2019
Ministry

Ministry for
Education
andEmployment

IntraDevelopment ofministerial Retention Policies
meetings
held
23
8 finalised

Appraisal
Exercises
7• Stores MEDE•
• Exemptions Board(updated)•• Director General Office •– Curriculum, Life Long
Learning & Employability •• Directorate for•
Research, Life Long•
Learning & Employability •(Curriculum, LifeLong Learning &Employability)• Travel Section• Gem 16+
• Examinations Dept.
(updated)• Inventory Section

Transfer of Records to
the Nations Archives
3 transferred

Inventory• Għargħur Primary• Sliema Primary
SectionGudja Primary • Gudja PrimaryGħargħur
Primary
5 prepared for transfer
Sliema Primary
Registry• Marsa Primary
Qrendi Primary • Paola Primary
Mikel Anton• MEDE Registry
Vassalli College(General files)• MEDE Registry(Dead Personal files)• B’Kara Primary

6 being drafted• Learning & Assessment
Programmes –Curriculum, Life Long
Learning & Employability• 6th Form (Malta)• 6th Form (Gozo)• Primary/Middle/
Secondary Schools• College Principal Offices
Ministryfor Justice,
Cultureand Local
Government

8

Ministry forTransport,
Infrastructure
and Capital
Projects

3

2 being drafted
•
•

-

-

1

-

Reġjun Tribunal Xlokk
Arts Council/ Funds
Strategy Section•

Watchmenand Security
Attendance
Sheets 2016

24

Ministry

Ministry for
HealthIntraDevelopment ofministerial Retention Policies
meetings
held
19
7 finalised
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Ministry of
Finance•••

Appraisal
Exercises

Engineering Office
St’ Luke’s HospitalDrawings

Health Care Standards •Permanent Secretary
Nursing Services•
Directorate
Finance andAdministration
Dar Kenn Għal Saħħtek
Treatment abroad
Directorate for
Pharmaceutical Affairs
3 finalised

NursingServices
Directorate
Foundation
for Medical
ServicesFinance
Section11-

Department ofContracts
Inland Revenue
Department
Value Added Tax
Department

Insurance
Reports
Inter vivos andArchitect’sReports
IRS File
IV Architect
Report Values
Old Cash
Cards
Receipt
RegistersMonte Di Pietà
Registers Cash
OfficeShare Transfer
Causa Mortis
Share Transfer
Inter vivos
Share Transfer
IV Cont.
Duplicate
Copies of
Denunzji
Records(Capital
Transfer Duty)
-

-

•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•

8

1 transferred

2•

Ministry for
the Family,Children’s
Rightsand Social
Solidarity

Transfer of Records to
the Nations Archives

4 being drafted• Benefits ComplianceDirectorate• Directorate Corporate
Services• Office of the Umpire• International Affairs Unit•

2 prepared for transfer
Departmental Health
Files (1946 to 1950)• Departmental Healthfiles (1951 to 1955)•

25

Ministry

Ministry
for Foreign
Affairs
and Trade
Promotion

IntraDevelopment ofministerial Retention Policies
meetings
held
39
1 being drafted•

Ministry Accounts

Appraisal
Exercises

Transfer of Records to
the Nations Archives

1•

Pension files

4 transferred
•
•

•
•

Secretary’s personal
Correspondence(January 1966)
Mr Pullicino
Correspondence(October toDecember 1966)
Secretary,
Correspondence(1965)
Papers retained in
special custody forFile Amato Gauci

Drawings of the Ġieħ ir-Repubblika and Qadi tar-Repubblika medals, badges and sashes. Accession 2019-56.

26

Above:The Maltese alphabet as approved by the L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti
on 18 December 1921 and sent to Prime Minister Ġużè Howard.
Photo: The National Archives of Malta

Opposite:Franġisk Saver Caruana’s Certificate of Conductsubmitted with his application to serve as editorof Il-Malti, the journal of L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti.
Photo: The National Archives of Malta

27

L-GĦAQDA TAL-KITTIEBA
TAL-MALTI SET UP IN 1920
This year happens to be the 100th anniversary since the setting up of the Akkademja tal-Malti, theregulatory body responsible for the Maltese language between the early 20th century up to 2005, when
the Maltese Language Act was enacted.
Initially known as L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti (Association of Writers of Maltese), it was set up on 14
November 1920 when 36 writers met and tasked a commission to develop a standard Maltese alphabet.
In September 1920, someone using the pseudonym X.C. published several letters in the newspaper
Il-Ħabib (The Friend), calling for the setting up of an assocation to define a standard Maltese ortography
and to promote Maltese literature.
A call was issued on 9 November inviting all authors to a meeting to be held five days later at theheadquarters of the Unione Cattolica San Giuseppe, the owner and publisher of Il-Ħabib, at St Paul Street
Valletta.
During this meeting, Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi and Franġisk Saver Caruana were chosen as President andSecretary of the newly-formed L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti. Incidentally, Franġisk Saver Caruana was
the X.C. who wrote the anonymous letters on Il-Ħabib, that called for the setting up of such association
two months earlier.
During the same meeting a commission was set up to draw up a report with a proposal for a standard
Maltese ortography. The commission included Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi, Paolo Francesco Bellanti, Mons.
Paolo Galea, Ninu Cremona, Dun Karm Psaila,Ġann Vassallo and Mons. Paolo Cauchi, thelast two representing Gozo.
Their report was concluded after 17 meetingsof the commission and was printed by
Tipografia Giovanni Muscat as Rapport fukl-Alfabêt Malti magħżul mill-Cummissjoni
tal-Għakda tal-Chittieba tal-Malti (Report on
Maltese Alphabet) in 1921.
The standard alphabet was approved by the
association on 18 December 1921: it was aphonetic alphabet with 29 letters. There were
two amendments to the commission’s report
where the and ū were changed into g and w.
Malta had just had its first self-Government
according the 1921 Constitution and following
the general elections held in 18-19 October.

28

Immediately the proposals were sent to the Prime Minister (then called Head of Ministry), asking Government
to “provide any of the new types of letters which are wanting in the Government Printing Press and adopt
the proposed Alphabet”. (letter by Franġisk Saver Caruana, Secretary of the Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti
Secretary F.S. to Head of Ministry Joseph Howard, 22 December 1921, NAM/EDU/26/1921).
The first statute of L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti was approved on 7 May 1922 and a committee wasapproved according to its provisions.
In 1924, the association published the first guidelines on Maltese orthography entitled Tagħrif fuq il-Kitba
Maltija (Notes on Writing in Maltese), including ortography rules and a short grammar. This was printed
in the Government Primnting Press.
Ten years later, in 1934, the association proposals were endorsed by Government as the official Maltese
orthography.

Letter by the Għaqda Kittieba tal-Malti to the Prime Minister about the proposed standard
Maltese alphabet. Photo: The National Archives of Malta

3
3.1

ARCHIVALPROCESSING

Introduction

The Archives Processing Unit’s task is to ensure that records of national significance and enduringhistorical value are secured, described and preserved and made accessible to all those who seek to usethem in their research.
All records transferred to the National Archives during 2019, as indicated in the previous chapter, will besorted and eventually catalogued.

3.2

CataloguingWork on cataloguing projects, aided by students and volunteers, is a core business function of the Archives
Processing Unit that has been ongoing for several years. Last year, the catalogues of the Office of the Prime
Minister fonds (OPM), covering the period 1948-1979 and POL 9 (Mosta Police district, 1863-1970)) wereconcluded. Work was also carried out on Office of the President (OPR) photos, Malta Tourism Authority(MTA) photos, Education Department (EDU), Public Works Department (PW), the General Miscellaneous
Reports fonds and other fonds as indicated in the following tables.
Cataloguing
Fonds

No. of entries

Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) 1947-1950 / 1958-1979

25,013

Police 9 (POL 9) Mosta

111 boxes

General Miscellanea Reports (GMR)

1804

Commandant Internment Camp (Correspondences/Visiting & Advisory Committee)
252- 1940-1943
Malta Foreign Affairs (MFA01) - 1947

129

Department of Education (EDU02) - 1945-1946

1403

School Records - Paola B Primary

1704 photos

Reorganisation and Relocation of Documents
Fonds

No of units/ boxes / plans/ files/ vols

Police 6 (POL6) Sliema

110 boxes

Department of Museum - 1911-1980

1 Unit30

Sorting, Cleaning and Reboxing of Documents
Fonds

No of boxes / bundles / units / vols

Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) - ca 1980 - ca 1990

790 photos/281 negatives in sleeves

Office of the President (OPR) - ca 1990

146 photos in sleeves

President Eddie Fenech Adami -1987-2008

123 boxes

Passage Assistance Records (Manifest of ships & aircraft) 1 unit
1948-1975 / 1954-1984
S. Vincent de Paul Hospital (SVDP)

122 vols

Department of Treasury (TREAS) - 1924-1945

555 boxes

Department of Emigration & Social Welfare - 1973-1980s

168 boxes

School Records - Gudja Primary

21 vols

School Records - Sliema Primary

43 vols

School Records - Paola B Primary

1704 photos

School Records - Lyceum

15 vols

School Records - Valletta Primary

10 Vols

School Records - Marsa Primary

41 vols

Digitisation
Fonds

No of images

Documents (GOV, CSG, ARP, Army, etc.)

788

Architectural Drawings

2,750

PDE Sciortino Glass plates

928

OPR Guido De Marco461

Customs (CUS IA)

1,616

Building Notices Indexes

9,000

Passport applications (MFA01) 1920/1947

3.3

6,609

Internships

This year we experienced a considerable increase in requests by students from local and foreign educational
institutions for an internship or work experience at the National Archives. In all, we accommodated 26
students, with 12 of them being foreigners originating from France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Slovenia
and Spain.
Most of these students applied for an internship ranging between 3 weeks to 3 months. We also had 5
students who worked on their Systems of Knowledge project by contributing to 20 hours of voluntary work.
Another 4 students from the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary participated in a Career Exposure exercise,
whereby students would discover the challenges and satisfactions faced on a job at the Archives. Finally,
we had 5 students from the University of Malta, working on their Practicum as part for their fulfilment for
their respective course.

31“My na me is Georgiana and in these three wonderful months I have spent here, I cansay that they have led to an important achievement in my life.
As far as the practical part is concerned, I was excited to learn so many things, suchas docu ment scanning, photo processing (OPR and MTA), archiving practices andcataloguing in different progra ms.
Another important aspect of my internship, was the tea mwork with other international
students.
Of course, I could not have accomplished these aspects without the attention and helpof such valuable, calm and patient people who always knew that no matter what thesituation, there will be a solution.
Thank you to the Tea m National Archives!“
Georgiana Diana Irimus
Unversity Centre of North,Cluj Napora, Baia Mare,
Romania

32

These students, after receiving an initial presentation on the safe handling of documents, were assigned
various tasks, which included sorting, cleaning and re-boxing of documents, cataloguing and digitisation.
InternshipBlaz Vogrin

Slovenia

Tjasa Zagar

Slovenia

Elea Diskordia

Germany

Hatice Nur
Germany
Mafratoglu
Dominik Gundogdu Germany
Giorgiana Diana
IrimusRomania

Florianne Henry

FranceIago Molina Varela Spain
Georgia
Hardcastle
Lucilla Politi

Germany

Enya Fischer

Germany

Frederick Norris

Germany

Italy

Systems of Knowledge

High School
Ekonomska,
Brezice, Slovenia
High School
Ekonomska,
Brezice, Slovenia
Hans-Litten Schule,
Germany
Hans-Litten Schule,
Germany

Cataloguing

March –
April 2019

Digitisation

May –June
2019
May – June
2019
May – July
2019

Cleaning and labelling

University Centre of July –North Cluj Napora, September
Baia Mare
2019
August –October
2019
September
University of- November
Santiago de2019
Compostela
University of
September
Disburg-Essen
2019
La Sapienza, Rome September- November
2019
Vocational School, September
Soest- October
2019

Cleaning, labelling and digitisation
Sorting, cataloguing anddigitisation

Sorting, re-boxing, cataloguingand digitisation
Conservation
Sorting, Re-boxing , cataloguingand digitisation
Cataloguing and digitisation
Sorting, labelling, re-boxing,
cataloguing and digitisation
Sorting, labelling, re-boxing,
cataloguing and digitisation

