REPORT ON THE STATE OF MALTESE ARCHIVES Compiled by the National Archives on behalf of the National Archives Council December 2010 © 2010 THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES COUNCIL Published by The National Archives Council, December 2010 c/o National Archives Hospital Street Rabat RBT1043 Malta http://www.nationalarchives.gov.mt

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Hon Dolores Cristina, Minister of Education, Employment and the Family and her staff; the President of the National Archives Council Magistrate Joseph Cassar and all members of the National Archives Council; the National Archivist Charles J. Farrugia and his staff at the three repositories of the National Archives; Mr Martin Hampton; the Friends of the National Archives; the Notarial Archives Resources Council; Dr Joseph Bezzina Photography: Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family; Mr Stephen Busuttil; Mr Kevin Casha; Mr Joseph Amodio; National Library of Malta; DOI Design: Ms Marlene Gouder

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TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE BY THE HON MINISTER D. CRISTINA 5 MESSAGE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE NAC MAG. J. CASSAR 6 MESSAGE BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVIST MR. C. J. FARRUGIA 7 1.0 AIMS 9 2.0 THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES COUNCIL 9 2.1 FUNCTIONS 9 2.2 COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP 10 2.3 SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES 10 3.0 NATIONAL ARCHIVES OPERATIONS 12 3.1 RECORDS MANAGEMENT UNIT 12 3.2 ARCHIVES PROCESSING UNIT 13 3.3 PUBLIC SERVICES UNIT 13 3.4 INTERNATIONAL FORA 14 4.0 THE STATE OF MALTESE ARCHIVES 16 4.1 RECORDS MANAGEMENT 16 4.2 LOCAL GOVERNANCE 18 4.2.1 LOCAL COUNCILS 22 4.3 DIGITISATION 22 4.3.1 LOCAL PROJECTS 22 4.3.2 DIGITISATION AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY 24 4.3.3 INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION 24 5.0 OVERSEAS PARTICIPATION 26 5.1 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ARCHIVES 26 5.2 ICA OPERATIONS 27 5.3 ICA MISSION STATEMENT 27 5.4 CITRA 2009 - MALTA 28 6.0 SUPPORT GROUPS 29 6.1 FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES 29 6.2 NOTARIAL ARCHIVES RESOURCES COUNCIL 30 REFERENCES 32

APPENDICES A. National Archives Annual Public Lectures 34 B. Archives Course Theses submitted to University of Malta 35 C. Proposed Classification Scheme for Local Council Archives 37 D. Programme of CITRA 2009 Malta Conference 39 E. Universal Declaration on Archives, CITRA 2009 41 F. Progress on Recommendations proposed in the 2008 43

State of the Archives Report

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In line with Act V, 2005, the National Archives Council is presenting the Maltese public with the second national assessment of the state of Maltese archives. When in 2005 Government reformed the archives sector through new legislation, it created the necessary legal instruments to ensure that this sector be constantly monitored. It followed the model established earlier in the Cultural Heritage Act and bound the Council with the responsibility to compile an extensive report on the state of archives every two years.

Two years ago the Council, through the National Archives, opted to assess the situation of archives through the distribution of a survey. This year the decision was taken to focus on areas which are most current in the local archives domain. These include digitization and the state of records management at Local Council level. During the two years covered by this report Malta hosted the largest conference so far for the archives sector. 250 delegates from 91 countries spent a week in Malta discussing the theme ‘Imagining the Archivist of the twenty first century: new strategies for education and training’. The conference was a challenge which once more underlined the dynamism and potential of our National Archives. It was also a privilege for Malta to be the country where the Universal Declaration on Archives was approved in principle.

I take this opportunity to thank the National Archives for the constant and consistent effort to provide better stewardship in this sector. The commitment of the members of the National Archives Council towards forging better synergies between the various entities responsible for the preservation of, and accessibility to, our archival holdings is worthy of full praise and appreciation. The Government is committed to further promote this sector, as evident in the Financial Estimates for 2011 with another increase in the budgetary allocation for the National Archives. This report is another indicator that the sector is expanding and fine-tuning its management structures. It is also an invitation to all involved to work harder towards exploiting the full potential of these cultural heritage treasures.

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Archives “enlightened, solitary, infinite, perfectly unmoving, armed with precious volumes, pointless, incorruptible and secret – will endure”

(Fictions - Jorge Luis Borges) Culture reacting to the past in the present must preserve the collective memory of its makers. Culture is subject to the law of change. The lives, the behaviours, the events which change from day to day may be carried away by the flowing rivers of the humdrum of daily life. Hence the importance of records. The archivist, loving, caring, separating the chaff from the corn, collecting bits and pieces in the labyrinth of events carries the burden of preservation. He has to be a humble yet avid seeker. A pretty difficult task demanding training, patience and perseverance. Such a heavy burden not to be beyond human endurance requires solidarity in a friendly environment.

Shrouded in mist yet hopeful the future beckons. This is the second National Forum which the National Archives Council is holding in terms of the National Archives Act of 2005. The report lists our activities during the past years. Today's forum will mainly focus on the activities of local councils. Towns and villages in the early 15th century had their representatives who discussed local matters and in some way or other forwarded petitions to emperors, kings and vice-roys. Documents are to be found at the Banca Giuratale and in the Notarial Archives in St. Christopher Street Valletta. Documents unearthed in Palermo, Messina, Naples, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome have shed light on our history. Local government, implying a decentralisation of power forms part of our culture and is enshrined in our constitution. The citizen participates directly in the daily activities of the town/village community with a view to achieving the common good. Subsidiarity at its best. My thanks to Minister Dolores Christina who has supported our activities and considered the advice tendered to her by the Council in terms of the Archives Act, the archivist, the assistant archivist, their staff in Malta and Gozo, the Friends of the National Archives, Mr. Michael Bonnici who has set up a 'Maltese Pharmacy' at Santo Spirito which is open to the public. Ladies and Gentlemen, I bid you welcome.

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Monitoring the health of the archives sector in a particular country is not an easy task. Each archival repository has its own identity deriving from its history, legal or traditional foundation, and resources and management tools it possesses. The fonds which constitute an archive also have their particular colourful history which often dictates the methods of preserva-tion employed and the type of access to be granted. These challenges are very much present in the Maltese archives domain. When in 2005 the legislator obliged the National Archives Council to monitor the state of the Maltese archives every two years, it was a decision towards transparency, accountability, and consistency. It gave the necessary guarantee that the often forgotten holdings will be revisited on a regular basis. It was a strong effort to bring the records out of the basement and into the boardroom. The first report was published in 2008 and based its findings on a questionnaire covering various aspects of the operations of the main archival entities. This is the second such exercise. It puts before us more data on the certain aspects of the profession and focus on areas deemed of national priority at the moment. On the whole the report registers consistent and extensive developments on certain fronts. The last two years registered greater awareness on the value of archives for society, and greater support by the government and NGO’s alike. We also witnessed the successful hosting of the CITRA conference in Malta, an event which placed the Maltese archives sector at the forefront of international archival activity. These achievements make us all proud. Notwithstanding there are areas which need to be focused upon. Amongst these a top preoccupation is the lack of purpose-built archival repositories in the country. The second drawback is the lack of accessibility of most of our reading rooms. Now that the legal structure is an effective and modern one, that we are train-ing archivists locally, and also employing professionally trained staff, the issues of buildings and physical accessibility need to come to the focus of the authorities. The last two years also saw the development of the National Archives web-site and the infrastructure of the National Reg-ister of Archives on-line. During the next two years we plan to refine this tool, promote it amongst archivists and reposito-ries, and make sure that we get the widest participation possible. It is a very effective tool through which even small un-derstaffed and underfinanced archives can have their basic finding aids on-line for the reading public. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all persons and entities responsible for archives in Malta for the effort they are making to preserve our holdings and make them as widely accessible as possible. I also invite readers to send us views, criticism, and suggestions on how we can improve this periodic review.

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1.0 AIMS The Report on the State of Maltese Archives is a requirement under the National Archives Act 2005, article 15 (2) which states that ‘the [National Archives] Council shall biannually convene a National Forum about the archives, to discuss the state of the archives generally after receiving a relative report to be drawn up by the Council’. The Council refers to the National Archives Council, also set up by virtue of Act V, 2005 article 14. Thus, the report aims to collate as much data as possible about the current state of archives in Malta.

2.0 THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES COUNCIL Article 14 of the National Archives Act 2005 (Cap. 477) stipulates that: 1. There shall be a National Archives Council, appointed by the Minister, which shall be composed as follows:

a Chairperson; the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage ex officio or his representative; the Chairperson of Heritage Malta ex officio or his representative; the National Librarian ex officio or his representative; the Permanent Secretary in the office of the Prime Minister ex officio or his representative; a person to represent the non-governmental archives or records centres; three other persons chosen from amongst persons known to be users of and familiar with archives, records manage-ment and information professions, or working in non-governmental organisations dedicated to information and ar-chives, one of whom shall be appointed by the Minister responsible for Gozo.

2. The National Archivist and the Assistant National Archivist for Gozo shall attend all the meetings of the Council but

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

3. The members of the Council shall be appointed for a term of three years, but the members so appointed shall be eligi-

ble for reappointment on the expiration of their term of office. 4. The meetings of the Council shall be called by the Chairperson as often as may be necessary but at least once every

two months either on his own initiative or at the request of any two of the other members. 5. Half the number of the members for the time being constituting the Council shall form a quorum. Decisions shall be

adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting. The Chairperson shall have an initial vote and in the event of an equality of votes, a casting vote.

6. Any member who has a direct or indirect interest in any contract or other action made or proposed to be made by the

Council in connection with the National Archives, shall disclose the nature of his interest at the first meeting of the Council after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge. Such disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, and such member shall withdraw from any meeting while such matter is discussed or decided upon by the Council.

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

proceedings.

2.1 FUNCTIONS Article 15 of the same legislation defines the functions of the Council: 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, the Council shall

promote the National Archives and other record keeping entities; ensure and facilitate the collaboration between the different stakeholders with direct or indirect responsibility for the protection and management of the archives sector; advise the Minister on the management of archives in Malta;

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draw the attention of the Minister or of any organisation or person responsible for archives to any urgent action that may be considered necessary for the better management of archives and records; advise the Minister on any matter arising from the provisions of this Act and on any other matter referred to it by the Minister.

2. The Council shall also biannually convene a National Forum about the archives to discuss the state of the archives

generally after receiving a relative report to be drawn up by the Council. There shall be invited to attend at such Fo-rum, among others, Departments and other Government entities, Mayors of Local Councils, owners of private ar-chives and their archivists, non-governmental organisations having an interest in the maintenance and safeguarding of archives and public records, the University of Malta, other education institutions, specialists, consultants, represen-tatives of the commercial sector, persons who make use of the archives, and any such other party showing to the Council in writing that it has an interest therein. The Forum procedures shall be published and sent to the Minister.

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

President who is to be appointed by the Council. 2.2 COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP The term of the first Council that was appointed in 2006 came to an end in 2009. The Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport as a result approved the selection of the following members to sit on the new National Archives Council for a further period of three years, with effect from the 29 May 2009: President: Magistrate Dr Joseph Cassar Members: Mr Anthony Pace, Superintendent of Cultural Heritage Ms Isabel Vella, on behalf of Heritage Malta Ms Maroma Camilleri, on behalf of the Libraries Department Mr Leonard Callus, on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister Mgr. Rev. wann Azzopardi Dr Lillian Sciberras Mr Max Farrugia Mr John Cremona The National Archivist, Mr Charles J. Farrugia and the Assistant National Archivist, Rev. Dr Joseph Bezzina are requested to attend all Council meetings. 2.3 SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES Following the first National Forum on Archives that was held on 22 October 2008, the National Archives Council met on nine separate occasions. During its meetings the Council discussed matters that were either referred to it by the National Archivist, raised by members of the Council, or proposed by the owners of other archives or stakeholders. The main issues discussed were: 11 December 2008

Archives website development progress and the launch of the same was postponed till the following year; Update regarding discussions with OPM concerning the necessity of recruiting records officers in view of the requirements of the National Archives Act and the advent of the Freedom of Information Act; Information re CITRA 2009 – ICA background, challenge to generate funds, choice of organising company, conference venue, sponsorships; Discussions about the feasibility of building an archives extension close to the present repository.

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Recruitment of records officers in government departments, and support for state employees to undergo university studies in this field; Finalisation of the national archives’ website and testing of e-services prior to official launch; Logistics of the forthcoming CITRA 2009 and the issue of funding for this international conference;

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Transfer of all records in the Public Registry to their new premises in the former Evans Building.

07 May 2009

Approval of government funding for CITRA 2009, and presentation of the promotional leaflets; Examination of the draft proposal from the Management Efficiency Unit regarding the recruitment of records officers; Issue regarding the request for an extension of the national archives premises; Developments regarding the launch of the archives’ website followed by a demo presentation; Information about the positive review on “Guardians of Memory” and details of distribution rights to third parties.

17 September 2009

Update on the CITRA 2009 conference and details regarding an exhibition to be held concurrently at the National Library; Details concerning hitches encountered in the last minute preparations of the archives website; Progress made in the matter of the archives building extension; The importance of concluding the issue regarding the recruitment of records officers in government minis-tries; Restoration of the old pharmacy at the National Archives and its exclusive private opening for CITRA 2009 delegates.

17 December 2009

Developments, regarding the recruitment of records officers; Problems arising in connection with the extension of the archives building, and the recent proposals about the relocation of the Banca Giuratale repository; Report on the positive outcome of CITRA 2009; Presentation of the newly launched national archives’ website; Official opening of the recently restored old pharmacy; Details about bilateral archives agreement with Spain, DVD of Public Works Department design plans, and

ammieri field plans. 18 February 2010

Progress on the appointment of records officers within the state ministries;

From left to right: P. Cortis, M. Camilleri, Dr. J. Bezzina, C. Farrugia, Mag. J. Cassar, Mgr. G. Azzopardi, M. Farrugia, J. Cremona, Dr. L. Sciberras

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Emphasis on the importance of the above implementation in view of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts; The issue of the proposed take-over of the Banca Giuratale premises, and the proposition of alternative sites; The National Archives Annual Report for 2009; The matter concerning the future of the Malta Shipyards archival records prior to its privatisation.

29 April 2010

Meetings with the Management Efficiency Unit in preparation for talks with Management Personnel Office re recruitment of records officers; Details of the Mdina Open Weekend events at the Banca Giuratale, which attracted over 1500 visitors; Outcome of meeting with Malta Shipyards regarding the situation of the company’s archives, and other important issues related to this matter; Suggestions regarding publication of the State of the Archives Report, 2010; Proposal for the identification of new premises for the Gozo Archives; Transfer of the Cabrei from the Public Works Project House.

15 July 2010

Information regarding the call for applications for the post of records officers in the various ministries; Information regarding an exploratory visit to the Malta Shipyards, the removal of still existing records to the National Archives, and the question of shipyard archival material still held at Heritage Malta; Details regarding donations by tenor Paul Asciak to the National Archives; Information related to the sorting of records from St. Vincent de Paule Hospital; Queries about the position of school records archived at the National Archives; Update regarding interviews for archival posts within the National Archives.

16 September 2010

The plans to introduce courses on archives and records management at the Centre for Development, Re-search and Training; The draft of the State of Archives Report 2010; The organisation of the National Forum on Archives 2010.

4 November 2010

The retention schedule of Passport applications; The approval of the state of Archives Report 2010; A tour of the Wignacourt Museum archives.

3.0 NATIONAL ARCHIVES OPERATIONS

The years 2008-2010 were very exciting for the National Archives. Apart from the day-to-day administration of the three repositories, there was also the organisation of several events earmarked for the general public. These two years, in addi-tion, presented numerous opportunities for the local archives to get involved in various international fora. This is a sum-mary of all the activities according to category: 3.1 RECORDS MANAGEMENT UNIT

A special unit within the National Archives carried out a number of inspections in government departments to assess their respective records management practices, and assist them in establishing retention schedules of a corporate nature. The National Archivist carried out vital discussions with the Data Protection Implementation Unit (OPM), Data Protection Commissioner and MITA, to try and establish a national framework for a Records Management System.

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Regular meetings were also held with the Management Efficiency Unit, during which proposals were submitted prior to the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. Other talks centred round suggestions on the way forward for the ap-pointment of Records Officers in the Civil Service.

3.2 ARCHIVES PROCESSING UNIT The Archives Processing Unit carried on with the accession process on all records that were received at the three reposito-ries. The unit also created finding aids for these new acquisitions in order to make them accessible to the public in the reading rooms. Several accessions were added to the National Archives holdings. Apart from documents received from government de-partments there is an encouraging trend by the general public to step forward and offer their personal records. The mate-rial received is examined beforehand to verify that it constitutes national archival significance. Following accession the records undergo a sorting process during which they are cleaned and re-boxed. One particular donation came all the way from Scotland. The University of Dundee had in their possession a 17th century manuscript belonging to Canon Don Giovanni Andrea Apap Vassallo. This unique volume listed wills from the 15th to the end of the 17th century. An extensive exercise was initiated to try and standardise the structure of thousands of catalogues available in the various repositories. This is being done to create a uniform benchmark based on the widely used ISAD(G), the International Stan-dard of Archival Description. Studies are underway to identify suitable cataloguing software which will provide the basis for all future initiatives in this area.

3.3 PUBLIC SERVICES UNIT

The three repositories introduced the concept of late night hours in 2008, wherein all premises remain open late once weekly, thus offering better access to the public. Researchers immediately started making good use of this extended service. Apart from the permanent exhibition of Maltese personalities at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina, during 2008 the Na-tional Archives mounted also two exhibitions in its Gozo section, “Images of Gozo past II” and “The Coastal Defences of Gozo”. The following year two more exhibitions were put up in Gozo, “ itan tas-Sejjie ” and “Herbs, Health and Hospitals of Gozo past”. The Legal Documentation Section in Mdina held an Open Weekend during the Medieval Festival 2008, during which

View of the sorting area at the National Archives accommodat-ing thousands of incoming records awaiting sorting and cataloguing

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the National Portrait Archive and a selection of archival manuscripts were on display. The same repository repeated the event the following year. Apart from the static exhibi-tion there were also two audio visual projec-tions showing all the time. At ground floor level there were viewings of old state broad-casting documentaries, while on the first floor there was an extensive exhibition of wartime photographs and short films taken by Stan Fraser while on service duty in Malta. A short presentation on Maltese per-sonalities that made a name in Australia was delivered by Mr Mark Caruana during the same weekend. Another presentation to the public was held by Prof. Henry Frendo, during which he discussed the im-pact of the Second World War on Malta, following the viewing of a film of original footage edited by Veronica Galea. The National Archives maintained its annual appointment with its series of public lectures, a calendar event that has now been held for ten years. Details of all the talks can be found in the Appendices section at the end of this report. The old pharmacy, forming part of the earlier Santo Spirito Hospital, had been in operation since at least the 14th cen-tury. In 2009 Mr. Michael Bonnici offered to personally restore it and refurbished the place with genuine dispensing utensils, containers and other related items, all belonging to the family. The end result is a professional task carried out with a great sense of pride, and should be of great interest to historical researchers in the pharmaceutical field. The National Archives organised a course entitled 'Records Management on the advent of Freedom of Information Legislation' in collaboration with the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers. The course was held on 13 April 2010 at the Institute of Tourism Studies, St Julian’s and was delivered by ACARM Secretary Dr Teresa Bastow. The National Archives granted several requests by students for educational visits to its repositories, and also organ-ised cultural awareness tours for the public. Several students studying Systems of Knowledge, along with undergraduates from MCAST and University opted to carry out their work experience at the National Archives. A full list of archival course degree and diploma theses can be seen in the appendices section. Apart from the regular newsletters and the annual reports, in 2008 the National Archives published a book “Guardians of Memory”, containing academic essays by 25 scholars in the archival field. This publication was launched during an evening commemorating Hella Jean Bartolo Winston’s precious contribution to the archives and records management sector in Malta. The Gozo Section also published a catalogue on the “Coastal Defences of Gozo” as well as a souvenir postcard, which were distributed during the exhibition of the same name. The National Archives launched its new website in 2009. In contrast with the earlier static display of web pages, visi-tors can now search the catalogues, browse through several sections and use the e-services available: Applications to donate material to the National Memory Project, which includes thousand of photographs and films Catalogue of the fonds available in all the state repositories Online orders from the e-shop – books, reports, publications, CDs, photocopy and research services Online application for the National Register of Archives Online registration form for schools and groups visits On-line booking for the map room

3.4 INTERNATIONAL FORA The National Archives kept up its active participation in international meetings and conferences, giving the local archival sector several opportunities to extend its presence internationally, meet fellow archivists and enable the exchange of ideas with its foreign counterparts: European Commission Archives’ Expert Group (EAG) The EAG is composed of experts from all 27 EU Member States. The aim of the group is to try and increase cooperation in the field of archives. The main priorities concern preservation issues, prevention of damage and theft, management of

Students experiencing the thrill of working on primary sources during one of the school visits

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electronic records, harmonisation in EU archive laws, and the creation of an EU archive portal. The 8th meeting of this Group was convened in May 2010 in Madrid, Spain, in conjunction with the European Board of National Archivists’ bian-nual meeting. The National Archivist Mr. Charles Farrugia represented Malta in both occasions.