Vocational School,
Soest

September- October
2019

Sorting, labelling, re-boxing,
cataloguing and digitisation

January –March 2019
July –
August2019
July –
August2019
July –
August2019

Sorting and cataloguing

Terence Vassallo

Malta

Sixth Form

Marsha Laci

Malta

Sixth Form

Alexia Spiteri

Malta

Sixth Form

Nigel Camilleri

Malta

Sixth Form

Raisa Zammit

March –
April 2019

Pagination, cataloguing anddigitisation
Pagination, cataloguing anddigitisation
Pagination, cataloguing anddigitisation

33“During my three-week internship in September I was enabled to get a glance into
the different working fields of an archive. Specialising on the digitalization process I
not only learned about the technical tasks, but furthermore had an insight into various
issues since I have worked on different collections. A short introduction on the building
and the storage of docu ments in the beginning, caught my interest as it greatly differsfrom German Archives. Furthermore, the range regarding time and content was very
astonishing.
An introduction to the work in the Conservatory Lab also was very informative. A
presentation on conserving methods illustrated the importance of caution that is needed
when handling old docu ments. Furthermore, the introduction to modern techniques used
for treatment of da maged docu ments was very interesting.
I can recommend an internship at the National Archives of Malta. In particular, when
you come from a Northern or Middle European country as I do. The very fact thatclimate conditions differ so greatly from, for exa mple German ones, and the different
architecture of the buildings reflect the way archives are run.
F inally, I want to thank everyone for being so welcoming, helpful and for introducing
me to their work. I really enjoyed my time. Thank you.“
Georgia Hardcastle,
University of Duisburg
Essen, Germany

34

Career Exposure
Aisha Altriki

Malta

Giovanni Curmi
Higher Sec
Giovanni Curmi
Higher Sec
Giovanni Curmi
Higher Sec
Giovanni Curmi
Higher Sec

July 2019

Cataloguing and re-boxing

Sherise Mangion

Malta

July 2019

Cataloguing and re-boxing

Kluivert Galea

Malta

July 2019

Sorting and cataloguing maps/
plans
Sorting and cataloguing maps/
plans

Greg Gauci

Malta

Practicum
Rona Briffa

Malta

UoM History of Art

April – May

Cherise Caruana

Malta

UoM History of Art

April – May

Simon Ciantar

Malta

UoM Dip Archives

Lianne Rapinett

Malta

UoM Dip Archives

Michael Buhagiar

Malta

UoM Dip Archives

August2019
August2019
August2019

3.4

July 2019

Sorting and digitisation of maps/
plans
Sorting and digitisation of maps/
plans.
Sorting, re-boxing and cataloguing
Digitisation
Cataloguing and re-boxing

The Map RoomDuring 2019 the Map Room’s main projects included in the digitisation of both the Record Plans from the
Ordnance Department, and the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery Collection (1870-1939).
Beside these collections, items from several other fonds or private collections were digitised, including
posters from the Rabat Wignacourt Museum, Cemeteries managed by the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission, Memorja Project, OPM, CSG, PWD, Police Files and LGO.
Plans scanned and inputted into Database (PDM) 2019

1822

Other non PDM scanned images (OPM, CSG, Police, PWD, LGO
and scans for National Archives Staff)

442

High Resolution scans for Memorja Project

361

High Resolution scans from private collections(copies of these digitized images were donated to the National Archives)

125

Minor repairs

470

One hundred and twenty-eight research sessions were held at the Map Room, during which a digital scanof 536 records was requested.
The Map Room was also responsible for the digitisation of 1443 records requested by Heritage Malta andprovided for in terms of a collaboration understanding between the two agencies. These included records
related to forts Saint Angelo, Saint Elmo and Ricasoli as well as Addolorata Cemetery.

4
4.1

CONSERVATIONLABORATORY

Conservation Work

Forty-seven conservation jobs were carried out during 2019. These involved material from sixteen different
fonds held at the National Archives, namely: MCC, CSG01, CSG 02, GOV 01, POL 5, POL 9, OPM, TOU,
MFA 01, MDP, PWD, GMR, EDU, ARP, Pious Foundations and Building Notices.
The main project was the conservation of documents from the Magna Curia Castellania (MCC); 154bundles were processed, and conservation work was carried out on 3401 folios.
Two major conservation jobs originated from the Gozo Section: an original plan of the Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary
by architect Edwin A. Vassallo dated 1919 and two volumes ‘Herbarium Melitense’ by Ninu Cremona. The
latter volumes consist of samples of dried wild plants collected between 1908 and 1920.
Material from our Legal Section in Mdina involved work on two volumes ‘Reg. Act. Off. Syndicaus’ and‘Inventaria Actorum Originalum.’
As in other years, first line of conservation was performed on architectural plans before digitisation;these included plans from Addolorata Cemetery, Railway and Tramway folders. Preservation works also
included material from the Memorja Project.
Cheif Conservator Mario V. Gauci

36

Three initiatives involving conservation work on records from private collections were undertaken,
including work an original copy of the Ktyb yl Klym Malti’ by Mikiel Anton Vassalli. The National Archives’conservators published a paper on this work in issue 8 of Heritage Malta bulletin ‘Tesserae’.
Thirty Damage Notification Forms were handled following a request by the Reading Room staff to carryout the required interventions on items requested by researchers.
We collaborated with Heritage Malta Restoration Unit with regards to the collection of 930 glass plate
negatives by photographer Emmanuele Sciortino. Conservator Lindsay Galea visited the Conservation
Laboratory at the National Archives and shared her know-how on the best practices for the cleaning,
consolidation and housing of the collection. This work was then carried out by our conservators in
preparation for the digitization of the plates. Exchanges were also held about the scanning facilities
used by Heritage Malta at the Fototeca within the Archeology Museum in Valletta and the quality of thedigital images being obtained through the scanning methodology used by Heritage Malta and the digital
photographic imaging technique being used at the National Archives.
Following a request by Heritage Malta`s Restoration Unit a visit at their book and paper conservationlaboratories in Bighi was carried out in order to setup and demonstrate to the conservators how to use andmaintain their new leaf-casting machine.
An induction program to three new National Archives employees included the power point presentation‘Safe Handling of Archival Materials’ and a tour of the facilities at the conservation laboratory. This power
point is also presented to all students having a placement within the Archives.

4.2

Inspections and Condition Reports

External inspections were held at the archives of Transport Malta in Pembroke, the archives of theFranciscan community in Valletta and the archives of the Health Department in Attard. These were heldwith the aim to asses and report on the condition of archival holdings.
A further visit was held as a follow up to the report on the Archives of the Confraternity of Charity inValletta. A meeting was also held at the Public Registry in Gozo following a request by the Director to
discuss on the best way forward for the conservation of registers held within this unit.
Ta’ Pinu Church(Gozo) plan
before restoration.

37

Signing of MOU with the Malta Association of Professional Conservator-Restorers, October 2019.

In-house visits to acquire information on the best practises in preservation were organised for Dr. Sonia
Consiglio, Head of Unit at the Public Registry in Valletta and a private person who had contacted thearchives for such advice.

4.3

MOU with the Malta Association of Professional Conservator-Restorers

4.4

Internship

4.5

Laboratory Tours

4.6

Voluntary WorkOn 10th October the National Archives and the Malta Association of Professional Conservator-Restorers(MAPCo-Re) concluded and signed a memorandum of understanding acknowledging the importance ofhistorical research within conservation-restoration projects and the ethical choice of selecting professional
conservators to preserve such important historical documents. MAPCo-Re is reaching out to various
stakeholders in the cultural heritage field and proposing memoranda of understanding for further
collaboration. The MOU signed with the National Archives of Malta was the first one.

Henry Florianne a Master of Conservation student from L’École de Condé in Paris (Restoration of Cultural
Heritage Unit) spent a two-month internship at the Conservation Laboratory between mid-July to midSeptember.

Throughout 2019 we hosted 42 visits, including around 670 participants. This was a record number
when compared to previous years. They came from various local and foreign institutions, including the
University of Malta (various faculties), foreign universities, voluntary organisations, Local Councils, theJunior College, the Higher Secondary and Secondary Schools.

As in previous years Francesca del Rio offered her time to carry out voluntary work in the Conservationlaboratory amassing a total of over 116 hours.

38

The Committee of the L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti
and the members of the Commission
set up to propose a standard Maltese alphabet.
Photo: Akkademja tal-Malti

5

PUBLICSERVICES

Introduction

Our Reading Rooms and the public services we offer at Rabat, Mdina and Victoria are at the heart ofour institution. As in previous years, the Public Services Unit at the National Archives of Malta has beencommitted to give an excellent service to all our customers. Our commitment is not only to give the best
possible service assisting our clients in all their needs and requests but we also committed to improve theexisting databases and finding aids at our Reading Room.

5.1

Customer Care

Throughout 2019 we have worked and completed the cataloguing of the Office of the Prime Ministercollection (OPM), with over 20,000 entries. Now researchers can have full access to this database which
is one of our largest collections covering the period between 1948 and 1979.
Another measure directed at improving the customer’s experience which has been launched last year isthe process of issuing a researcher card to our regular customers. The main aim of this measure is tofacilitate the registration process when clients visit our Reading Room. Up till now we have 180 regularresearchers registered with us and issued with a card.
Reading Room Statitics, 2019
Research
Sessions
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August

126
92
126
145
140
119
143
178

October

182

September

140

Research
Sessions duringextended hours(Thurs and Sat)

Total % for out ofhours services

Hours

Items Consulted

52
38
47
49
35
37
44
58

52

41.28%
41.32%
34.55%
33.80%
25.00%
31.10%
30.78%
32.58%

706
358
364
422
406
342
470
593

63

37.15%

281
131
266
393
332
319
373
500

34.62%

504

551

342

542

November

172

56

32.56%

519

836

December

124

28

22%

381

475

Total

1653

559

33.14%

4341

6077

40

Comparing the above statistical data with the previous year, one may notice an increase in activities forour unit. As regards the research sessions there was an increase of 164 over the previous year leading toan increase in the amount of hours of research and in the items requested.
It is interesting to note the amount of research sessions conducted during our extended hours, namely
Thursdays afternoon between 1500 and 1930 and on Saturdays. The total number of sessions during
these hours reached 559, which correspond to around 33% of all the sessions carried out throughout thecurrent year.

Reading Room Statistics, 2019 compared to 2018
2018

7000

2019

6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

Research Sessions

Hours of Research

Items Requested

Research Sessions, 2019559 sessions

1128 sessions

Normal Office Hours
Extended Hours

41

An increase in most copying services has been registered during 2019 while slight negative trend has
been noted with regards to requests for photocopies. The latter trend was similar to 2018; most probably
this is the result of the 2017 policy allowing researchers to use their own digital cameras.

Copying Services, 2019
120
100
80
60
40
20
106

0

96

99

105

69

Request for photocopy
serviceRequest for digital
document service

106

99

2018
2019

96

95

6

19

Request for digital
images for plans andmaps

Request for digital
photos service

95

19

69

105

6

The CSG (Chief Secretary to Government), the MFA 01 (Passport Applications) and the BN (Building
Notices) remained the most-consulted collections. However, this year saw also a significant an increasein the requests for the POL (Police Occurrence Reports). This collection provides in terms of research,
among other things, an opportunity to tap into the social aspects of the town or village life.
Items requested by fonds, 2019
NA
92-04

OPM

OPU

POL

PWD

Misc

Total

44

6

38

65

18

39

705

1

13

25

85

29

4

33

358

10

4

61

3

4

12

76

57

19

366

7

21

4

66

7

19

15

41

23

38

428

28

15

17

11

53

8

25

30

38

21

37

405

54

3

15

20

6

59

4

10

50

42

12

30

342

2

55

12

15

24

13

97

3

24

47

81

5

32

470

40

15

104

31

2

40

15

95

7

19

76

99

23

27

593

September

73

6

84

12

49

3

23

69

3

34

30

53

45

58

542

October

74

12

88

49

16

29

5

66

7

20

29

70

45

46

556

November

37

3

342

5

38

17

19

95

22

14

44

83

69

49

837

December

46

18

118

3

11

25

12

53

9

23

15

33

83

26

475

Total

563

100

1518

228

203

244

134

771

73

223

471

710

405

434

6077

BN

CIN

CSG

CUS

GMR

GOV

MIL

MFA

January

56

3

359

30

2

24

21

February

45

2

101

5

1

14

March

28

10

38

12

32

April

20

11

118

38

May

59

6

57

June

25

12

July

60

August42

Research Sessions 2016 -2019

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0

2592

2310

2312

2262

2016

2017

2018

2019
Sessions

Items consulted 2016 - 2019
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

4868

5810

6998

7075

2016

2017

2018

2019

Items consulted

43

Research hours in our Reading Rooms 2016 - 2019
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

3742

3834

3327

4341

2016

2017

2018

2019
Hours

Research Session 2016 - 2019
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

1762

201

629

2016

Rabat

1707

243

360

2017

1523

173

616

2018

Mdina

1687

255

2019

Gozo

320

44

Items consulted 2016 - 2019
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

3783

255

860

4319

2016

757

734

5799

2017

Rabat

452

747

6077

2018

Mdina

312

686

2019

Gozo

Research hours 2016 - 2019
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0

3742

759

640

2016

Rabat hours

3834

1017

447

3327

2017

703

523

4341

2018

Mdina hours

1069

2019

Gozo hours

416

45

Customer Care requests 2019

167
419

Passport applications/geneology
related research

60

Plans/maps/drawings

39

Photos36

Military service records
Others (requests for documents,
internships, visits/tours etc.)

Our data does not include the documents accessed in a digital format, both on site and from homethrough the Archives Portal Europe website. Some of the collections that may be accessed digitally are
the Passport Application Collection (MFA 01), the Photographic Collection which can be accessed online,
whilst others (eg Cabinet and Customs collections) may be accessed digitally at our Reading Room. No
record is kept on the amount of research activity carried out from these sources.
During 2019 we received 764 e-mail requests, an increase of 178 over 2018 requests; the majority werereceived during April, while the least requests were received in December.
More than half of the requests were received from Maltese residents (523 requests) while 241 were
submitted by persons residing out of Malta.

Online Customer Care requests 2019
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Total
requests

67

64

74

84

63

63

51

62

69

58

69

40

764

Malteserequests

51

43

52

64

38

38

36

47

50

36

42

26

523

Foreignrequests

16

52

22

20

25

25

15

15

19

22

27

14

241

E-mail requests from foreign countries originated mainly from Australia (64 requests), followed by theUnited Kingdom with 44 requests, and France and Italy at a par with 20 requests each.

5

4

Switzerland

20

Italy

Canada20

France6

44

United Kingdom

United States of America

65

Australia

Foreign customer care requests(in descending order)
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1

Germany

Tunisia

PolandGreeceEgypt

New ZealandSicilyLebanonOnline requests by country of origin, 2019.

Portugal

Spain

Algeria

TurkeyBulgaria

Netherlands

Ireland

Hungary

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
1

Japan
Iran
Total

Map courtesy of Vecteezy.com

241

49

1

Chile

Others (country not indicated)

1

Indonesia

46

47

Similarly to previous years, requests for passport application records were the most popular. In fact, 23%of requests received this year were for passport applications or genealogy-related research, followed byrequests for plans/maps/drawings (8%), requests for photos (6%) and military service records (5%).

5.2

Educational and Cultural Visits

Educational and Cultural visits requested by schools and other entities are become more popular. These
visits are an important component of our outreach programme as through them we are increasing theawareness about the National Archives and about the material that we hold. It is not uncommon that a
participant in these visits eventually becomes a researcher.
Last year we organised 45 visits and hosted 717 visitors, an increase of 50% over the previous year.
Twenty six of these visits were requested by various educational institutions ranging from Secondary,post-Secondary and University institutions.
As in previous years, the National Archives worked closely with the Department of Education in coordinating
visits by students studying History at secondary level, to have a hands-on experience of research from thesources. In fact, 10 visits were requested by various secondary schools in which 126 students took partin this exercise.
Requests by groups and non-governmental organisations to visit the National Archives increased
significantly over the previous years. Below is the list of all the visits conducted at the National Archives
during 2019.
Date

Name of Organisation/Persons

Number of
Attendees

Location
VisitedHead office
Head office
Head office /Pharmacy
Head office
Head office
Head office
Head office
Head Office
Head office
Head office
Head office /Pharmacy

03/01/2019
09/01/2019

Group from Mosta.
Memorja project participant - Dave Muston

63

15/01/2019

PN section, Birkirkara

31

23/01/2019
06/02/2019
06/02/2019
07/02/2019
21/02/2019
04/03/2109
07/03/2019

St Thomas More College, Zejtun - Year 8
St Thomas More College, Zejtun - Year 8
St Thomas More College, Zejtun - Year 8
St Thomas More College, Zejtun - Year 8
Dip. ARM, University of Malta
École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie
Air Malta former and current employees

28
25
27
25
9
12
14

14/03/2019

Vittoriosa Historical and Cultural Society

09/04/2019

Department of Art and History of Art, University of
Malta
Luther College
St Gorg Preca Sec, Hamrun & St Thomas More St
Lucia -History Option
St Claire’s College - History Option

10/04/2019

St Thomas More College, Zejtun - History Option

12/04/2019

Dep of Art and History of Art, UoM

27/03/2019
02/04/2019
08/04/2019

50
7
14
15

15
16
7

Purpose of
Visit
CulturalCulturalCultural
Educational
Educational
Educational
Educational
Educational
Educational
CulturalCulturalHead office

Educational

Head office

Educational

Head office

Educational

Head office

Educational

Head office

Educational

Head office

Educational

48
Date

Name of Organisation/Persons

Number of
Attendees

Location
VisitedPurpose of
Visit

Head office

Educational

Head Office
Head Office
Head Office
Banca
Giuratale
Head Office

Educational
Educational

Educational

Head Office

Educational

Head Office

Educational

22

Pharmacy/
Head Office

Cultural

29/04/2019

St Ignatius College, Handaq - History Option

02/05/2019
06/05/2019

BSc Home Economics - UoM
Gozo Sec School, History Option Year 10

07/05/2019

Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary

08/05/2019

St Benedict College, Kirkop - History Option

13/05/2109

St Theresa Sec, Mriehel and Maria Regina Sec,
Mosta - History Option

15/05/2019

St Ignatius College, Handaq - History Option

16/05/2019

Sacro Cuor Parish

17/05/2019

St Theresa Sec Mriehel - History Option

12

Head Office

Educational

20/05/2019

St Albert College, Valletta - Form 4

22

Head Office

Educational

21/05/2019

St Edwards College, History Option

15

Head Office

Educational

Reading
Room

Educational

Head Office

Educational

Head Office

Educational

27/05/2019
30/05/2019

BSc Home Economics - UoM - Fieldwork andresearch ONLYSpecial needs students - Archbishop Seminary
School

16
10
5

20
10
10
12

9
6

Educational

14/06/2019

Erasmus - Librarians, Information Professionals andConservators from Universities of Cadiz and Split.

24/06/2019

US and Canada expats

11

Head Office

Cultural

04/07/2019

SOS Malta - VolServ group

Head Office

Cultural

10/07/2019

Byelorussian Delegation

13
7

Head Office

Cultural

14/09/2019

Memory of the world workshop - UNESCO

17

Head Office

Cultural

26/09/2019

Doctors and Students from Barts Medical School

01/10/2019

Balzan Old Boys

03/10/2019

Doctors and Students from Barts Medical School

14/10/2019

8

10

Head Office/CulturalPharmacy
Head Office/CulturalPharmacy
Head Office/CulturalPharmacy

Alliance Group - Germany

19

Head Office

Cultural

11/11/2019

SOS Malta - VolServ

18

Head Office

Cultural

12/12/2019

Photography Students - Giola Cassar

7

Head Office

Educational

15/11/2019

MA Cultural Heritage Management and MA
Archaeological practices

17

Head Office

Educational

26/11/2019

Migration study unit - UoM

25

Head Office

Educational

06/12/2019

History of Art (1st Year) UoM

14

Head Office

Educational

17/12/2019

Pensioner - former teachers

10

Head Office

Cultural

15
50

49

5.3

Outreach Services

Our outreach efforts seek to increase the public awareness of our services, to highlight the significance ofarchival records and to foster public interest in national memory. These efforts include organised public
lectures, seminars, exhibitions and a strong presence in the media.
Il-Mixja tal-Mara fil-Politika
We assisted the Parliamentary Secretariat for Reforms, Citizenship and Simplification of Administrative
Processes within the Office of the Prime Minister in organising this exhibition on Maltese women’s
progress in politics. Inauguated on March 7 at the Parliament building, the exhibition included the findingsof research into efforts by both female and male activists who, since the time of British colonialism,
wanted women to be given the right to vote. A record related to Leopoldo Vizzari de Sannazaro, who had
proposed to the 1919 National Assembly in 1919 that women should be given the right to vote, a proposal
which had been ignored until 1947, has been exhibited for the first time.
Sette Giugno Centenary Celebrations
The National Archives was heavily involved in the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the June
1919 riots. Our involvement led also to the discovery and publication of hitherto unknown records.
The main project was the partnership with the Public Broadcasting Services in the scripting and productionof the four-part series Culhatt al Belt that analysed the background, genesis, events, experiences andaftermath of these seminal events. The series was broadcasted between the 3 and 6 June. FondazzjoniĊelebrazzjonijiet Nazzjonali and Heritage Malta participated also in this production.
We also participated in an exhibition commemorating these events that was held at the Parliament
Building and later on at the Museum of Archeology. The organisers of the exhibition, entitled Culhatt al Belt
Sette Giungo 1919-2019, included also Heritage Malta and the Fondazzjoni Ċelebrazzjonijiet Nazzjonali.
Tessie by Giola
Between 24 October and 7 November we hosted TESSIE, an exhibition and a book by Giola Cassar.
TESSIE was inspired by the personal stories of Tessie Scerri, a 102 year-old former teacher. Delicate
portraits dialogued with composites from old family albums in over 100 pages of carefully-constructedsequences of imagery and created a biographical collage spanning over a century. In this photographic
narrative accompanied by textual fragments, Tessie has been both the storyteller and the embodiment of
all the places, objects and people she spoke about.
Quest for the Maltese Żaqq: A Lost Piping Tradition
The National Archives published Quest for the Maltese Żaqq: A Lost Piping Tradition by Karl Partridge.
This book tells the story of how, in the 1970s, Karl tracked down elderly men who played the Maltese
żaqq and rescued Maltese pipe music for posterity. Drawing on his own diaries and photographs, that hedonated to the National Archives in 2013, he paints a vivid picture of what life was like for impoverishedrural folk and villagers in Malta at that time. At the core of the book are mini-biographies of the lastgeneration of now deceased żaqq players, compiled from personal recollections and interviews with
their family members in Malta. This well-illustrated book is packed with information, not only about theżaqq and how to make one, but also about other aspects of rural Maltese culture, as it was. It includes
other traditional instruments, folk singing, small-scale farming, horse transport on Gozo, and crafts. Also
covered is his family’s life as part of the British Services community in Malta during the final years prior tothe closure of Britain’s military bases in 1979.

50

The National Archives Annual Public Lecture, Beware the fate of the Templars: Violence and theOrder of Malta
On 28 November Dr Emanuel Buttigieg delivered the National Archives Annual Public lecture, Beware thefate of the Templars: Violence and the Order of Malta. Taking the cue from a the threat by some knights
to to break into the palace of the Bishop of Malta in 1699, Dr Buttigieg analysed instances of of Hospitaller
violence in relation to Inquisition officials, to women, to Muslim slaves as well as to other Knights, while
trying to discern meanings underlying such interactions.
Maltese Archives, My Choice
The National Archives staff supported the National Archivist in his work Maltese Archives, My Choice.
Celebrating his thirtieth year working in public archives, the National Archivist visited over sixty archives
in Malta and Gozo and chose a selection of records from Malta’s archival repositories. This personal
narrative highlights sources, connections and different archival typologies and media while shedding newlight on a number of previously unknown archival treasures and drawing attention to audio-visual content
on an on-line platform. The book was launched by HE The President of Malta on 23 November 2019.