International Council on Archives (ICA) The principal mission of ICA is to promote the preservation and use of archives among its 1600 worldwide members in 190 countries. The National Archivist attended and addressed the 2008 conference held in Malaysia, and the following year hosted the prestigious CITRA conference in Malta in November 2009.

Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM) ACARM was founded in 1984 to provide a link for archival institutions, archivists and records managers across the Com-monwealth. During the 2008 elections of the executive committee National Archivist Charles J. Farrugia was appointed Chairman for the term 2008-2012. Two workshops on electronic records management (ERM) were held in Kuala Lumpur, 2008 and in Malta, 2009.

NeMo project: Networking Mediterranean Memories This EU funded project targets social media and archives in the Mediterranean, and aims at improving and reviving cultural and historical heritage within the area. This in turn will help strengthen the national identity and enhance cultural resources to promote cooperation networks among the Mediterranean archive institutions. This project is still under evaluation.

Archivio Storico Multimediale del Mediterraneo The National Archivist was invited by Dottor Luciano Scala, Director General of the Italian State Archives, to be one of the guest speakers in Sicily during the launching ceremony of this new portal on 31 July 2009. Mr. Farrugia presented a paper “Voyages of Discovery”.

Archives & Records Association, UK The Archives & Records Association is the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The National Archivist attended the 2009 conference in Bristol and also delivered a presentation on behalf of the Special Repositories Group, entitled “Benefits of Networking – The APEnet case study”.

Memorandum of Understanding with Spain regarding Archives This 2009 agreement will ensure the setting up of projects for the identification, description and reproduction in microfilm

The members of ACARM who attended the AGM held at Intercontinental Malta in St Julian's on 20 November 2009

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and other digital formats of documents of interest to the common history of both countries. It also includes an exchange of archival professionals through visits and technical assistance, and the development of cultural and scientific activities lead-ing to information and knowledge sharing.

Passports Database development In 2009 the National Archives arrived at an arrangement with Mr. Mark Caruana, a Migration Researcher residing in Aus-tralia, wherein the latter accepted to analyse in a chronological manner, and eventually transfer onto a computer database, all the data available in the Maltese Passport applications, dating from the 19th century onwards. Once this project is ready this extensive digitised catalogue will serve as a valuable finding aid for future researchers. 4.0 THE STATE OF THE MALTESE ARCHIVES The first report submitted in 2008 concentrated mainly on a nationwide exercise carried out by a working group set up by the Council, to try and determine the state of the archives in the Maltese islands. This large scale task had taken the form of a questionnaire that was forwarded to all government departments and agencies, ecclesiastical authorities and religious orders, band clubs and other private archives. In the report, reference was made to the deliberate exclusion of local coun-cils from participation in the questionnaire. The main reason given was that these committees had only started functioning in 1993 and so did not yet possess records that could be considered relevant for that particular exercise. The final outcome had given the Council a relatively fair picture of the current archival situation and, furthermore, provided a great deal of essential data to enable further analysis of the present state of affairs. The Council is however also fully conscious of the fact that progress in the archival sector is achieved at a much slower pace when compared to other insti-tutions. With this reality in mind it was agreed that this second report should take a different path altogether. As a result, this year the Council chose to concentrate on specific issues affecting the local archival sector and singled out three themes for closer assessment:

Records Management Local Councils Digitisation

4.1 RECORDS MANAGEMENT The concept of managing state records in the National Archives of Malta is not a novel one, given that the first attempts go back almost a century. Following a request by Lord Milner, Secretary of State for the Colonies, a special commission was appointed in June 1919 to look into the state of the archives and report back any measures to be taken in this regard. The results were presented in two different reports but the general emphasis was on the lack of a proper cataloguing system and a centralised repository for the archives of the Order, since at the time these records were scattered in various places. The following year Dr. Charles McNeill came over from Ireland to research the Order’s Archives and confirmed the need for detailed finding aids to further assist researchers in their studies. In 1930 Frederick W. Ryan too, noted the lack of ar-chival organisation and proposed the setting up of an Institute of Historical Research in Malta to advise the government in this field. The authorities duly took up his suggestion and the new body started functioning the following year under the presidency of Sir Harry Luke. During a period of almost twenty years this institute was involved in the publication of several specialist monographs related to the Archives of the Order.

Dr Tonio Borg, Deputy Prime

Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, and Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube,

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain signing a

Memorandum of Understanding about collaboration in the Ar-

chives sector on 26 November 2009

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In January 1936 a detailed questionnaire entitled “International Guide to Archives” was sent to the Maltese government by an advisory committee of archives experts within the League of Nations. The reply by Sir Harry Luke shed some light on how the archives were managed at the time. At the end of that same year Sir Charles Bonham-Carter presented a report on the methodology used for the preservation of state records. In his statement he remarked about the reckless decision that had been taken about 70 years earlier, when, due to lack of storage space the authorities had decided to basically destroy several departmental records and public correspondence dating from 1800 to 1852. Following cessation of enemy action in World War II, the need to resume the necessary study on the situation of archives was being felt stronger than ever, more so in view of the war’s negative effect on the numerous records spread around the islands. In May 1944 an eminent archivist Sir Hilary Jenkinson was invited over to prepare a report about the state of the archives. His farsighted findings were summarised under eleven recommendations and an Archives Committee was sub-sequently formed in 1946 to discuss his report. In March 1971 the University of Malta organised a national conference, ‘Maltese History: What Future?’ Mr uzè Cassar Pullicino was one of the key speakers and read a paper “Departmental Records in Malta: their appraisal and retention”. In his presentation he addressed for the first time the problem related to the huge amount of records created by the Maltese government. Cassar Pullicino at that time had suggested the adoption of a rational system of appraisal and retention, based on the standards of the former Public Records Office in UK. The following year the government of the day appointed a committee presided by Cassar Pullicino to look into the prac-tices of preservation and disposal of state documents, and to recommend administrative criteria and measures for the proper management of such records. Fourteen years later another committee under the chairmanship of Mr John Sultana was set up to review the findings of the 1972 report and establish procedures for managing the state records. The resulting evaluation process was entrusted in the able hands of Architect Michael Ellul, who back in 1972 had been appointed to take charge of the State Archives in Malta. With the assistance of Cassar Pullicino, they started going through all govern-ment files created after 1947, to select those records that were regarded as archival material. The process was an arduous task, and became even more so after the National Archives officially opened its doors in Rabat in 1994. The sheer quantity of departmental records being received was already running into several thousands, and the volume was increasing year by year. The departments did not have any proper guidelines to follow when disposing of their old documents. As a result they were simply depositing everything at the repository, without carrying out any prior appraisal exercise to determine which of them needed to be retained. This shortcoming was creating a serious storage problem at the National Archives and it was becoming apparent that clear legislation was needed in this area. A decisive breakthrough was finally achieved in May 2005. Following persistent lobby-ing both by the National Archives and the Friends of the National Archives, both sides of the Maltese Parliament in a rare demonstration of consensus, unanimously endorsed a completely new National Archives Act that took into consideration the pressing issues that the archival sector had been experiencing all these years. This law finally cleared the way for the

The inauguration of the Head Office of the National Archives in Rabat on 28 October 1994 by the President of Malta H.E. Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.

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initiation of consultations regarding the implementation of record management practices within the state departments, and the eventual recruitment of records officers to supervise this procedure. 4.2 LOCAL GOVERNANCE Local Government was established in 1993 following Parliament’s approval of the Local Councils Act (Chapter 363 of the Laws of Malta) on 30 June 1993. This law set up local councils in 67 localities (later increased to 68), and was modelled on the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Council of Europe), which the Maltese Government had signed and rati-fied. According to this Act, a local council

“shall be a statutory local government authority having a distinct legal personality and capable of enter-ing into contracts, of suing and being sued, and of doing all such things and entering into such transac-tions as are incidental or conducive to the exercise and performance of its functions as are allowed un-der the Act.”

Today, Malta has 68 local councils – 54 in Malta and 14 in Gozo. The Local Councils Act was revised considerably by the Local Councils (Amendment) Act 1999 [Act No. XXI of 1999] published on 21 December 1999, and Act No. XVI of 2009 as part of the Local Government Reform 2009. Another important step taken to consolidate Local Government in Malta was when the system of local government was entrenched in the Constitution of Malta. As a result, on 24 April 2001, Act No. XIII of 2001 established that: “The State shall adopt a system of local government whereby the territory of Malta shall be divided into such number of localities as may by law be from time to time determined, each locality to be administered by a Local Council elected by the residents of the locality and established and operating in terms of such law as may from time to time be in force.” Nevertheless, this was not the first kind of municipal administration for the Maltese islands. The earliest documents pre-served at the National Archives that pertain to some form of local government, go back some 560 years. The following is a historical outline of municipal administration, together with details of related records found in the repositories of Rabat, Mdina and Gozo. Aragonese Rule The earliest recorded municipal body – the Università was founded around 1350 with the intention of defending local inter-ests – at a time when Malta and Gozo were ruled by the Aragonese from Sicily. It was broadly similar to many town coun-cils throughout the Western Mediterranean regions, with a akem or Capitano della Verga assisted by four Im allfin or Giurati. The council dealt with numerous items of local business and was responsible for the fortifications, markets and hygiene of the town. It could elect its own officials, raise taxes, and petition the Crown. Knights of St. John During the time of the Order the Università underwent some reforms. Its members were no longer chosen by popular vote but were appointed directly by the Grand Master of the time. There were three municipal bodies, composed as follows: Università della Città Notabile: this was situated at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina and consisted of four jurors - chosen on a yearly basis by the Grand Master - and a number of officials. The Università was mainly responsible for various services offered both on a local and national scale. Università della Città Valletta (including Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa): this committee, composed also of four jurors and other officials, used to meet in the capital’s Banca Giuratale and was managed by the Seneschal – a high ranking officer of the Order. The principal role of this Università was the procurement of provisions for the Maltese island. For this purpose the jurors used to administer a monetary fund known as the Massa Frumentaria. Università Gaudisii: during the time of the Order Gozo was ruled by a knight with the title of Governor, but it too had its own Università with four jurors. Like their counterparts in Valletta they were responsible for the purchase of provisions for the Gozitan population and likewise had their own Massa Frumentaria. Besides these Università located in the main towns there were other forms of local government in the rural areas. Follow-ing a major reform in the way that local administration was being managed, Grand Master Fra Francisco Ximenes de

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Texada issued a decree on 28 August 1773. Through this order the Maltese countryside was divided into nine districts and each region was to be managed by a Mayor, a Juror and an Attacapano. These officials were appointed annually by the Grand Master. The Mayor, among other duties, had judicial responsibilities and could decide certain court cases within his district. This system of government remained operational until the very end of the Order’s stay in Malta.