5.4

Social Media
2019 Posts

Facebook

Total Followers

427

Total Photos

10,2502019 Uploads

585

124

2019 Posts

Instagram

143

Total Tweets
108

FlickrTotal Views
528,471

Albums28

Following
67

Total Followers
529

Twitter

2019 Tweets
26

Following
110

Followers
117

Total Publications
17

Issuu Online Library2019 Uploads
Followers
1
38

Impressions
98,013

Total Videos
34

YouTube2019 Uploads
Subscribers
177

Total views
14,078Reads
15,654

Followers
176

51

Total Facebook Posts 2016 - 2019
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

482

540

295

427

2016

2017

2018

2019

Posts

Total Facebook followers on 31 December 2016 - 2019
12000
10000

10250

8000
7028

6000
4000

4529
3829

2000
0

2016

2017

2018

2019

52

Total Flickr uploads 2016 - 2019
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

49

92

75

124

2016

2017

2018

2019

Total Flickr uploads on 31 December

Total Flickr views on 31 December 2016 - 2019
600000528471500000400000300000415533302078358096200000100000
0

2016

2017

2018

2019

6
6.1

COURTS AND
TRIBUNALS SECTION

Research

Two hundred and fifty five research sessions were held at our Reading Room at the Courts and Tribunals
Section in Mdina during 2019. They consulted 312 volumes (and/or boxes), spending around 1069 hours
of research, a significant increase in research time over the previous years. The most-in-demand fonds
were the Consolato del Mare and the Processi Appelli Civili of the 19th century, followed by the series of
the 18th century Supplici which were presented to the Court of Appeal.
Some of these scholars published their findings in scholarly publications. Two papers entitled ‘Delle Case,e Fondi: Grandmaster Vilhena’s code on property, construction and the Officio delle Case in eighteenthcentury Malta’ written by Mevrick Spiteri and ‘The Maltese perit in reconstructing the Early Modern
Landscape’ co-written by Mevrick Spiteri and Daniel Borg were published on the latest edition of The
Journal of Baroque Studies by the Institute for Baroque Studies, University of Malta (issue No 13 Vol. 2,2019).
MA Notarial Studies’ students visiting the Courts and Tribunals Section.

54

6.2

Sorting, Cataloguing and the compilation of Inventory Lists

A total of 3,987 entries of Suppliche belonging to the fond of the Supreme Court of Appeal dated 1731
up to 1798 were currently catalogued, electronically data inputted and is now readily for research. The
records were previously sorted chronologically, cleaned and re-boxed in 22 archival boxes.
During the past twelve months, 4 metres of the Original Acts records and other bound volumes pertaining
to the Tribunal Armamentor were re-boxed in 35 archival boxes. The Magistrato degli Armamenti wasfounded by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt in 1605 to hear controversies between privateers andcorsairs with a second and last appeal to Rome. These documents were a key source for the book In thename of the Prince: Maltese Corsairs 1760-1798 by Liam Gauci published in 2016, which sheds somenew and interesting light on the Knights of Malta’s corsairing activities.
The records of the Officium Veneranda Sinescalia located in 60 boxes were all meticulously examined
and confirmed according its appropriate index which was originally compiled in 1860s.
The miscellaneous records of the various courts and tribunals judiciary located in hundreds of boxes
archived at Santo Spirito are in process of being sorted and make it more easier for researchers. The firstboxes of the early 18th century contains civil and criminal proceedings which took place at the Magna
Curia Castellania and the Magnia Capitanale; the Supreme Court of Appeal, and the petitions presented
to the Officium Causarum Delegatorum, the Sacra Audentia, and the Corte Governatoriale of Gozo.

6.3

Hand-on training and internships

Six local and foreign students to achieve hand-on training on various series located at the Mdina repository.
Michael Buhagiar and Simon Ciantar, reading for a Bachelor’s degree and a diploma respectively at theFaculty of Media Knowledge Science from the University of Malta, conducted their practical sessions on
various tasks which included sorting and cleaning of various records, compiling inventory lists, data input
and other daily routine work. Sheerise Mangion, and Aisha Altriki from the Junior College enjoyed theirexperience working on data-input.
Lucilla Politi from La Sapienza University in Rome pursued her two-months internship working on the
catalogue of the 18th-century Supplici, and pagination of volumes in the process to be digitized. Iago
Molina, a keen musician from Galicia in Spain, experienced the wealth of the Charles Camilleri musiccollection by going through some changes on the field titles, forms and categories in the data compilation.

6.4

Digitization by the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library

Metadata of around 140 items preserved on 8 metres of shelving were prepared by Ms Claudia Garradasin the process of being digitized by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library of Saint John’s University,
Collegeville, MN. In order to be appropriately digitized, most of the volumes had to be paginated.
The following fonds were digitized during the past 12 months:
Tribunal Debitorum Religiosorum: 17 items (1776-1798)
Tribunal Segnaturae Justitae: 3 items (1798-1800)
Officium Syndicatus Congregationis Munium et Belli: 14 items (1646 – 1798)
Officium Bullae Sanctissimae Crociatae: 22 items (1744 – 1798)
Curiae Episcopalis et Provicarialis Notabilis Civitatis: 14 items (1587-1798, 1800-1824)
The metadata of 70 items belonging to the Tribunal Armamentor, dated 1605 up to 1798 was compiled inorder to be digitized in the coming months.

55

6.5

Prof Charles Camilleri Music Collection

The year 2019 marked the tenth anniversary of the passing away of Prof Charles Camilleri (1931-2009).
To pay his tribute, various works archived at the Banca Giuratale were performed locally and abroad.
The New York Tok was performed by Clarinettist Max Mausen, the popular former principal of the Malta
Philharmonic Orchestra at the 13th International Spring Orchestra Festival held between 26 April and 4
May 2019.
The sixth edition of the Malta International Organ Festival was a special one as it paid tribute to the Maltese
composer. Camilleri’s works Wine of Peace, L’Evolution de la Joie for organ and trumpet, L’Amour deDieu for solo organ were performed in various churches around Malta and Gozo. The Missa Mundi, amasterpiece in a five-section composition that hasn’t been heard very often in Malta since the 1960s, wasinterpreted by Julian Mallek, an organist from Hannover, Germany.
The Maltese Dances were performed at the Foundation Day Concert on the 1st of November by the
Goldberg Ensemble as part of the annual event in the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s season. The famous
Malta Suite, based on the popular melodies of the Maltese folklore was part of the Onġi Onġi Onġella at
the Manoel Theatre, a music event for young children.
The music of Charles Camilleri was also part of the 7th Malta International Music Festival organized by theEuropean Foundation for Support of Culture and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra presented between 29
April and 10 May in Valletta.

6.6

User Education and Public Relations

During 2019, the Banca Giuratale undertook a series of outreach activities with the aim to inform andeducate the public about the nature of archival materials and archival work and to bring about interest in
the archives and encourage research. University students from the Faculties of Laws, Baroque Studies,and Public Administration had the opportunity to visit the Banca Giuratale and have a close glimpse to
several volumes.
For the eleventh consecutive year, the Banca Giuratale was part of the Mdina attractions during theannual Medieval Mdina Festival, organized by the Mdina Local Council and the Malta Tourism Authority
and held between the 4th and 5th May 2019.
A selection of Maltese personalities photographed by Mr Tony Mangion which forms part of the permanent
exhibition at the Banca Giuratale was exhibited in Toronto. The exposition was organized by Dr Raymond
Xerri, Consul General Designate of the Republic of Malta to the Commonwealth of Canada.
The premises of the Banca Giuratale and its holdings were featured on 7000, a current affairs documentary
aired on the Public Broadcasting Service Ltd. (PBS), which provides an in-depth analysis of various
subjects that have transformed Malta into the country it is today, including the piles of records and volumes
which documented its history. A four pages article on the various collections and important documents
available at the Courts and Tribunals Section was featured on one of the Sunday’s local newspaper.

6.7

Training

Staff from this section participated in the Memory of the World Workshop which was organized by the
Korean National Commission for UNESCO together with the Maltese National Commission. The Workshop
was aimed to increase awareness worldwide of the existence and significance of documentary heritage,
to facilitate its preservation by the most appropriate techniques, and to promote universal access to it.

56

Above: A Siddeley Deasy from the Cottonera Motor Car Co. Ltd. bus fleet. Photo: Facebook
Below: Cottonera Motor Car Company’s stationery. Photo: National Archives of Malta

57

CENTENARY OF CONTINUOUS
BUS SERVICES IN MALTA
1920 - 2020
Spring of 2020 is an important milestone in the history ofMalta’s bus industry.
Although an attempt had been made by Mr E.T.Agius andMajor Joseph Muscat in 1905 to operate a bus service
between Valletta, Sliema and St. Julian’s, due to competition
from the steam ferries and the karozzini (horse-drawn cabs),
plus the poor state of the roads, this bus service had ceasedby the end of 1906. It was not until Spring 1920 that bus
services then restarted and have been running ever since.
The first new bus company was the Cottonera Motor Car
Company who had a garage in the old Market Building in
Dr William Soler, secretary of Cottonera Motor Car
Cospicua, close to Senglea gate.
Co Ltd. Photo: National Archives of Malta

Several letters from the company are held at the National Archives of Malta. File NAM/CSG02/439/1920
lists the company’s eleven buses and five cars, the vehicles’ registration numbers as well as the bus
routes. These included Valletta - Mosta via Birkirkara, Valletta – Sliema via Msida, Cospicua – Żabbar/Żejtun via Fgura and “all localities where festas are celebrated and to places where races, football matches
and special public amusement are being held”.
These first buses used chassis from surplus World War 1 military ambulances and trucks with locally built
bus bodies.
Other files at the National Archives record protests from the karozzini drivers and the electric tramway whowere against these new motor “charabancs”.
By the summer of 1921 there were round 30 buses running on the island with other owners including theMilitary Service Bus Company, the Red Wheel Garage (owned by the Griscti Brothers of Sliema), Captain
JL Muscat of the Malta Import and Export Agency (son of Major Muscat of the failed 1905/6 enterprise), theGerman Brothers of the British Motor Car Company, and various individuals including Vincenzo Dalmas of
Pieta, Henry Church, Antonio Theuma and Rosario Vella of the Vella Brothers.
By the end of 1930 (when a freeze was placed on the issue of any more bus licences) there were over
500 buses running on Malta, and around 25 running on Gozo (which got its first bus around 1925). see
page 68.
Richard Stedall
Malta Bus Archive Co-ordinator

58

Permit issued by the Police
to the Cottonera Motor Car
Co Ltd to operate a bus
service in 1920. Photo:
National Archives of Malta

7

GOZO
SECTIONThe Gozo Section of the National Archives of Malta, functioning for thirty years within premises built in
1986, serves as the public record office for the documentation produced and received by Government
departments and establishments of Gozo and Comino.
“Records originated by the Ministry for Gozo, Gozo sections of Government Departments, and by publicbodies established for Gozo should be deposited at the Gozo Section of the National Archives.” (Circular
OPM/E/82/83 issued by the Office of the Prime Minister in July 1991). The National Archives Act (2005)
provides also for the Assistant National Archivist for Gozo.

7.1 Records Management

During 2019, the records management at the Ministry for Gozo, the Passport Office, the Social Security
Department, and the Gozo Courts was assessed.
As a result, the applications of passports issued in Gozo during 2001 as well as the forms the Electronic
Identify Subscribers Agreements between February 2008 and September 2018, as well as several
registers of the former Government Savings Bank were transferred to the archive.
Discussions about the transfer of digital photographs related to the activities of the Gozo Ministry andthe retention or disposal records generated by the Social Security Department were initiated. A sizable
number of registers from the section Registri Sentenzi, Sentenzi Superiori Civili at the Gozo Courts wereidentified for transfer.

7.2

Accessions

CG

Courts of Law – Gozo
CG/12 - Libri “Prime Note” (14 vols)CP

Circulars and Posters
CP/03 - Miscellanea (05 vols)

The following records were added to the Gozo Section of the National Archives.
AG
National Archives Gozo
AG/01 - Correspondence (01 vols)
AG/05 - Miscellanea (02 vols)
AG/06 - Original Catalogues and Catalogues of other Archives (06 vols)

60

GB

Government Savings Bank
GB/01 - Depositors’ Ledgers (37 vols)
GB/03 - Journals (01 vol)GB/04 - Cash Books (04 vols)

LC

Local Councils
LC/01 - Belt Victoria (01 vol)LC/02 - Fontana (01 vol)LC/03 - Għajnsielem (01 vol)LC/04 - Għarb (02 vols)
LC/05 - Għasri (01 vol)LC/06 - Ta’ Kerċem (01 vol)LC/07 - Munxar (01 vol)LC/08 - Nadur (02 vol)LC/09 - Qala (01 vol)LC/10 - San Lawrenz (01 vol)LC/11 - Ta’ Sannat (01 vol)LC/12 - Xagħra (01 vol)LC/13 - Xewkija (02 vol)LC/14 - Żebbuġ (02 vol)LC/15 - Marsalforn (01 vol)LC/16 - Santa Luċija (01 vol)LC/17 - Xlendi (01 vol)MG

Ministry for Gozo
MG/01 - Reports (36 vols)
MG/10 - Miscellanea (11 vols)PA

Photographs and Albums
PA/06/01- Gozo Postcards (ten old postcards)
PA/06/03- Gozo original old photos (fifteen original old photos)

PM

Plans and Maps
PM/08 - General Plans (06 vols)PO

Passport Office
PO/01 - Applications for Malta Passports (22 vols)
PO/02 - Electronic Identity Subscribers Agreement (10 boxes)

ST

Statistics
ST/07 - Telephone Directories (02 vols)
ST/09 - Guida Generale di Malta e Gozo (18 numbers)

ZM

Miscellanea
ZM/01 - Misc volumes

61

Dr George Azzopardi donated old postcards and old photos of Gozo and eighteen numbers of the Guida
Generale di Malta e Gozo, some of which are over one hundred years old.
Victor Scicluna donated a file of notes, that belonged to his father Ġorġ, related to the drawing of survey
sheets of Gozo in the 1950s.

7.4

Archival Processing

208 volumes/items were catalogued and deposited, less than those registered during the previous two
years: 345 (2018) and 417 (2017). On the other hand, two new sections were created in existing fonds
during the year.
The catalogue of all the niches of Gozo and Comino was a major undertaking. This exercise included thedrawing of a full list of the niches in the town, villages, and hamlets, the gathering of basic information oneach one, and photographing them. During the photographing process discovered some other fifty minor
niches were discovered.
Up to the end of the year, the Section held fonds from twenty-eight different entities each of which is
subdivided to reflect the diverse activity carried out by the entity that created the fond. The fonds, by thecataloguing code, are:
AG
CA
CC
CG
CI
CP
CR
DF
GB
GL
GM
HI
IR
LC
MG
MH
MP
PA
PD
PM
PO
PW
SG
SN
SS
ST
UG
ZM

- Archives Gozo (National Archives – Gozo section)- Civil Abattoir- Civic Council- Curia Gubernatorali (Courts of Law)
- Charitable Institutions- Circulars and Posters- Cremona Collection- Documentaries and Films- Malta Government Savings Bank
- Gurdan Lighthouse- Guljana Masini- Hospitals and other Institutions- Inland Revenue- Local Councils- Ministry for Gozo
- Medical and Health Department- Monte di Pietà- Photographs. Albums- Police Department- Plans and maps
- Passport Office- Public Works- Secretariat to the Government- Street naming- State Schools- Statistics- Universitas Gaudisii- Miscellanea

62

The division for digital fonds, introduced in 2014, includes documents that are either available only in digitalformat or are digitized images of documents held at the archive, in which case the digital format carries thesame code of the respective fonds. This division is temporarily divided into the following sections:
AD-CD

Archives Digital • CDs–General
items of a general nature

AD-DVD

Archives Digital • DVDs–General
items with film footage of a general natureGLĠurdan Lighthouse
Log Books and Eye observation of pressure, temperature, cloud, weather, visibility

MG

Ministry for Gozo • Chronlogical
Photographic chronology (10 Sep 2004 to 04 Mar 2008)

PA

Photographs
Gozo Historic photographs

PG

Press Gozo
Printed and the online news items related to Gozo (14 Mar 2008 to 31 Jan 2013) andfrom 24 Aug 2017.

UG

Universitas Gaudisii
The UG fond made up of 305 volumes and a total of 197,822 images.

Memorja Project
The Memorja Project undertaken kicked off in Gozo as well. The staff were trained and the first preinterviews and proceeded with the subsequent interviews. After considering all possibilities and areas ofresearch, the Gozo Section opted for Gozitan confectioners and bakers. A list of eleven main interviewees
and over sixty questions were compiled and contacts were made for the first interview. The hundred-year
old tradition of the Bezzina–Portelli Confectionery legacy was recorded.
Digitisation
Digitisation equipment was purchased and commissioned is September. The first fond being digitised is
the MHMedical and Health01/Building plans and permits fond.
Universitas Gaudisii
The restoration of the Universitas Gaudisii did not move ahead as planned. The tender for the restoration
was issued three times; on the first two occasions one tenderer submitted his bid that was however noncompliant. On the third time, the submission was retracted.

7.5

Public Services

Research sessions during 2019 were 320, less than in the previous two years: 616 (2018) and 360 (2017).
The number of research hours amounted to 416, also less than the previous years: 523 (2018) and 447(2017). The number of items consulted amounted to 686, slightly less than the previous two years: 747(2018) and 734 (2017).

63

However, online requests for information continued to increase during 2019 and reached a peak in lateNovember / early December with the launching of the online version of the Ġuljana Masini. Online requests
rose to close to 500 during the 2019.
The following is a break-down of statistics per month (2019):
month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
AugustSeptember
OctoberNovember
Decembertotal

researchers
026
020
031
026
031
039
024
039
016
019
025
024
320

hours of research
035
026
034
032
035
048
035
060
019
025
033
034
416

number of items
048
047
086
055
060
067
060
095
026
032
052
058
686

The following is is a break-down of accessions from each fond per month (2019):
AG
CA
CC
CD
CG
CI
CP
CR
DF
GB
GL
GM
HI
IR
LC
MG
MH
MP
PA
PD
PM
PO
PW
SG
SN
SS
ST
UG
ZM
TOTAL

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

003
001

001

002

003
026

008

002

001

001
018
001

018

001
008

005

006
001

019
004
002

001
003

005
002

048

047

031

044

026

024

008

036

003

006

012

007

014

023

014

013

004

013

004
019

003
001

005
005
004
003

002
003

002
001
001

003
018
001
006

001
014
004

005

003

002

003
006
086

060

003
067

005

001

003
055

007
060

041

001
004

001
004

002

010

total

010
095

002
026

032

009
003

014

021
009
001

022
002

001
001
001
052

011
003
058

002
212
001
002
005
141
003
037
101
049
010
006
017
019
006
030
686

64

During the year 2019, the GM-Ġuljana Masini fond proved to be the most popular for the seventh
consecutive year; followed by the MH-Medical and Health fond; and the PD-Police Department fond.
The opening hours of the Gozo Section have been extended by 4 hours every Wednesday (14:00 - 18:00).

7.6

Outreach

Six group visits were organised:•on 20 February and on 13 March, colleagues from the National Archives of Malta had a familiarization
visit;•
on 4 March, the five librarians of MCAST visited the Section;•
on 25 March, two groups of 34 students each attending Form III at the Sacred Heart Seminary wereshown round the Section;•
on 26 March, 26 persons from Chemins & Rencontres Group from the Diocese de Monaco were
given a lecture on the history of Gozo.
An exhibition was held on 4 May 2019 to coincide with the Gozo Alive weekend organised by the Ministry
for Gozo with the title Ritratti ta’ Għawdex fl-Antik – Old photographs of Gozo. Visitors were also provided
with an explanation of the holdings of the archives and a short tour around the archives.
The online version of the Ġuljana Masini was officially launched on, 29 November 2019. This version
provides a new resource for those with relatives who were baptised or married or died in Gozo and whowant to compose their family tree.

Old postcard donated by Dr George Azzopardi

8

MEMORJA

Introduction

MEMORJA is the oral, sound and visual archive of the National Archives serving as the Malta’s main
repository of national and public memory.
Over 2019, work on the National Archives’ ‘MEMORJA: Oral, Sound and Visual Archive’ has beensteadily gaining ground. Three new employees have been assigned to work on the project; the team now
comprises five individuals based in Rabat, two based in Gozo and a select group of volunteers who havebeen trained in oral history by Prof John Chircop, the academic advisor of MEMORJA.

8.1

New thematic research groups

The project’s original scope of five thematic research groups has since been superseded and its horizons
have been broadened in more ways than one.
Perceptions on the Changing Landscape of the Three Cities
During the Second World War, Cottonera suffered extensive damage since this area had held the docks
used by the Royal Navy and their headquarters. The unrelenting bombings brought forced change tothe historical, cultural and urban landscape of the area and to its society. This theme aims to look at
the changes that took place after the war and up to the present day by asking previous and/or current
inhabitants for their perceptions.
Two main age groups are being targeted: (a) those born in the 1930s and 1940s who remember the Three
Cities in rubble; (b) and those born in the 1960s and 70s who remember the rebuilt cities. These oral
history interviews ask interviewees about their cultural heritage, the changes they have seen happening totheir landscape, and whether they think the changes have been for the better or for the worse. In the end
this theme will highlight life in Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Senglea during and after the war, interactions with
the British, the Royal Navy leaving Malta for good and the cities in recent and present times.
Memories from Prajjet and Qammieħ Cliffs
The persons interviewed for this theme are all fishermen and farmers from Anchor Bay (Ix-Xquq), Mellieħa
and Qammieħ Cliffs (Irdum il-Qammieħ). This study gives importance to place names of the two areas –which have been plotted on a map – including those of fields, rocks and paths leading down the cliffs andtraditions or stories related to these locations. Most of the farmers and fishermen interviewed used theMellieħa dialect, which is dying out. Through these interviews, this important linguistic aspect has also
been preserved.

66

Another important topic discussed was the Anchor Bay/Delli Tunnara, of which much less has been
written than about that of Mellieħa Bay. Besides the Tunnara, these fishermen discussed traditional fishingmethods most of which are not in use today.
The same can be said about the areas’ farmers, whose tilling and ploughing methods have today been
replaced by the modern motorized plough. Most of the farmers had also hunted wild rabbits, and theytalked about the use of ferrets and pharaoh hounds (klieb tal-fenek) to flush out the hares from theirburrows. These recordings are complimented by several photos which the interviewees kindly allowed tobe scanned.
Gozitan confectioners and bakeries
MEMORJA was this year launched in Gozo, with the research theme being Gozitan confectioners andbakers. Areas of interest in this theme are the oral traditions of the bakeries around the island, the bakers’
training and trade, the impact of technology and the introduction of new equipment over the decades,
working conditions, popular products and family traditions. A list of eleven potential interviewees has
been drawn up and the first interview was recorded in September 2019 with Ms Maria Assunta Portelli, ofPortelli Confectionery, Rabat.

8.2

Cataloguing

Besides the fieldwork carried out and the interviews recorded over the past year, the MEMORJA team has
focused on cataloguing both an ever-increasing oral history collection and private audio-visual deposits.
In the Memorja fonds, 50 sub-fonds have been catalogued, for a total of around 1000 items. These
items consist of audio and video recordings, photographic material, written accounts, interviewees’
correspondence (who had settled abroad) and different types of ephemera. Apart from these tasks, theteam members involved are also transcribing oral history interviews and updating metadata to reflect
international archiving standards.
The Public Memory Archive (PMA) fonds, holds 175 digitised interviews which have been catalogued witha total of approximately 500 items consisting of audio recordings, transcripts, documentaries, photographs
and adjoining ephemera. The topics in this collection discuss: The Second World War, salt production,bakeries, farming/agriculture, childhood, school and education, Maltese social life, Maltese theatre andopera, traditional village feasts, transport, nursing, H.M. Dockyard and shipyard workers and fishing.

8.3

Private deposits

At the end of 2019 the project generated 100 oral history interviews and six written accounts, besides
the Public Memory Archive collection and other collections donated to the National Archives. Moreover,
several persons have opted to deposit their oral history interviews at the National Archives of Malta andwork was carried out on the cataloguing of several collections, including•

Rayden Mizzi collection (PDE_0027): 76 sub-fonds catalogued, for a total of 1340 items
consisting of audio recordings of church bells and related photographic materials;•

May Agius collection (PDE_0012): 915 digital surrogates of mounted transparencies (35 mm
standard slide) catalogued;•

Oscar Attard collection (PDE_0047): 130 digitised glass plate negatives. These photographs
consist of single and family portraits;

67

8.4

•

Sciortino collection: Over 900 glass plate negatives from the first half of the 20th century havebeen digitised and are being catalogued. This collection consists of infrastructural projects,
religious events, political meetings, religious statues and churches;•

Max Farrugia donation: Donation of over 10,500 memorial cards (santi tal-mejtin);•

St Michael’s Teacher Training College collection: Over 3,000 photographs showing daily life ofstudents and events during the scholastic year. 333 photographs have been catalogued;•

Philip Pisani collection: 173 negatives and 266 photographs showing garrison life in early 1950s
Malta, Libya and Italy.

•

A donation by Prof. John Chircop of 46 volumes of ‘Oral History’, journal of the Oral History
Society.

Training

Between 27 and 29 June 2019, Memorja administrator participated in the seminar ‘Sound Archives
Unspooled - How to Work with Audio in your Collections’ organised by the London Metropolitan Archives
with speakers from the British Library, the Norfolk Record Office and the London Metropolitan Archives.
The seminar’s aims were the dissemination of digital curation standards, the storage of different soundformats and how sound archives can be used to support learning and engagement activities.

Lija school children at a tea party organized as part of King George VI coronation festivities, 14 May 1937.
Photo: Maurice Mifsud Bonnici Collection, National Archives of Malta.