French Occupation Following the French invasion of Malta, Napoleon Bonaparte set up a new system of government on June 13, 1798. The islands were divided into eleven cantons and each one had a municipal body consisting of five members. These councils however had a very short life, because most of them stopped functioning as soon as the Maltese rose against the French and blockaded them around the Grand Harbour area. The Maltese formed a provisional government and subsequently set up local committees to cater for the ever-growing problem of food shortage. Following the uprising in Gozo the Università was established again in September 1798, to manage the purchase of provisions for the local population. In Malta, Captain Alexander Ball revived the Università della Città Notabile in April 1799. The funds of this body were utilised to carry out important public works in Mdina and Rabat, to set up a temporary hospital in the Dominican Convent in Rabat, and to transport bread to the troops stationed in Kordin and St. Paul’s Bay.

British Era After the end of the blockade, the Università della Città Valletta and the Three Cities followed in the footsteps of the other two namesakes and started functioning once more. However in December 1818 Sir Thomas Maitland issued a letter in which he announced the dissolution of the three Università with effect from 1 January 1819. Twenty years later Sir Henry Bouverie appointed Mayors who were to be responsible for peace and order in seven districts, and hence candidates for the posts were to be chosen only from the legal profession. The National Library of Malta houses today 658 volumes of documents pertaining to the two defunct Università of Mdina and Valletta. The rich documentation found in these archives sheds light on the powers and activities of the Consiglio Popolare and of the Maltese Giurati, from the time of Aragonese rule in Malta until 1818, when the Consiglio Popolare was suppressed by the British. The archives of the Università embody most of what is known about municipal government in Malta, as well as privileges and customs of the Maltese in past centuries. The documents record feudal concessions, privi-leges granted, minutes and activities of the towns’ councils between 1450 and 1818. Other aspects of Maltese life are reflected in these documents, including employment of staff and expenses relating to the maintenance of fortifications, the importation and sale of wheat, transfers of immovable property and the issuing of licences to hawkers and tradesmen.

The Deed of Donation of Malta, Gozo and Tripoli to the Order of St John by Emperor Charles V. Castelfranco, 23 March 1530, AOM 70.

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The National Archives in Gozo, on the other hand, hold records relating to the Università Gaudisii. The various activities of the Università resulted in the creation of a number of docu-ments from its very beginning. The earliest extant record in Gozo dates from 1560 and is preserved in the registers Actorum et Negotiorum, acts and transactions of every sort and type. These important archives were, unfortunately, transferred from one place to another several times and a large number were damaged or de-stroyed during relocation. Following the dissolution of the municipal bod-ies in 1819, these archives were taken over by the British and stored in unsuitable conditions at the Banca Giuratale, and later on in the Gozitan Commissioner’s Office. In December 1952, the 265 volumes that survived were transferred to the Gozo Public Library, where they were catalogued for the first time. This classification had to be done anew as it was dis-covered that several volumes were not entered in their appropriate sec-tion. District Committees Two attempts were made in the late 19th century to try and involve the local population in the running of their localities. 1867 saw the setting up of district committees, each composed of five members. The Mayor was to act as the President, with the district doctor sitting on the committee. The three remaining members were to be elected directly by the eligible voters of each locality. The nature of these committees was purely consultative, and communications with the governor concerned only the requirements of their districts. The idea of these committees was not received with enthusiasm by the local population. The turnout at the elections held in 1867 and 1870 was so low that these committees were left to die a natural death, with no subsequent elections being held in 1873. Nine years later, following a resolution by Sir Antonio Micallef, a fresh effort was made to try and revive these district committees, and elections were held once more in 1882. The turnout was again very low, but somehow twelve out of thirteen committees were set up. However they never managed to get off the ground. On 11 November 1896 General Sir Arthur J. L. Fremantle provoked the eventual death sentence of local government with the issue of an ordinance abolishing the Mayors’ role. This state of affairs was to remain unchanged till the outbreak of World War II. In 1939 Sir Charles Bonham Carter made an urgent appeal to all parish priests of Malta and Gozo, and encouraged them to establish voluntary district committees, to prepare for any eventuality stemming from imminent enemy action. These were set up in practically every town and village. However, once war broke out, some committees – particularly those in the Grand Harbour region – were forced out of action, while those in the countryside were finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the constant influx of refugees. In October 1940 Sir William Dobbie published proposals for the restructuring of these district committees. They were still not allowed any executive powers and could only act on a consultative basis. However the committees could now, through formal resolutions, draw the attention of the Protection Officers to any action that needed to be taken in their area. These committees could be composed of between seven and nine persons, with the

Account of the arrival of Sir Thomas Maitland

(National Archives CSG 23.1)

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parish priests of the respective localities serving as ex officio members. A number of these district committees continued functioning on a regular basis but others were encountering logistical problems and could not operate efficiently. Following the end of the hostilities most of them lost their chief objective and wound up. In fact no further records of their activities can be traced after January 1946. There was to be no further form of local government, recognised by the authorities, until the early 1960s.

Gozo Civic Council In 1958, Joseph Vella Muscat set up a civic committee for Gozo. Following the election of its members and the adoption of an official statute, the committee informed the Colonial government of its formation, but was not granted any formal recog-nition. Talks followed between the committee and government, and on 14 March 1960 the Gozo Civic Council was officially authorised to carry out supervision and was given certain administrative functions. The council was subsequently divided into three committees: health, roads, and finance. Funds for these services were still allocated by the central government. This was a prelude to the 1961 Ordinance which established the setting up of the first Local Government in Gozo. The legislation stipulated that the island was to have 14 district committees composed of six members, elected every three years. One member of each district committee would then be chosen to serve on the Council. This council was a great success and was instrumental in upgrading the island’s archaic infrastructure.

Civic Committees During the existence of the Gozo Civic Council, a revival of civic committees was also witnessed in many localities in Malta. These were run on a purely voluntary basis and could be considered as the forerunners of today’s local councils, even though they did not have any legal authority. Despite their limited means they still managed to exert enough pressure on the central government regarding vital issues. By 1966 there were 16 such committees functioning in Malta. The National Archives in Malta were recently presented with a collection of records belonging to the former Civic Commit-tee of a - ebbu , Malta. These documents consist of 24 files containing over 1,000 letters written between 1964 and 1976. Thanks to the personal initiative of Mr. Michael Bonnici, who spent 10 years as general secretary of this organisa-tion, all the correspondence and registers connected to the said committee were collated and put together according to their subject matter. To complement this compilation Mr. Bonnici included also personal documentation he has amassed over a period of 40 years. These include various reports, a brief chronological account regarding the origins of the local civic committees, several press cuttings, and the causes of their untimely demise in the early seventies. The operation of the Gozitan Council also came to an abrupt end when it was abolished by Maltese parliament on 4 De-cember 1973. The records of the defunct Civic Council were later transferred to the National Archives in Gozo. This politi-cal decision brought the curtain down on the last form of local government, and Malta had to wait a further 20 years for the reappearance of this type of administration.

UG • Universitas Gaudisii, 01/02, 67r. 1587 JULY 10 – THREE PALJI FOR

SANTA MARIJA

The Universitas Gaudisii in a meeting presided over by Fra Pietro Spina, the Governor of Gozo, decided to donate

three further prizes for the already estab-lished horse-races on the feast of Santa

Marija. The main aim in the increase of the prize – three palji, one of velvet, one of

damask, and a third of silk – was to induce more men to bring horses over to Gozo so as to make them available to the militia in

times of necessity.