68

FROM MAKING KARETTUNI TO
BUILDING BUS BODIESIn his handwritten notes, Mikiel Barbara ta’ Żagrag (1906-1987) describes how in October 1931
he left his employment with Feliċ tal-karetturni and joined Frenċ Saliba to start building buses,
rather than horse-drawn carts (karettuni). He was then promised a salary of £1.10 (€1.30) a
week and a lump sum of £20 (€24) once the body was ready. These memoires as well as othernotes and photos were donated to the National Archives by his son Ninu from Imqabba.
12
1. Mikiel Barbara, Feliċ tal-karettuni,
unknown.

Photo:

Ninu

BarbaraCollection, National Archives of Malta
2. A sketch of as bus 2308 Mikiel built
in 1949 to Gużepp Callus taċ-Ċafien
from Siġġiewi. Photo: Ninu Barbara
Collection, National Archives of Malta
3. ....and the real bus (2308). Photo:
Geoffrey Morant via the Malta Bus
Archive
3

9
9.1

69

SUPPORTING
ORGANISATIONS AND
VOLUNTEERSThe National Archives Council

The National Archives Council is set up in line with Article 14 of the National Archives Act (2005),
which stipulates that:(1) There shall be a National Archives Council, appointed by the Minister, which shall be composed
as follows:(a) a Chairperson;(b) the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage ex officio or his representative;(c) the Chairperson of Heritage Malta ex officio or his representative;(d) the National Librarian ex officio or his representative;(e) the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister ex officio or his representative;(f) a person to represent the non-governmental archives or records centers;(g) three other persons chosen from amongst persons known to be users of and familiar witharchives, records management and information professions, or working in non-governmentalorganizations dedicated to information and archives, one of whom shall be appointed by the
Minister responsible for Gozo.
In line with the National Archives Act, during the year under review, the Council continued to fulfil thefunctions assigned to it by the Archives Act, mainly:(a) to promote the National Archives and other record keeping entities;(b) to ensure and facilitate the collaboration between the different stakeholders with direct orindirect responsibility for the protection and management of the archives sector;(c) to advise the Minister on the management of archives in Malta;(d) to draw the attention of the Minister or of any organization or person responsible for archives
to any urgent action that may be considered necessary for the better management of archives
and records;(e) to advise the Minister on any matter arising from the provisions of this Act and on any othermatter referred to it by the Minister.

70

Council Members
The term of office of the Council members expired on 30 July 2019. Subsequently, the Minister of
Education and Employment, Hon. Evarist Bartolo, reconstituted the Board for another three years
as follows:
President
Professor William Zammit
Members
Dr Joan Abela, Rev. Mgr. Ġwann Azzopardi, Ms Maroma Camilleri, Dr Anthony Degiovanni, Ms Joyce
Dimech, Mr Max Farrugia, Mr Joseph Magro Conti, and Dr Lillian Sciberras.
As in previous years, Dr Charles J. Farrugia, the National Archivist and CEO of the National Archives
and the Rev. Mgr. Joseph Bezzina, Assistant National Archivist for Gozo attended all Council meetingsand have also supported its work by regularly updating the Council on the working of the Institution. The
National Archives also provides all logistical support by preparing all meeting agendas and other related
office work, providing the offices for its functioning and also providing secretarial support. The latter isprovided by Ms Rita Vella Brincat and Ms Monica Mallia.
During 2019, the two priorities discussed during all four Council meetings were the building of a
new National Archives and exploring possible ways on how to support private archives and private
collections, and how to recover collections of national significance if need be.
The Council met on 22 January, 26 March, 9 July and 8 October.

9.2

Friends of the National Archives

The present Executive Committee of the Friends of the National Archives (FNAM), composed of Mr
Max Farrugia as President, Dr Charles Farrugia as Vice-President, Dr Evelyn Pullicino as Secretary,
M’Anne Farrugia as Assistant Secretary, Dr Gerald Bugeja as Treasurer, Ivan Ellul as Membership
Secretary, Prof. George Cassar as Education Officer, Marica Camilleri as Public Relations Officer
and Dr Nazzareno Azzopardi and Martin Hampton as members, was elected during the Annual
General Meeting held in May 2019. Doris Mangion and Leonard Callus had also served as membersin the previous committee.
The 2019 Annual General Meeting was held on 16 May the National Archives Head Office lecturehall. The President, Max Farrugia, addressed the members present and emphasised the needfor continual support to the National Archives in their quest for a new area to have a purposely
constructed new archives to better preserve the collective memory of our nation. He explained how
the FNAM had been set up to support the work of the National Archives. The organisation will becelebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2020. The Secretary, Dr Evelyn Pullicino and the Treasurer,
Dr Gerald Bugeja, read their annual reports. The event ended with a lecture about the 1813 Plague
by Mr Vince Peresso.
During the past year the FNAM Executive Committee together with the National Archivist and his staff
focused their efforts in advocating for a suitable area for the construction of a purposely built newarchive having all the necessary modern facilities. Committee members and the Archives Council
had used every opportunity to emphasise the need for the new archive.

71

The FNAM also continued to market the vinyl records and CDs Emmanuele Cilia - The Complete
Studio Recordings 1931-1932 produced the year before. Only a part of the expenses has been
covered from the sale of this product. A number of these CDs have been given as gifts to foreign
Archivists attending international seminars and ministries are being contacted to acquire these CDs
to be distributed as significant gifts representing Maltese culture.
The National Archives participated in the annual book fair organized in October 2019 by Fondazzjoni
Wirt Artna at Bieb is-Sultan in Birgu. The President of the Fondazzjoni, Mario Farrugia, expressed
his appreciation at the presence of the National Archives at this event. During the annual Book Fair
held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre between the 6th and 10th November 2019, FNAM
members helped to man the stand. During this book fair 33 new members were recruited, Leli Cilia
records and CDs were sold and as noted above the FNAM journal Arkivju was available to the public.
The annual FNAM journal Arkivju, edited by Prof George Cassar, was published in November 2019in time for the November Book Fair. This publication provides the space for researchers to publish
their articles based on documents at the National Archives. This year Arkivju includes seven articles
of historical and archival interest. A centre spread is dedicated to Michael Bonnici who passed away
a few months before the publication of the journal.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the President of the Republic has always been the patron of the
FNAM. The new President, Dr George Vella who took office in April 2019, invited the members of the
Executive Committee for a meeting at the Palace in Valletta. During this meeting, held on 19 July,
the President of the Republic accepted the patronage of the society and spoke of his support for ourefforts towards the preservation of the nation’s collective memory.
During 2019, FNAM Executive Committee members attended and participated in meetings held by
the Voluntary Organizations Commissioner regarding applications for EU-funded projects for NGOs.
The Executive Committee together with the National Archives is evaluating projects that can possibly
be financed through these funds in time for the next call of applications.
The Committee of the Friends of the National Archives, June 2019.

72

9.3

Volunteers

We are grateful to a cadre of volunteers who contribute in a significant manner to our archival curation
efforts. Volunteering gives us much more than unpaid working hours to the institution. Besides thetens of students we host on placements, we have a team of dedicated volunteers. Each one hasbrought to us their specialisation while we provided the training required to handle the task assigned.
During last year the following volunteers gave their valuable services to the National Archives:•
Fred Bezzina (cataloguing the papers of Ġużè Cardona)•Richard Bird (cataloguing Despatches Collection)•

Anthony Bonello (cataloguing maps and plans)•Michael Borg (Education Division records)•

Mary Buttigieg (cataloguing the Lorenzo Gatt papers)•

Mark Caruana (cataloguing passport applications)•

Rachel Grillo (Magna Curia Castellania)•

Patrick J. Micallef (curating the KOMR data project)•

Francesca del Rio (supporting our Conservation Laboratory staff)

We thank these volunteers and others who contribute in ad hoc projects or events.
Thank you, your commitment is invaluable!

Mary Buttigieg

73

Michael Bonnici(1944-2019)

On 29 May 2019, Michael Bonnici, one of the volunteers
at the National Archives, died.
Since 2009 Michael has been responsible for therenovation and the maintenance of the pharmacy
museum at the archives. Since then the exhibits,
including ingredient products and pharmacy equipment
have increased by over 40%. He also enriched ourunique collection by donating his personal pharmacy
records and paraphernalia.
We recall his memory with deep gratitude.
Thank you Michael.

Richard Bird

74

2

1
4

3

10

INTERNATIONALRELATIONSAND ACTIVITIES

10.1 Forum of National Archivists in Abu Dhabi, 28 April – 2 May

The Forum of National Archivists (FAN) is a section within the International Council on Archives and its
current President Jeff James is working hard to reinvigorate its activities and direct it in line with a strategy
that is beneficial to all stakeholders. Throughout his participation in this organisation the National Archivist
Dr Charles Farrugia gave input based on his thirty years working in the sector, twenty years of which
working specifically as national archivist. The Forum of National Archives was held in Abu Dhabi between
the 28 April and 2 May 2019.

10.2 Archives Portal Europe Country Managers Meeting in Madrid, 7-8 May

This year we appointed David Sargent as our representative on the APEx Country Managers meetings.
APEx – the Archives Portal Europe network of excellence – is the framework for European archives tocollaborate for wider and enhanced accessibility of their content on the web. It continues the work of the
APEnet project (2009–2012) in which 19 European national archives and Europeana established andreleased the Archives Portal Europe. The meeting was held in Madrid on the 7th and 8th May 2019.
New methods of outreach and challenges of metadata migration were discussed during this international
encounter.

10.3 EBNA and EAG Meetings in Bucharest, 6-7 June

Between 6 and 7 June 2019 the CEO and National Archivist represented Malta at the European Boardof Natioanl Archivists (EBNA) and the European Archives Experts Group (EAG). Traditionally thesemeetings are hosted by the country holding the Presidency of the EU. Apart from discussing the main
European archival challenges, the meeting also gave an opportunity to participants to discuss the mainarchival projects and challenges Romania has in this domain.

10.4 European Digital Treasures Management Meeting in Bucharest, 7 June

The National Archives of Malta is one of the partners in the EU-funded project European Digital Treasures(see pages 79 - 81), aimed at making the treasures we hold in our archives more known and appreciatedby wider communities. Leonard Callus, a member of the project’s management team, participated in a
meeting of the project’s management held in Bucharest on 7 June.
1, 3. EBNA/EAG EU Presidency Meetings, Helsinki, September 2019.
2.

Archives Portal Europe Country Managers Meeting, Madrid, May 2019.

4.

European Digital Treasures Steering Committee, Lisbon, November 2019.

76

10.5 Sound Archives Training in London, 28 June

As part of the efforts of the National Archives of Malta to set up a National Audio-visual Institute, theadminsistrator of the Memorja Project attended specialised training in London. James Baldacchino
attended the event ‘Sound Archives Unspooled – How to work with audio in your collections’. The seminarwhich discussed best practice for the preservation and accessibility of sound holdings was held in London
on the 28 June.

10.6 EBNA/EAG EU Presidency Meetings in Helsinki, 18 – 21 September

During the Presidency meetings organised in Helsinki between 18 and 21 September 2019 the National
Archives of Malta was represened by its CEO Dr Charles J. Farrugia and the Manager Public Engagement
Leonard Callus. The meetings were held at the National Archives in Helsinki between 18 and 21 September
2019.
One of the items on the agenda was the new Directive on copyright in the digital single market, approvedby the European Parliament on 26 March and endorsed by the Council on 15 April 2019. Member States
must transpose the new rules into their national law by June 2021. It was agreed that National Archives
will alert national authorities about the provisions and exemptions of these new rules with regards toarchives so that the latter are incorporated into the national legislation.
Together with other member of the European Digital Treasures’ management team, Leonard Callusdelivered a presentation about the project to the European Board of National Archivists.
Other meetings attended to during the same days in Helsinki were the Assembly of Associates of theArchives Portal Europe and the Management Group of the European Digital Treasures project. In viewof the upcoming building project in Malta ad hoc visits were organised to the newly built repositories in
Mikkeli and Hämmelina.

10.7 National Archives of Georgia Conference, 26 – 28 September

Dr Charles J. Farrugia was the key-note speaker at the International Conference on ‘Archival Studies,
Sources Studies – Trends and Challenges’ that was held at the National Archives of Georgia between
26 and 28 September 2019. In his key-note as Chairperson of EURBICA, Dr Farrugia spoke about theimportance of interdisciplinarity for the archival profession and praised the organisers for bringing together
such a diversity of themes for discussion. He also held discussions with the management of the National
Archives of Georgia to explore future collaboration mainly on the new National Archives building for Malta
and the possibility of offering training opportunties for Georgian conservators.