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4.2.1 LOCAL COUNCILS The National Archives Council feels it is time to turn its full attention towards the present local councils to ensure that an effective structure of records management is set up and running within a relatively short time. Most of the sixty eight Local Councils have now been functioning for the best of seventeen years. During this period their respective committees have created thousands of records. Such documentation needs to be carefully analysed and appraised with a view to establish-ing a proper records management system, and eventually rendering the records accessible for research purposes. So far only a couple of local councils in Gozo have started depositing some of their records at the archives. With this in mind, the National Archivist has already held a number of meetings with the Honourable Dr. Chris Said, Parlia-mentary Secretary for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue, during which he explained to him the importance of a uniform Records Management system in all local councils. Dr Said was also briefed about the preliminary strategy of current visits to some of these offices to assess the record keeping systems being used, with the intention of creating a file classification scheme. This standard method will hopefully provide the required direction for its implementation in all local councils in the near future. Dr. Said agreed in principle with the proposed plan of action. Consequently, Reverend Dr. Joseph Bezzina, Assistant National Archivist, visited a number of local councils and, exam-ined their respective records and created a list of series. When this exercise is finalised, an official communication will be forwarded to all the local councils in Malta and Gozo including a template of the proposed file classification scheme. The councils will then be given a month’s time to evaluate it and refer back with any additions they may have for the series. Following receipt of the councils’ feedback it is the intention of the Archivist to hold a seminar for all the various councils, during which the final classification scheme will be presented and explained further. A copy of the proposed classification scheme can be viewed in Appendix C. 4.3 DIGITISATION The digitisation of documentation has nowadays become an accepted practice throughout all archival institutions around the world. If such a facility is coupled with uploading possibilities onto the internet, then this combination renders archival collections in repositories constantly accessible to interested researchers all over the world. Moreover access can be done at any time and place that is convenient for the user. The most important benefit however, is that digitisation drastically reduces the handling of original records, thereby helping preserve them for future generations. When speaking of digitisation in archives one has to make a distinction between two components of this sector: i) The day-to-day in-house tasks that are handled by the staff at the archives, mainly those employed in the public ser-vices unit. This section handles considerable applications for digitised images from researchers and the public in general. These orders are mostly requests for large format records such as maps, and other delicate documents that cannot be photocopied. ii) The larger scale projects that are generally carried out jointly with other organisations. These usually carry on for a number of months and even years, with the overall expenses being normally borne by the other parties. 4.3.1 LOCAL PROJECTS During these last two years the National Archives was involved in a number of digitisation projects here in Malta, in collaboration with other institutions: National Memory Project The National Memory Project at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina has now entered its sixth year. The initial scope of this venture was to bring under one roof a living memory of Malta’s history and culture, and ultimately serve as a trib-ute to all those who gave their contribution to the develop-ment of Maltese society. This project consists of three complimentary phases:

The digitisation laboratory at the Legal Documenta-

tion Section in Mdina

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The National Portrait Archive: this an ever-growing display of portraits of prominent Maltese personalities taken by pro-fessional photographer Tony S. Mangion over a number of years. Supplementing these images are two publications with biographical details of the subjects coming from all aspects and strata of Maltese society. The National Archives plans to expand on this initiative and, using digital technology, will add more images to the collection. The National Picture Archive: the National Archives managed to organize its own photographic collections and started the digitisation process. This initiative is coordinated by renowned photographer Kevin Casha. The Film and Sound Archive: the initial work on the film and sound holdings has started. The National Archives had al-ready announced the donation of the World War II Film collection of Mr. Stanley Fraser. This collection was already digi-tised and, thanks to the collaboration of Ms Veronica Galea, now forms part of the third phase of the National Memory Project.

Tony Terribile Private Collection During 2009 the National Archives entered into an agreement with Mr. Tony Terribile, an avid Melitensia collector. The latter kindly offered his extensive assortment of old Maltese photographs so that they may be digitised and added to the National Picture Archive.

Maltese 78 RPM records The National Archives endorsed a digitisation project funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. This is being carried out by Mr. Andrew Alamango and involves the research, cataloguing and digital transfer of old 78 rpm re-cords containing Maltese folk and popular music. Once the project is finalised the Archives will receive a copy of these digital files for the Film and Sound Archive.

Magna Curia Castellaniae In 2007 the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library of St. John’s University, Minnesota, signed an agreement with the Na-tional Archives to digitise the entire 1,411 volumes pertaining to the Magna Curia Castellaniae, the law court of the Knights in Malta, which heard civil and criminal cases. These court records, which date from around 1530, are housed in the Legal Documentation Section at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina.

Customs Department Shipping Records The National Archives is involved in another project in collaboration with the Genealogical Society of Utah. This entails the digitisation of all shipping list records, taken from the Customs Department fonds that were created from the early 19th century onwards.

US Holocaust Memorial Museum In 2008, the National Archives signed a collaboration agreement with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This project will result in the digitisation of all records dealing with Jewish persons, or containing other cases of repression.

The front and back covers of the double CD booklet authored by Andrew Alamango and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family and the National Archives; two images of the voice recording machine donated by the Friends of the

National Archives to the National Archives; an old gramophone also donated by the Friends organisation.

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4.3.2 DIGITISATION AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY Following in the footsteps of most European National Libraries that began to digitise their holdings in the 1990s, the Na-tional Library of Malta has also recognized the need to upgrade the facilities/services it offers to researchers and to the general public by digitising the items in its possession. The process of digitisation enables knowledge to be democratized, fragile items to be preserved and hitherto unknown collections to be revealed. The National Library of Malta, whose duty is to safeguard its unique treasures but at the same time to make them available to scholars, researchers and the general public for educational purposes, has succeeded in procuring European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) in order to establish a framework to digitise part of its collections, including its archives, thus ensuring preservation of the original material. This project aims at providing digital access of the Library’s collections to researchers and the public alike. It is an ICT project which is aimed at enhancing e-accessibility. By digitising its collections as well as its archives, the National Library will enable users, regardless of location, to gain direct access and use a range of digitised materials relating to Malta and its history, thus promoting an understanding of Malta and its cultural heritage to those who may access the collections from overseas. The direct benefit of the project is two-fold:

1. the general public will have easy access to the National Library holdings; 2. National Library staff will improve technological skills by means of the training provided.

The e-accessibility of National Library material to all users falls in line with Government policy regarding the availability of government documents to the general public. Such a project would also generate innovative activities, thus fitting into the country’s policy which aims at improving the quality of life and forming a society capable of making full use of information and communication technology. The project is currently at the stage where the tender for the purchase of digitisation equipment has to be re-issued since the first tender, issued on 12 January 2010, could not be awarded due to the fact that all three suppliers had exceeded the budget. A letter requesting more funding and an extension of the time limit was sent to the Managing Authority. The re-quest was granted whereby the ‘Digitisation Equipment’ component was increased by an additional €64,000 and the pro-ject duration extended until 30th June 2012. The new tender is expected to be issued shortly. 4.3.3 INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION The National Archives is presently participating in a number of international initiatives that are all associated with the digiti-sation of archival records. APEnet APEnet (Archives Portal Europe) is a Best Practice Network project supported by the European Commission in the eCon-tentplus programme. Its main objective is to build an Internet Gateway for documents and archives in Europe. To date Malta is one of the fourteen European National Archives that are working together to create a common access point to European archival descriptions and digital collections. The outcome is aimed at improving public understanding of Euro-pean history and culture. To achieve this aim APEnet strives to build a strong relationship with Europeana and other Euro-pean portals that hold information on archives. With the rapidly growing number of archives using the Internet for the dissemination of their holdings as well as growing competence in the use of new technologies, the creation of a European Archives Internet Gateway, which pools efforts and expertise at both national and European levels, was defined as a top priority by the European Council. This concept was endorsed in an E.C. recommendation on 14 November 2005, and was put into action the following year by the European Archives Group, a body of E.U. professional archivists set up in 2006. The National Archivist participated in the kick-off meeting held in Brussels on 28 January 2009, and Malta was assigned to the work package that deals with dissemination of the project. In June 2009 a meeting of the group which Malta forms part, was held in Belgium and attended by the Assis-tant National Archivist, Dr. Joseph Bezzina, and Ms. Alison Borg-Hili. The National Archivist attended the National Confer-ence of British Archivists that was held in Bristol in September 2009. As part of Malta’s task, Mr. Farrugia was invited to deliver a presentation on the “Benefits of Networking: the APEnet case study” to the delegates present. The first General Assembly of this project was organised in Lund, Sweden on 12 October 2009, for which the Assistant National Archivist and Mr. Joseph Amodio were present. On 30 June 2010 the second General Assembly was convened in Leon, Spain. The National Archives were again represented by the Assistant National Archivist, Dr. Joseph Bezzina, and Assistant Archivist,

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Mr. Noel D’Anastas. During this session the APEnet project man-agement team informed all APEnet partners on the progress of the project and involved them in the next steps towards the launch of the pilot of Archives Portal Europe in January 2011. The General Assembly’s ultimate objective is that this gateway will start functioning on an official basis from January 2012.

The fundamental aim of the APEnet project is to provide EU citizens, public authorities and companies with a common gateway, which will enable them to find out for themselves about Europe's archives and about archival material that is relevant to them, whether or not they live in the European Union. The gateway will connect disparate archival Internet ini-tiatives and will act as a powerful catalyst in breaking down the remaining barriers to easy access of information about archives in the European Union and the important cultural resources which they hold, making them available through a virtual catalogue. The services of the gateway will be available in different languages. The overall goal of the APEnet project is to gather the existing digital archival content of Europe and make it available on-line. Archival materials are not kept exclusively in the custody of public archival institutions. In Europe, other institutions, like libraries and museums, house archival material, as is the case in the National Libraries of Malta, Spain and the British Library. Thus, APEnet aims to facilitate the access to documents and records in a variety of cultural heritage institutions, whether they are public or private. The APEnet project started in January 2009 and is projected to end in January 2012. The tasks that need to be carried out are organised in six work packages:

Definition of the logical model of the gateway Definition of the physical model of the gateway Interoperability between the gateway and Europeana Development of content framework for the gateway Dissemination and awareness (Malta forms part of this group) Project management

The expected outcome from this project is threefold:

The citizens using APEnet shall hopefully discover interesting events and create new interrelationships. They will also learn more about their history – both on a national plane and at European level. Citizens will be able to procure certi-fied copies of documents and will experience a new level of transparency in social processes, such as e-government. Researchers shall be able to locate relevant and hitherto unknown sources with minimum effort. They will also be in a position to point out previously unidentified relations between the same sources, as well as identify and access au-thentic and trustworthy copies of the original documents. Institutions that keep archival documents and records will have new possibilities to link their finding aids and holdings to an Internet gateway, thus maximizing exposure for their collections.

Europeana

In 2005, the European Commission published the i2010: communication on digital libraries, where it announced its strat-egy to promote and support the creation of a European digital library, as a strategic goal within the European Information Society i2010 Initiative. The European Commission's goal for Europeana is to make European information resources eas-ier to use in an online environment. The aim was to build on Europe's rich heritage, combining multicultural and multilin-gual environments with technological advances and new business models. The Europeana prototype is the result of a 2-year project that began in July 2007. Europeana.eu went live on 20 Novem-ber 2008, launched by Ms. Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. A plenary meeting regarding Europeana v1.0, entitled “Creation, Collaboration & Copyright” was held in The Hague, Hol-land on 14-16 September 2009. The Maltese representative was Assistant Archivist Mr. Noel D’Anastas. The aim of this initiative is to have 10 million items accessible through Europeana once it is launched. Europeana is a Thematic Network funded by the European Commission under the eContentplus programme, as part of the i2010 policy. Originally known as the European digital library network – EDLnet – it is a partnership of 100 representatives

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of heritage and knowledge organisations and IT experts from throughout Europe. They contribute to the Work Packages that are solving the technical and usability issues. The project is run by a core team based in the national library of the Netherlands. It builds on the project management and technical expertise developed by The European Library, which is a service of the Conference of European National Librari-ans. Overseeing the project is the EDL Foundation, which includes key European cultural heritage associations from the four domains. The Foundation’s statutes commit members to:

Providing access to Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage though a cross-domain portal Co-operating in the delivery and sustainability of the joint portal Stimulating initiatives to bring together existing digital content Supporting digitisation of Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage

The Europeana website provides links to 6 million digital items. The content is varied and includes digitised material of

images - paintings, drawings, maps, photos and pictures of museum objects; texts - books, newspapers, letters, diaries and archival papers; sounds - music and spoken word from cylinders, tapes, discs and radio broadcasts; videos - films, newsreels and TV broadcasts,

all submitted by archives, audio-visual collections, art galleries, libraries and museums, from all parts of Europe. Aristhot / Internum : Science in the Mediterranean

ARISTHOT – INTERNUM is composed of 14 institutions, 10 from the European Union and 4 from Algeria, Egypt and Tur-key (2). The primary objective of this project, which is partly financed by the European Union, is to develop cultural solidari-ties in the area of the Mediterranean Basin by improving access of this common scientific heritage to all the surrounding states. Sciences have always been the basis for exchanges in this part of the world, and so it is crucial to disseminate the experi-ence of these exchanges by developing a textual and iconographical corpus on Sciences in the Mediterranean, thanks to the Information Society. The ultimate goal of the digitisation of this documentary heritage is a better diffusion of the com-mon memory on both sides of the Mediterranean. The main themes of the project are:

Sciences of Nature and Mathematics: Astronomy and Botany Applied Sciences: Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Traditional sciences: Alchemy, Divinatory Sciences, Esotericism Auxiliary science of history: Archaeology, Palaeography, Codicology, Sigillography

and Numismatics The project, Sciences in the Mediterranean aims at digitising books, manuscripts, archives, graphic documents, photo-graphs, video and audio records that are common to both sides of the basin, while exploring the issue of developing a common ground for reproduction rights of the documents. 5.0 OVERSEAS PARTICIPATION Earlier on in this report we gave a brief account of the National Archives’ active participation in international fora during the last two years. One of these events – the CITRA 2009 conference organised by ICA in Malta - is being singled out for its special significance.

5.1 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ARCHIVES The main international body representing archives worldwide is the International Council on Archives (ICA). The National Archives is a member of this Council and is playing an active role in the various sections such as EURBICA (the European Branch of ICA), and the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM). In July 2008 the Na-tional Archivist was appointed Chairman of ACARM for the next four years.

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ICA was established in 9 June 1948. The first assembly of the Council was held two years later in Paris at the UNESCO headquarters. The International Council on Archives (ICA) is a decentralized organisation governed by a General Assem-bly and administered by an Executive Board. Its branches provide archivists with a regional forum in all parts of the world; its sections bring together archivists and archival institutions interested in particular areas of professional practice; its com-mittees and working groups engage experts in contributing to the solution of specific problems. The ICA Secretariat serves the administrative needs of the organisation; it maintains relations between members and facilitates the interaction of ICA with related bodies and other international organisations.

ICA is the professional organisation for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, devel-opment, and use of the world's archival heritage.

It brings together national archive administrations, professional associations of archivists, regional and local archives and archives of other organisations as well as individual archivists.

ICA has a global network of more than 1,400 institutional members in 190 countries, making it truly international. It also has over 200 archivists and records managers as individual members.

It is a non-governmental organisation, which means that it maintains an independence from the political process and that its members include public and private archive institutions and individuals.

ICA works closely with inter-governmental organisations such as UNESCO and ICCROM. It also has strong links with other non-governmental organisations.

5.2 ICA OPERATIONS

From an association of directors of national institutions, the ICA has evolved towards a more complex organisation bring-ing together professional associations and individual archivists interested in researching, developing, and sharing their full range of archival expertise. Today, the ICA has become the professional organisation for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development, and use of the world's archival heritage. It brings together national archive administrations, professional associations of archivists, regional and local archives and archives of other organisa-tions as well as individual archivists. The activities of the ICA complement those of national associations and institutions and continue to be an exclusive source and channel of professional expertise in those regions where national associations do not yet exist. Through its branches, ICA provides a basis for exchange and common initiatives at the regional level, more closely aligned to specific needs resulting from particular environments. ICA sections, established along professional interests, address other types of con-cern and stimulate research and information exchange in more specific areas: they bring together in their respective fo-rums leaders of professional associations, archival educators as well as archivists of international organisations, munici-palities, businesses and labour bodies, churches, universities, parliaments and political parties as well as those specialised in architectural records. Other sections are currently being formed for specialists in archival standards and best practices, literature and art archives, notarial records, sports archives, military records and sigillography. ICA forms ad-hoc commit-tees and working groups at various levels to work on specific projects and activities in support of its four strategic priority areas: advocacy and promotion; electronic records, records management and automation; preservation and protection against disasters; and professional education and training. As the leading international non-governmental organisation for archives and archivists, ICA continues to work in coopera-tion with UNESCO and NGOs in related areas to realise shared objectives. ICA's close cooperation with UNESCO is dem-onstrated by the publication of the RAMP (Records and Archives Management Programme) Studies. Currently, it is sup-ported through regular financial contributions to support various ICA projects.

5.3 ICA MISSION STATEMENT The aim of ICA is to promote the management and use of records and archives and the preservation of the archival heri-tage of humanity around the world, through the sharing of experiences, research and ideas on professional archival and records management matters and on the management and organisation of archival institutions. The objectives of ICA are to:

encourage and support the development of archives in all countries, in co-operation with other organisations, includ-ing international agencies, governmental and non-governmental

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promote, organise and co-ordinate best practice, the development of standards and other activities in the field of re-cords and archives management

establish, maintain and strengthen relations between archivists of all countries and between all institutions, profes-sional bodies and other organisations, public and private, wherever located, which are concerned with the administra-tion or preservation of records and archives, or with the professional training of archivists, especially through the ex-change of information

facilitate the interpretation and use of archives by making their content more widely known and by encouraging greater access to them

5.4 CITRA 2009 - MALTA Malta’s involvement in CITRA - the International Round Table Conference organised by the International Council on Ar-chives (ICA) - goes back to October 1999. The first ever Maltese participation was in Budapest, Hungary and proved to be an enriching experience which brought the local archives in closer contact with the global dimension of the profession. Subsequent attendance in overseas meetings helped to strengthen further those initial exchanges. Eventually such con-nections were to become the catalyst for the development of a strong rapport with a number of authoritative members in this field. This close association reached its apex in May 2006 when Malta attended a meeting of the ICA Executive Committee in Tokyo, Japan and officially submitted its application to host a CITRA conference. The request was accepted, and six months later the ICA Annual General Meeting that was held in Curaçao, Netherland Antilles discussed and approved the executive committee’s recommendation. The initial preparations got underway in 2007. An interdepartmental organising committee was set up under the chairmanship of the National Archivist to ensure that the theme, dates and logistics of the conference would be finalised and announced at the ICA International Congress that was to be held in Malaysia in July 2008. The 41st CITRA conference was eventually held in Malta between 17 and 21 November 2009. The theme chosen by the CITRA Bureau was “Imagining the 21st Century Archivist: New Strategies for Education and Training”. An encouraging attendance of over 250 delegates from 91 countries across the globe participated in this international meeting. Apart from the main conference, the organisation necessitated also the hosting of a good number of meetings by different ICA branches, as well as a busy social programme for all the delegates. Full details of the Conference Programme and the Universal Declaration on Archives can be seen in the Appendices section. At the end of the conference the general feedback from most participants was very positive. The delegates were quite surprised how such a small island with limited resources could organise a first-rate professional event. This noteworthy achievement managed to place Maltese archives solidly on the international map.

Delegates at the CITRA conference in Malta No-vember 2009

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6.0 SUPPORT GROUPS The local archive sector is greatly indebted to various non-government organisations that continually support its function through their selfless physical assistance, activities and sponsorships. Some archives also make use of the voluntary ser-vices of individual collaborators that do not form part of any group. One needs to recognize the invaluable contribution of these dedicated persons, encourage their development, and do all that is necessary to promote an atmosphere of collabo-ration between them. This year the report is focussing on the performance of two of these NGOs.

6.1 FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES The Friends of the National Archives was formed in 2000, and in this last decade it made every effort to support the Na-tional Archives through awareness campaigns, fund raising events, sponsorships, restoration and digitisation projects. During the last two years the Friends worked hand in hand with the National Archivist in several areas: ·

The National Memory Project, located at the Banca Giuratale repository in Mdina, an ongoing photographic exhibition featuring professional portraits of Maltese personalities. The costs involved in the setting up of this display were funded entirely by the association.

Acquiring funds from the Fond tal-Lotterija Nazzjonali g all-Kaw i usti for the restoration of the Royal Warrant parchments. The work involved the cleaning of the parchment, the restoration of the wax seals, the encasement in acid free separators and the creation of special containers for the said documents.

A project for the National Statistics Office involving the digitisation of the colonial Blue Books dating between 1821-1938. The actual planning and work were coordinated by the staff of the NAM. The digitised reproductions are all accessible for viewing online via the NSO website. The complete digital collection was also made available at the National Archives.

The Friends had pledged their full support for the CITRA conference. During the week long event a number of com-mittee members were present at the airport, round the clock, welcoming the delegates on their arrival to Malta. Other members were present at the venue of the conference for the entire duration of the event, helping out with the logis-tics. Furthermore, the Friends sponsored a social event for the delegates at the National Archives in Rabat.

Funding of the purchase of an early 20th century Voice Recording Machine which will be displayed in the Audio-Visual section of the National Archives. This device recorded Maltese songs through a process of engraving on small alu-minium discs. A gramophone utilised for playing these records was also acquired.

CITRA in Malta November 2009

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Various contributions to the National Ar-

chives. Among these there was a donation of €140 for the purchase of a number of foam wedges for use in the reading room, and the acquisition of several Melitensia publications which were earmarked for use by researchers in the reference library.

During the last two years the National Archives had a number of volunteers from the association who helped in the organisation of newly accessed material, and in the sorting of other records. The work included cleaning of docu-ments, cataloguing, data input and proof reading.