10.8 Archival School and Signing of Agreement in Koper, 20-22 OctoberOn 20 October the National Archivist Dr Farrugia delivered a keynote speech at the opening of the Archival
School within the International Institute of Archival Sciences in Koper (Slovenia) about ‘Questions ofArchival Sciences: Resonances of Social Changes in Archival Theory and Practice’.
The following day, Dr Farrugia signed a MoU of collaboration on behalf of EURBICA. The agreement was
signed between the International Institute of Archival Science Maribor/Trieste (Prof. Peter Pavel Klasinc),EURBICA (Dr Charles Farrugia), the Alma Mater Europaea (Prof. Ludvik Toplaak) and the Historical
Archives of the EU (Dr Dieter Schlenker). The agreement aims to make best use of resources held by thethree partners in this agreement in order to make inroads in the research, training and dissemination of
the archival profession in Europe.

77

10.9 European Digital Treasures Steering Committee, Lisbon 7-8 November

Leonard Callus participated at a Management Committee Meeting of the European Digital Treasures’
Project held in Lisbon between the 7 and 8 November 2019.

10.10 eArchiving Event in Brussels, 3-4 December

eArchiving is becoming a key topic at European level due to the move of most government institutions
to a digital economy. We as archivists have the duty to keep abreast of such developments as wecannot afford a new black hole in knolwedge for future generations. The National Archives of Malta wasrepresented through the participation of Ivan Ellul at the Connecting Europe eArchiving Event that washeld in Brussels between 3 and 4 December 2019.

10.11 Chairpersonship of EURBICA

At the beginning of 2019 Dr Charles J. Farrugia took over the chairpersonship of the European Branch of
the International Council on Archives (EURBICA).
During this first year at the helm of this organisation Farrugia worked towards strengthening the impact of
EURBICA in countries that have so far not worked closely with this organisation. Amongst the collaboration
this year were two keynote speeches at archival conferences that were held at the National Library of
Belarus, and another at the opening of the European Archival school in Koper, Slovenia.
EURBICA also issued statements of support in cases of natural disasters such as the floodings in Florence
and treats to archival holdings from bad decisions in other European countries.
Sound Archives Unspooled - How to Work with Audio in your Collections,London Metropolitan Archives, June 2019.

78

EBNA/EAG EU Presidency Meetings, Helsinki, September 2019. Photo: Juho Mauri Malka

79

EUROPEAN DIGITAL TREASURES:Management of Centenary Archives
in the 21st Century

The National Archives of Malta is participating in this project, that is co-funded by the European
Union through the Creative Europe and seeking to tackle some of the new key challenges faced byarchives in Europe.
European archives are fundamental primary sources for discovering and reinforcing shared European
culture and history. The project European Digital Treasures aims at bringing joint European heritage,and especially its digital versions, major visibility, outreach and use. European Digital Treasures
addresses the challenges of the digital society, related to the management and transmission ofEuropean historical and documentary heritage.

Project consortium

The project consortium is made up of 7 partners from 7 countries uniting a multi-stakeholder team.
Each partner has specific qualifications that together form an effective consortium.
•

Spanish State Archives (project lead)•

Cork Institute of Technology (Ireland)•

ICARUS – International Centre for Archival Research (Austria)•

National Archives of Hungary•

National Archives of Malta•

National Archives of Norway•

National Archives of Portugal

80

Mission: To unlock the past to build capacities•

Develop new business models for European archives in the 21st century seeking to unlock the
profitability and economic sustainability of digitised cultural heritage.

•

Amplify the visibility of national archives in the public underlining the importance of protecting
European heritage.

•

Reach out to new audiences (Generation Z and Silver Generation) encouraging the use of digitalproducts that unlock the hidden treasures of joint heritage kept in archives.

•

Support transnational mobility of managers, historians, experts, graphical and industrial designers
as well as archivists to activate cross-sectoral opportunities.

Main Activities: Innovation to release the potential of archival (digital) treasures
Roaming transmedia exhibitions
Three roaming exhibitions, travelling to Spain, Portugal, Norway, Austria, Malta and Hungary, will
invite the public to discover archival (digital) treasures and educate on the importance of archives for
cultural heritage. 120 key documents (treasures) from these countries’ archives tied into transmedia
interactive products (video games, apps and storytelling) will tell the stories of a shared past to the
public across the population stratum.
Each roaming exhibition will focus on a specific European topic:• The construction of Europe, from Charlemagne to the EU Treaties. Over 1000 years of European
construction•

Exiles, Migratory flows and Solidarity•

European Discoveries: From the New World to New Technologies

Attract silver researchersMore and more people spend their active life in retirement and many of them wish to pursue existingor new hobbies, leisure and volunteering activities. Furthering one’s own education at the same timeis equally important.
There are already a lot of retirees that use the archives actively, for research on local or family history
for example. Also, there are certain groups of volunteers (i.e. retired historians) that support archives
in crowd sourcing activities such as the identification of certain items on pictures.
As the archives increasingly adapt to the digital age, it seems though that many of the elderly
generation are faced with the challenges of new technologies. The archives clearly need to adapt
to their active and potential users and explore together how to improve their cooperation with user
communities and keep opening their doors for the silver researchers.
To learn more about the nature of silver researchers (60+ years old community) in archives, ourproject has set up an online survey to identify pan-European fields of interests and acquire more
knowledge about the specific needs of this specific user community. The findings of the survey in
Malta are published in this report on pages 83-91.

81

European youth archives
Complementing the storytelling of the roaming transmedia exhibitions, European Digital Treasures
will develop an edutainment App connecting the exhibitions to social networks, the self-evident
playgrounds and communication platforms of “Generation Z”. By integrating the archival world into
the natural digital habitat of younger generations, access to archives will be eased and interest in
discovering cultural heritage sparked.
In the end, 100 of the most “liked” digital documents selected by the “Generation Z” will be collectedin the online exhibition “European youths archives”.
Artistic residencies – new business models
Based on the key documents of the roaming exhibitions, graphic and industrial designers will create
innovative merchandising products that explore new fields of business models for archives toincrease income and visibility opportunities.
We have selected 11 graphic and industrial designers from Austria, Hungary, Norway, Malta, Spain
and Portugal who will wrap their creative minds around the archival gems of our participating archives
and turn them into resourceful merchandising products. Each of them already started their process oflearning about the archival treasures kept in the national archives of their home country. In February2020 the group will unite at the famous contemporary art space “matadero” – a former slaughter
house – in Madrid to discuss and elaborate their ideas in a one-week long artistic residencies.
The fine line our creative minds will have to balance: How can you bridge a historical context depictedby an archival document into merchandise with out-of-the-box changeovers without unhinging therelevance the archival treasure has in view of our shared European heritage?
Archival literacy online course
With the support of the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning at the Cork Institute ofTechnology, the project will develop an online training course on archival literacy oriented towards
teachers introducing younger generations to the potential of archives and facilitate knowledgetransfer in line with the progression of digital technology.

82

Some of the 741
visitors we hosted
during 2019

11

OLDER GENERATION(ACTIVE AGEING)
IN THE ARCHIVES

The prospect of retirement from work gives an opportunity to many people to seek fresh directions andnew challenges. Furthering one’s own education at the same time is equally important. Internationally,archives seem to become an increasingly popular place to pursue such new initiatives.
As the archives increasingly adapt to the digital age, many of the elderly generation are faced with thechallenges of new technologies. The archives clearly need to adapt to their active and potential users andexplore together how to improve their cooperation with user communities and keep opening their doors
for the silver researchers (>60 years).
The National Archives of Malta is participating in an EU-funded project called European Digital Treasures,Managing Centennial Archives in the 21st Century (see page 79-81). One of the goals of the project is to
explore and co-shape these initiatives together with the silver researchers.
To learn more about the nature of silver researchers in archives, the project developed a survey to identify
pan-European fields of interests and acquire more knowledge about the specific needs of this specificuser community.
The following are the findings of the survey we have carried among 54 archive users, over 60 years ofage, between September and November 2019.

Section A. General User Data
Question 1. Age Ranges
Most respondents were between 60 and 65 years old (21), while there were 9 over 75s. Graph 1 shows
all ages participating in the survey.

26%

60 - 6539%

66 - 7018%
17%

71 - 75
older than 75

84

Question 2. Gender
Graph 2 indicates a gender-based imbalance of archive use. From 54 participants, 40 were male against
14 females. These numbers show that >60 year old males using the Archives in Malta are almost threefold
the number of females.

26%

FemaleMale

74%

Question 3. Academic Background
The third question was aimed to discover the academic background of >60 year olds making use of archival
Institutions. In Malta, the clear majority (92.5%) have finished Secondary Education, and a considerable
number (almost 19%) had read a master’s degree. Graph 3 illustrates the results further.

30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%

)
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0

Responses

85

Question 4. Professional Background
Question 4 required the contributors to specify their professional background. 41.5% of the answers
reveal that the majority come from the cultural and creative sector. The following graph demonstrates thevast spectrum of careers behind the participants.
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%

Other Services

Transportation and Communications

Trade and Hospitality

SportsServices

Research (scientific community)

Public Administration (civil servants)

Other Manufacturing Industries

Law

Information Science

Industries of Aeronautics

Health System

Financial, Legal, Insurance and Rental

Energy, Water, Mining and the Chemical

Education

Cultural and creative sector - Philosophy

Cultural and creative sector - Philology

Cultural and creative sector - Music

Cultural and creative sector - History

Cultural and creative sector - Geography

Cultural and creative sector - Cinema

Cultural and creative sector - Arts

Construction

Agriculture, livestock, Hunting, Forestry0

Responses
Question 5. Nationality
When it comes to Nationality, the survey indicated that most participants were Maltese (39 of 54). Other
nationalities were the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Canada. Table 1 gives an account of thenationalities of participants in this survey.
Nationality

NumberAustralian

4

MalteseBritishFrenchCanadian

39
5
3
2

86

B.

Data about the Archive

Question 6. What archive are you in?
Table 2 indicates the archive being used by the participants.
Respondents

Responses

50

National Archives of Malta

4

Notarial Archives, Valletta

Question 7. Reason of visit to the archive
When asked about the reason for their visit to the archive; the responses portrayed various interest andmotives. The main three reasons were: professional research, genealogical research and finally personalresearch. Personal research was the primary motivation behind the researchers’ visit to the respective
archive, as seen in graph 5.

45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%

rio
sit
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0

Responses

87

Question 8. For how long have you been visiting this Archive?
Table 3 demonstrates how long the respondents have been visiting the archive. Most of the researchers
have only started to visit the archives for less than a year.
Answer Choices

Responses

Between 1 and 3 years

12.20%

Less than 1 year

More than 3 years

75.61%

31

12.20%

5

5

Question 9. How often do you visit this archive?
Question 9 investigates the frequency of archive visits by the participants. Table.4 indicates that the clear
majority call at the archives “very occasionally”. On the other hand, only one respondent goes to thearchives daily.
Answer Choices

Responses

everyday

2.70%

1

once a week

21.62%

8

once a month

5.41%

2

very occasionally70.27%

26

Question 10. What do you think about the Archive you visited?
The researchers had to rate various aspects of their experience, such as the aesthetics of the building
and the customer care involved. By analysing the weighted average, it is evident that respondents toour survey were most satisfied with the Welcome/reception of the archives visited and the user attention
received.
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

W
el

co
m

e/
R

ec

ep

tio

n
Ph
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to sicth al Aebu cceild ssin/regfre Locsh ke
m rs
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re ts
as
Us
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at
Q
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ct
m w
ive
en or
ta k
ne
ry
ss
of
th
e
bu
ild
in
g

0

Weighted
Average88

Question 11. Are you satisfied with the results from your visit today?
Furthermore, survey participants had to rate their results following the visit on the same day, and asubstantial majority of 71.7% thought that their visit was “Very Good”. Table 5 shows the whole picture
and reactions.
Very goodGood

1 71.70% 38

15.09%

Adequate
8

5.66%

Poor

3

Very Poor

0.00%

0

1.89%

N/A

Weighted
AverageTotal

1 5.66% 3

72

8.83

Question 12. Value the Services related to the research
In question 12, the survey required the respondents to analyse the services on offer at their chosenarchive further. Once again, the question used a rating scale varying from Very Good to Very Poor. Usersat the National Archives/Notarial Archives were happy with the seating capacity, document delivery anddocument ordering and not satisfied with the speed of computers the online catalogue and microfilm/
microfiche facilities. Graph 1.7 illustrates the weighted average of feedback received.