6.2 NOTARIAL ARCHIVES RESOURCES COUNCIL The Notarial Archives Resources Council was set up in 2005 to support the process of upgrading and subsequent admini-stration of the Notarial Archives. The council is constituted of leading academics and historians. Since commencement of the rehabilitation programme at the 18th century palazzo in St. Christopher Street, Valletta, various projects have been undertaken under the direction of the Chief Notary:

The building has undergone an extensive clean up. Several rooms were emptied of plenty of debris; every volume, manuscript, and scrap of paper was saved and organised into boxes, awaiting identification and classification. Numer-ous documents which were stacked two or three volumes high were re-shelved on new metal shelving. During this process, the catalogues had to be regularly updated as several misplaced volumes were being discovered.

With help from the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment, dangerous ceilings in some rooms were rein-forced, and beams were strengthened or replaced. The entire place was made watertight and the balconies overlook-ing St Paul and St Christopher streets were restored. Several rooms were whitewashed, and customised shelving was installed for the more frequently consulted volumes. The research room includes facilities for connecting laptops to the main power supply.

Heritage Malta have provided the Council with a detailed report outlining preventive conservation recommendations, together with a preliminary analysis on temperature and relative humidity trends within selected areas of the archives.

Following a recent agreement with the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library in USA, and with the generous help of volun-teers, a number of volumes are being digitally scanned. This ongoing process is well under way and, once completed, the documents will be uploaded online, thus making them accessible both locally and internationally.

A qualified volunteer is building a database for the so-called 'Bastardelli' collection, which to-date had never been catalogued and was consequently not accessible to researchers.

The Council also managed to obtain support from several sponsors for the following projects:

1. Metal shelving for some of the rooms 2. A digital camera to eliminate the use of photocopies on manuscripts 3. A new security system throughout the building together with a fire suppression room housing the earliest vol-

umes 4. New bathrooms providing modern sanitary facilities for visitors, particularly those with special needs 5. A totally new electrical system to replace the obsolete and dangerous one 6. The Binders’ Project, through which several recycled parchment covers, deriving mainly from choral books and

containing intricate illuminations, have been protected by storing them in acid-free boxes.

Friends of the National Archives committee with the president of Malta during a courtesy visit on 3 July 2009. From left; Martin Hampton, George Cassar, Steve Borg, Noel D’Anastas, Dr. George Abela, Max Farrugia, Gerald Bugeja, Frederick Cauchi Inglott

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The Notarial Archives open on a regular basis and researchers now have extended opening hours. The Council organizes guided educational tours for secondary school, sixth-form and University students to create more awareness about the rich history contained in this collection. Student participation included those coming from the:

Department of History, who use the archives as a primary source for their dissertations, Division of Library, Information and Archive Studies, who helped out in the digitisation project as part of their practicum, Conservation Studies, who provided volunteer help in performing housekeeping activities at the archives. One particular student chose to study the collection of bindings for her undergraduate dissertation in con-servation. History of Art, who worked with their tutor on the collection of illuminated manuscript bindings for one of their course credits.

One of the volumes held at the Notarial Archives, St Christopher Street where refurbishment and restoration works are in progress.

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REFERENCES

Publications National Archives of Malta Annual Report, 2008 National Archives of Malta Annual Report, 2009 The National Archives Newsletter, No 1-13, 1999 – 2009 Farrugia C., L-Arkivji ta’ Malta, 2006 Gulia W., Local Government in Malta, 1967 Zammit W., Forom ta’ Gvern Lokali fil-G ejjer Maltin (1773-1993), in the Local Council’s Magazine, “Tas-Sliema”, issue April-June 2004, pp. 28-33

Websites – Local Department for Local Councils: http://www.lc.gov.mt/Page.aspx?catid=1&pid=222 Local Councils Act, (Chapter 363), Malta: http://www.maltadata.com/loc-act.pdf National Archives of Malta: https://secure2.gov.mt/nationalarchives/ National Archives of Malta (Gozo Section): http://www.gozo.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=1242 National Library of Malta: http://www.libraries.gov.mt/nlm/index.htm

International Links

APEnet: http://www.apenet.eu/ Archives and Records Association, UK: http://www.archives.org.uk/ Archivio Storico Multimediale del Mediterraneo: http://www.archividelmediterraneo.org/portal/faces/public/guest/ Aristhot – Internum: http://www.aristhot.eu/index.php?lang=0 Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Record Managers: http://acarm.org/ CITRA 2009 – Malta: http://www.citra2009.ica.org/fo/index.php

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European Archives Group: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/archival_policy/eur_arch_group/ Europeana: http://www.europeana.eu/portal/ Hill Museum & Manuscript Library: http://www.hmml.org/preservation/KnightsOfMalta.htm International Council on Archives: http://www.ica.org/ The Genealogical Society of Utah: http://www.gensocietyofutah.org/ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/

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APPENDIX A NATIONAL ARCHIVES ANNUAL PUBLIC LECTURES 1999 - 2009

26 November 1999 Professor Henry Frendo Futur bla passat? Il-Qag da ta’ l-Arkivji f’pajji na

19 September 2000 Professor Victor Mallia-Milanes Hospitaller Baroque Culture: The Order of St. John’s Legacy to early modern Malta

08 November 2001 Professor Maurice Cauchi The Maltese Migrant Experience

24 October 2002 Professor Robin C. Alston Re-visiting Old Pastures: Rejoicings and Disappointments

28 October 2003 Professor Guido de Marco The importance of records of public personalities for the history of the nation

04 November 2004 Drs Carmelo Vassallo & Katerina Papakonstantinou Sources for the writing of maritime history

28 October 2005 Dom Faustino Avagliano Dom Mauro Inguanez, Archivist of Montecassino

14 November 2006 Ms. Gabriella Ivacs Reconnecting the past: The role of digitisation in the creation of virtual archives

25 October 2007 Architect Michael Ellul Porta Reale and its environs

23 November 2008 Rev. Mons. John Azzopardi L-arkivji mu ikali tal-g ejjer tag na u kompo izzjonijiet tal-Maltin f’Arkivji barranin

20 November 2009 Ms. Victoria Borg O’ Flaherty De Poincy’s sugar island: at what cost?

The National Archivist of St. Kitts and Nevis Ms.

Victoria Borg O’Flaherty delivering the Annual Public Lecture on 20

November 2009.

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APPENDIX B ARCHIVES COURSE THESES SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MALTA Dip. ARM 2005-2007 Proposals for a records management system for Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. Kevin Cassar Family history sources at the National Archives of Malta. Alexander Gingell The Aquilina papers: a catalogue pertaining to the private papers of Professor uzè Aquilina, deposited at the National Archives of Malta. Martin Hampton A study of al Luqa parish archives. Bridgette Saliba B. LIAS 2005-2008 Customer care in Maltese post-secondary school libraries. JoAnne Carabott An analysis of the Agius bequest on World War II death casualties, held at the National Archives of Malta. Frederick Cauchi Inglott The Monte di Pietà fonds, 1700-1976: providing access to the public. Denis Cole Records management at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority: a functional analysis. Raymond Cremona Challenges of taking the public library into the 21st century. Doris Cutajar, Ines Micallef L-Arkivju tal-Katidral ta' l-Imdina: aspetti ta' a ess u preservazzjoni. Noel D'Anastas Records management at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. Josephine Mifsud Records management as a management tool within the Education Division. Carmen R. Muscat The senior school library service: beyond the traditional school library. Romaine Petrocochino National Archives reaching out to schoolchildren. Cecily Rizzo Dip. ARM 2007-2009 The Head of Ministry files: a listing and analysis of part of the Head of Ministry files, October 1921 - October 1923, in the custody of the National Archives of Malta. Ivan Ellul

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B. LIAS 2005-2010 The development of the Internal Sections within the (Malta) Public Registry since 1863 Donald Briffa An in-depth analysis of the first Report on the State of Maltese Archives 2008, as enacted in the Malta National Archives Act V of 2005. Mario Gauci Parish Church Records in the South Region of Malta. Joseph Grech A Records Management Strategy in the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment. Sharon Scicluna

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APPENDIX C PROPOSED CLASSIFICATION SCHEME FOR LOCAL COUNCIL ARCHIVES The creation of a local council archive is the next essential step in the Council’s set-up. This classification scheme or hand-list for the cataloguing of records is being proposed by NAM – the National Archives of Malta – in agreement with the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Local Councils, Office of the Prime Minister. At this stage, this classification scheme is just a suggestion. It will be amended and made definite after receiving the feedback from the Councils. The Local Council Archive collects, preserves, and makes available documents and publications covering all aspects of life in the Council’s locality, from its inception to the present day. The Council Archive should be possibly housed in a spe-cial safe room within the premises of the council. It should be available to researchers and one does not need to be a member of the locality to come and use its resources. It is being suggested that records are to be catalogued in a four-level system – a system that most clearly reflects the workings of a particular entity. A four-level cataloguing system is also employed at the National Archives of Malta. Level 1 is the AGENCY creating the records that is at the same time a DEPOSITORY; in this case the Local Council (for exam-ple, Valletta Local Council). The final depository that will preserve the records for posterity – in line with Act V (2005) The National Archives Act – will be respectively the National Archives Malta and the National Archives Gozo Section. Level 2 is a homogenous number of SERIES being created by the Local Council (for example, Correspondence). Level 3 is made up of the SECTIONS in a particular homogenous series (for example, section 2 of the Correspondence se-ries refers to Correspondence with Ministries). Level 4 is the single ITEM, file, or volume in a particular section (for example, volume 1 of correspondence with Govern-ment Ministries (1993-1996) that covers the years 1993 to 1996). A single item contains the single RECORD best referred to by page number or date. It is imperative that every single Council goes through its own records and notes down how many SERIES are being kept corresponding to the suggested Level 2. The NAM would like to know the given name of the series already existing so that they would help us to draw a definite hand-list. In line with unwritten conventions in areas abroad that are the size of Malta, it is hoped that the list of series in Level 2 would be the same throughout all the local councils of Malta and Gozo. This has a double advantage: it would ease administrative management across all councils and it would even-tually be of help to future researchers. In Level 3 every Council can create as many sections as deemed necessary within the precisely defined series. In the following hand-list, the National Archives, after having visited some Local Councils, is suggesting the following Level 2 Series (column 1). Each series is given a number for this helps the ordering of files/volumes on shelves and referenc-ing. Level 3 Sections (column 2) are also being included as an example, but it must be emphasised that every Council can add as many sections as deemed necessary – though fragmentation is to be avoided. 01 MEETINGS 01 Agenda 02 Minutes 03 Documents related to minutes 04 Legal notices 02 MEMOS FROM / TO 01 Parliamentary Secretary OPM 02 Department of Local Councils 03 Association of Local Councils 03 CORRESPONDENCE 01 General (chronological, with index referring to subject) 02 Ministries (can be section according to various ministries) 03 Ministry for Gozo (for Gozo Local Councils) 04 Government authorities (e.g. Tourism) 05 Special projects (e.g. Public Gardens) 06 Local (suggestions, requests, criticism, complaints)