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

er

vic
es

s

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gu

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/se

rvi

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ab

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of
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ity

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m

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0

Weighted
Average89

Question 13. What did you get from your visit today?
In Question 13 participants were asked to state the reason for the visit to the Archives on that day when
they were answering the questionnaire.
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%

pe

Ot

he

r(

ple

as

es

pe
ng

cif

op

y)

le

on
Me

na
rso
Pe

eti

sfa
ati
ls

hts
rig

tal
en

nd

am

cti

cis
ex

er

os
rp
pu

ul

ns
Tr
a

e

es

se
wf
La

ye
nc

pa

re

nf
tio

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xe

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or

yo

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ma
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for
es
ch

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se

ar

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isu

e
tiv
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mi
ad

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nfo
Re

Ac

co

mp

lis

hi

St

ud

ati

y/l

on

ea

ne

rn

ed

ing

s

0%

Responses

Question 14. Did you miss on any facilities or services in the Archive?
Question 14 investigates the amenities at the Archives in use. Participants were asked if they “missedon any facilities and services in the Archive”. It stipulated a simple Yes or No answer, asking for further
comments when answered negatively. 88.24% were happy with the whole experience of service at theArchives frequented (see also Table 1.6). 3 respondents gave negative feedback. Their main concerns
were the following:•••“When you ask for something which is not catalogued, the answer is no, and there is no othertentative from their side.”“Could do with another PC.”
“No internet connection.”

Answer Choices
YesNo
If yes, what did you miss?

Responses
5.88%
88.24%

3
45
3

90

Question 15. What did you find more interesting in the Archive?
For the next question (Number 15), the exercise was after what is that the researchers find interestingin that archive. Through and open-end answer, the Malta exercise gathered varied feedback about thiscohort’s interests, including “Old detailed plans” and “Dates and details of a company which date back to1880”. For all the comments, please see Table 1.7 below. It must be remarked that for this question, theMalta survey; had the most unanswered/skipping with 29 out of 54.

Passports

The discipline

Access to a wealth of information

Various contracts of the Theatre
and the Plague

Documents about my family

Passports applications

Information about my ancestors

Original documents

Easy accessibility to information.

The availability of the documents Staff assistanceeasily accessible

Dates and details of a company
which date back to 1880

The information I found and theexcellent staff

The ability/availability of
passports

The register of the Secretaries
and the names of outgoingpassengers

The amount of historical
documents available

The organisation and being wellservedInformation about the person I
am researching about

Organisation and availability ofrecords

Lot of information about ourheritage, costumes etc.

Passports certificate of mygrandfather

Old detailed plans

Very old plans, well done!

Staff assistance

The research on the Computer

As well as the relative
information there was also
historical information

Staff is very helpful and very
knowledgeable

The application of my ancestor
when they joined the King’s Own
Regiment

91

Question 16. In which programmes would you participate as an unpaid volunteer for the archive?
The final question in the Silver Researchers Survey dealt with the volunteer sector. The questionnaire
tries to discover the interest (if any) of elderly researches to take part in volunteering at an Archives. For
this question, there were more respondents with an answer; however, 15 out of 54 still decided to skip
this question. The remaining 39, willing to volunteer, had a possibility of 15 options. Most participants(over 25%) preferred to either collaborate in specific projects of Local History or by transcribing where
necessary. Graph 1.9 presents all the answer received.
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%

y
cif

(O

the

r(

ple

as

es

pe

g
bin

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Tr
a

ns

ex

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ific

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sp

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rn

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the

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lp

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lp
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an

dp

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inf

an

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ga

nis

ge

na
Ma

ma

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of

f

ati

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fic

us

Ide

nti

he

nt

so

Co

ur

se

Ma

na

ge

vis

its

0%

Responses

C.

Conclusion

Persons over 60 years making use of two of the archival repositories in Malta are satisfied. It seems thatthe urge of this age cohort to experience an archive is gradually on the rise and experience their activity
within an archival environment as attractive. The overall service at both the Archives frequented is highly
satisfying.
These findings are encouraging; however, one must not put aside the negative responses which needattention.
Another factor is the gender imbalance. Further action is required to attract female presence to ourrepositories.
We should also consider ways and means to attract foreign researchers to our shores to explore ourresourceful repositories.
One more possibility was put in the spotlight through this survey: volunteering. More effort may be required
to encourage and facilitate the elderly in Malta to volunteer within an Archival sector.

12

UNAUDITEDFINANCIALSTATEMENTS, 2019

Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income

Notes
IncomeGovernment Subvention
Funds from the Ministry for Gozo
Other Income

2
3
4

Total recurrent income

Operational Costs
Administrative Expenses(Deficit) / surplus before Interest
Interest receivable(Deficit) / surplus for the year

Stat I
Stat II

7

2019

2018

€

€

800,000
96,61932,548750,000
92,671
43,765929,167

886,436(817,155)(124,269)(570,498)(257,310)(12,257)

58,628(12,257)

58,628--

93

Statement of Financial Position
As at 31 December 2019
2019
€

2018
€

9

189,801
27,706

229,001

10

2,830
220,752

2,372
207,201

223,582

209,573441,089

438,574

151,869

164,126

151,869

164,126

207,964

212,963

81,256
81,212

58,8892,596
61,485441,089

438,574

Notes
ASSETS
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
Deferred expenses
Current assets

Trade and other receivables
Cash at bankTotal Assets
RESERVES AND LIABILITIES

Accumulated fund
- Recurrent vote and operating activities

11

Long Term Liabilities
Trade and other payables
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
Trade and other payables
Bank overdraft
Accruals, other payables and Deferred Income

1212Total Reserves and Liabilities

Statement of Changes in Accumulated Fund

Recurrent vote &operating activities€

Accumulated
Fund€

Financial period 31 December 2019
Balance at 1 January 2019
Deficit for the year
Balance at 31 December 201916

164,126(12,257)

164,126(12,257)

151,869

151,869

94

Statement of Cash Flows
2019

2018

€

€

(12,257)

58,628(25,084)
58,493
21,152(25,666)
63,05296,014(458)
22,367

(554)
8,190

Cash generated from operations
Interest Received

43,061-

103,650-

Net Cash from Operating Activities

43,061

103,650(20,376)(182,325)

5,000

100,000

Net Cash from Investing Activities(26,914)(82,325)

Net movement in cash and cash equivalents

16,147

21,325

Cash and cash equivalents at the Beginning of theYear

204,605

183,280

220,752

204,605

Notes
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Surplus (Deficit) for the Financial Year before transfer
of depreciation.
Adjustments for:
Release of Grant
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Interest Receivable
Operating profit before working capital changes(Increase) / Decrease in Debtors
Increase / (Decrease) in Creditors

Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Purchase of Tangible assets
Deferred Income Grants

Cash and cash equivalents at the End of the Year

13

95

Notes to the financial statements
1. Accounting policies
The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these financial statements are set
out below:
Accounting convention and basis of preparation
These financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and under the historical cost convention
Tangible Fixed Assets
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation.
Gains and losses on disposal of tangible fixed assets are determined by reference to their carrying
amount and are taken into account in determining operating profit.
Depreciation is provided for on the straight–line method in order to write off the cost of each asset to
its residual value over its estimated useful life as follows:
Improvements to Premises
Passengers Lift
Shelving
Motor Vehicles
Climate Control Equipment
Computer Equipment
Computer Software
Office Equipment
Furniture and Fittings

15%
15%
15%
12.5%
10%
20%
33%
10%
10%

Cash and Cash equivalents
Cash in hand and at banks and short-term deposits which are held to maturity are carried at cost.
Cash and cash equivalents are defined as cash in hand, demand deposits and short-term, highly
liquid investments readily convertible to known amounts of cash and subject to insignificant risk ofchanges in value.
For the purpose of the Statement of Cash Flow, cash and cash equivalents consist of cash in handand deposits at banks, net of outstanding bank overdrafts.
Creditors
Amounts payable are carried at cost which is the fair value of the consideration to be paid in the
future for goods and services received, whether or not billed to the company.

96

2. Government Subvention
Amounts advanced by Government for recurrent expenditure are made in the form of subventions
from the Consolidated Fund in accordance with Section 20 of the National Archives Act. In accordance with the selected accounting policy, these amounts are accounted for upon an accrual basis.
3. Funds from Ministry for Gozo
In 2007 an agreement was reached with the Ministry for Gozo to transfer monies from its vote to the
National Archives of Malta to finance the Gozo branch’s employment costs and contribute towards
its general and administrative running costs.
4. Other Income
Other income is mainly generated from photocopy services and digital images, sale of own publications and advertising in the newsletter.
5. Payroll costs and personnel information

Wages and Salaries
Social Security contributions

Number of employees as at period end:
Full time
Part time

2019
€

2018
€

649,941
43,971

455,187
154,797

693,912609,984

22
3
25

21
0
21

2019
€

2018
€

693,91258,4932,000

611,437
63,052
2,006

2019
€

2018
€

-

-

6. Surplus before interest
The surplus (deficit) before interest is stated after charging:

Staff Costs (Note 5)
Depreciation of tangible assets (Note 9)
Auditors’ remuneration
7. Interest Receivable

Bank Interest
8. Taxation

The National Archives of Malta is exempt from any liability for the payment of income tax in accordance with Section 13 of the National Archives Act, 2005.

79,468

As at
31.12.2019

As at
31.12.2019

Net Book
Value

As at
31.12.2019

Charge for the
year

As at
01.01.2019

51,56927,8983,974

23,9244,478

Additions

Depreciation

74,990As at
01.01.2019

Cost

€

-

6,965

-

6,965

6,965

-

6,965

€

10,39985,515

3,885

81,63095,914-

95,914€

Improvement Passenger
to Premises
Lift
Shelving

9. Tangible fixed assets

15,171

34,294

2,154

32,14049,465-49,465€Motor
Vehicles647

29,153657

28,49629,801

1,305

28,496€65,40898,40032,762

65,638

163,809

10,026

153,783€

15,131

17,953562

17,391

33,084

1,704

31,380€3,523

34,892

3,841

31,051

38,415378

38,037€

Climate Computer Computer
OfficeControl Equipment Software Equipment

9,818

75,415

8,523

66,892

85,233

2,485

82,748€

Furniture
andFittings-

25,611

2,135

23,476

25,611-

25,611

€

Fire
Alarm
System18,135---

18,135

189,801

436,095

58,493

377,601

625,889

20,376605,524€€

18,135

Total

Collections

97

98

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued
10. Trade and Other Receivables

Trade Receivable
Prepayments

2019
€

2018
€

425
2,405

425
1,947

2,830

2,372

11. Accumulated Funds
Capital Vote
The Capital Vote represents assets taken over from Government, net of depreciation.
Recurrent vote and operating activities
The recurrent vote and operating activities represent the accumulated deficit or surplus resulting
from operations.
12. Trade and other payables
2019

2018

€

€

3,371
77,885

6,888
52,001

81,25658,889Amounts falling due within one year:
PayablesAccruals and Deferred Income

13. Cash and Cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash in hand and balances with banks.

99Statement I
Operational Costs

2019
€

2018
€

693,912611,437

Water and Electricity

9,288

11,102

Insurance

1,855

4,572

Telecom and Data Expenses

16,288

7,585

Cleaning Expenses

17,255

16,368

Repairs office equipment

16,311

16,916

Office Expenses

1,922

7,842

Repairs and Upkeep

1,831

-

8,523

15,377657-

Computer Equipment

32,762

41,451

Computer Software

562-

Office equipment

3,842

-

Improvements to Premises

3,973

3,749

Fire Alarm System

2,135

-

Shelving

3,885

Motor Vehicles

2,154

2,475

817,155

738,874

Salaries and Social Security

Depreciation Charge:Furniture and Fittings
Climate Control Equipment

Total Operational Costs

100

Statement II
Administrative Expenses

2019

2018

€

€

Rent

49,07824,179Staff related expenses

2,019

5,225

Motor Vehicle Expenses

3,789

1,745

Printing, postage and stationery

5,495

6,340

Audit Fee

2,076

2,012

Professional fees

24,34928,760-99

Conservation Lab Expenses and Records Management

4,817

5,965

Travelling

10,213

8,247

Subscriptions and Licenses

13,1282,849

Miscellaneous Expenses

7,558

3,019

Bank Charges

809

494

Advertising

938-

124,269

88,934

Repairs and MaintenanceTotal Administrative Expenses

The National Archives of Malta
Hospital Street, Rabat, RBT 1043
Tel: +356 2145 9863
Email: customercare.archives@gov.mt • Website: www.nationalarchives.gov.mt