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04 FINANCES 01 Personnel wages 02 Payments to others 03 Adverts for service requests 04 Payments for services 05 PAYE files 06 Permits (approved and payments – chronological) 07 Traffic tickets 08 Financial statements (monthly) 09 Financial statements (quarterly) 10 Financial statements (reconciliation) 05 TENDERS 01 General (chronological or by subject) 02 Related payments 06 EU PROGRAMMES 01 Applications 02 Approvals 03 Executions (or a section number for each project) 07 ANCILLARIES 01 Sub-Post Office 02 Files 08 MAPS AND PLANS 01 Locality maps 02 Street plans 03 Street naming 09 PUBLICATIONS 01 Council publications (in chronological order) 02 Council invitations 03 Council brochures 04 Parish publications 05 Special publications related to locality (guide-book) 06 Other publications of locality (band club; football club, etc.) 10 HISTORY 01 Documents 02 Files 03 Photographs 04 Digital films and DVDs

Referencing or citing a document would be very easy. For example, Valletta/03/02/01 would refer to the agency Valletta Local Council / series (no 3) Correspondence / section (no 2) Correspondence with Ministries / item (no 1) Volume or file number one.

AGENCY e.g. Valletta Local Council

SERIES e.g. Correspondence

SECTION e.g. Correspondence with Ministries

ITEM e.g. Correspondence with Ministries,

Volume 1 (1993-1996)

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APPENDIX D PROGRAMME OF CITRA 2009 MALTA CONFERENCE 06 Nov Press conference and launching of the commemorative invitations each featuring a historical document

from the Maltese archives 16 Nov CITRA Bureau which discussed the preparations for the week-long programme 16 Nov Meeting of the Chairs of Sections of the International Council on Archives 16 Nov Meeting of the Chairs of Branches of the International Council on Archives 16 Nov Programmes Commission (PCOM) 16 Nov Joint Meeting of the Chairs of Branches and Sections 16 Nov Bureau of the AIAF (Audio Visuals and Film branch) 16 Nov Bureau of the Section on Records Management and Professional Associations (SPA) 16 Nov Bureau of Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM) chaired by Mr.

Charles J. Farrugia, National Archivist 16 Nov Bureau of EURBICA (European Branch) with the participation of Rev. Dr. Joseph Bezzina, National

Archives of Malta 16 Nov Dinner for the members of the Executive Bureau at Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar 17 Nov Executive Board full day meeting 17 Nov ACARM Seminar on e-records with the participation of Maltese students reading for an archives de-

gree 17 Nov Opening ceremony of CITRA featuring the Johann Strauss School of Music Flute Trio, under the direc-

tion of Maestro Silvio Zammit 18 Nov Breakfast for CITRA newcomers addressed by ICA officials 18 Nov CITRA Plenary Sessions 18 Nov CITRA Parallel Sessions 18 Nov Visit by delegates to the National Archives, Rabat and Mdina, sponsored by the Friends of the National

Archives of Malta 19 Nov Breakfast for Members of the Mediterranean Union addressed by the Archivists of France and Egypt 19 Nov CITRA Plenary Sessions 19 Nov CITRA Parallel Sessions, including a session by the Flying Reporters 19 Nov Gala Dinner organised at the Mediterranean Conference Centre following the viewing of the Malta

Experience 20 Nov Joint Meeting PCOM and Branches 20 Nov Joint Meeting PCOM and CITRA Bureau

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20 Nov COMMA Editorial Board 20 Nov Meeting of the Dutch Memory of the World Archivists 20 Nov EURBICA Annual General Meeting 20 Nov SAE Seminar 20 Nov AIAF General Assembly 20 Nov ACARM General Assembly 20 Nov SPA General Assembly 20 Nov Joint Meeting PCOM and Sections 20 Nov Annual General Meeting, which discussed the Universal Declaration on Archives 20 Nov Executive Board Meeting 20 Nov National Archives Annual Public Lecture and presentation of a Manuscript from Dundee University 21 Nov Opening of the exhibition ‘Ad Perpetuam Memoriam’ at the National Library and visit to the Speaker of

Maltese Parliament 21 Nov Section on Archival Education Seminar 21 Nov CITRA Bureau which reviewed the whole week event and also discussed the next meeting in Oslo

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APPENDIX E UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON ARCHIVES, CITRA 2009 Archives record decisions, actions and memories. Archives are a unique and irreplaceable heritage passed from one gen-eration to another. Archives are managed from creation to preserve their value and meaning. They are authorative sources of information underpinning accountable and transparent administrative actions. They play an essential role in the develop-ment of societies by safeguarding and contributing to individual and community memory. Open access to archives en-riches our knowledge of human society, promotes democracy, protects citizens' rights and enhances the quality of life. To this effect, we recognize

the unique quality of archives as authentic evidence of administrative, cultural and intellectual activities and as a reflection of the evolution of societies; the vital necessity of archives for supporting business efficiency, accountability and transparency, for protecting citizens rights, for establishing individual and collective memory, for understanding the past, and for documenting the present to guide future actions; the diversity of archives in recording every area of human activity; the multiplicity of formats in which archives are created including paper, electronic, audio visual and other types; the role of archivists as trained professionals with initial and continuing education, serving their societies by support-ing the creation of records and by selecting, maintaining and making these records available for use; the collective responsibility of all - citizens, public administrators and decision-makers, owners or holders of public or private archives, and archivists and other information specialists - in the management of archives. We therefore undertake to work together in order that 1. appropriate national archival policies and laws are adopted and enforced; 2. the management of archives is valued and carried out competently by all bodies, private or public, which create

and use archives in the course of conducting their business; 3. adequate resources are allocated to support the proper management of archives; 4. archives are managed and preserved in ways that ensure their authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability; 5. archives are made accessible to everyone, while respecting the pertinent laws and the rights of individuals, crea-

tors, owners and users; 6. archives are used to contribute to the promotion of responsible citizenship.

International Council on Archives (ICA) General Assembly Valletta, Malta - November 2009

DIKJARAZZJONI UNIVERSALI DWAR L-ARKIVJI L-Arkivji jiddokumentaw de i jonijiet, azzjonijiet, u tifkiriet. L-Arkivji huma wirt wa dieni u li xejn ma jista’ je dilhom pos-thom tal-patrimonju li jg addi minn enerazzjoni g al o ra. L-arkivji, sa mit-twaqqif tag hom, g andhom l-iskop pre i li j arsu dan il-patrimonju. Huma g ajn assoluta ta’ tag rif li jsa a kull azzjoni amministrattiva u jirrendiha ara. Huma g andhom funzjoni fundamentali fl-i vilupp ta’ kull so jetà billi j arsu u jikkontribwixxu g all- arsien tal-memorja kemm individwali, kif ukoll kollettiva. L-a ess ieles g all-arkivji jag ni l-g erf tas-so jetà umana, jippromwovi d-demokrazija, i ares d-drittijiet ta - ittadini, u jg olli l-kwalità tal- ajja. Im abba dan kollu, nirrikonoxxu :

il-kwalità unika tal-arkivji b ala xhieda awtentika tal-attivitajiet amministrattivi, kulturali, u intellettwali, kif ukoll b ala mera tal-pro ess tal-evoluzzjoni tas-so jetà; il-b onn assolut ta’ arkivji biex isostnu l-effi jenza, ir-responsabbiltà, u t-trasparenza f’kull qasam tas-so jetà; biex i arsu d-drittijiet ta - ittadini; biex jg inu fil-bini tal-memorja individwali u kollettiva; biex iwasslu g all-g arfien a jar tal-passat; u biex jiddokumentaw il-pre ent alli dan ikun jista’ jg in fit-tfassil a jar tal-futur; id-diversità tal-arkivji biex jirre istraw l-attività umana f’kull qasam tal- ajja; it-tipi differenti ta’ materjal li l-arkivji jistg u jilqg u fihom, ji ifieri, karta, materjal elettroniku, awdjovi iv, u forom o ra; ir-rwol tal-arkivisti b ala professsjonisti m arr a b’edukazzjoni ba ika u kontinwa, li jg inu s-so jetà tag hom billi jsostnu l- olqien u l- abra tad-dokumentazzjoni; billi jg inu fil-g a la u - amma tag hom; u billi jag mluhom dispo-nibbili lil dawk li jridu jikkonsultawhom; ir-responsabbiltà kollettiva – ji ifieri ta - ittadini, tal-amministraturi pubbli i, ta’ dawk kollha li g andhom id-de i jonijiet f’idejhom, tal-proprjetarji jew amministraturi ta’ arkivji pubbli i jew privati, tal-arkivisti, u tal-ispe jalisti fl-

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informatika – g all-immani jar tal-arkivji. G aldaqstant nimpenjaw irwie na alli na dmu flimkien biex: 1. li ijiet u dispo izzjonijiet xierqa dwar l-arkivji

jkunu adottati u nfurzati f’livell nazzjonali; 2. l-immani jar tal-arkivji jkun apprezzat u ttrattat

b’abbiltà mill-korpi kollha li jo olqu u jag mlu u u mill-arkivji fil- idma u x-xog ol tag hom, sew jekk korpi pubbli i, sew jekk privati;

3. ji u allokati ri orsi suffi jenti alli jsostnu t-tmexxija tal-arkivji; inklu ma’ dan l-inga jar ta’ professjonisti m arr a;

4. l-arkivji jitmexxew u jin ammu b’mod li ji guraw l-awtenti ità, il-kredibilità, l-integrità, u l-u u ta-g hom;

5. l-arkivji jsiru a essibbli g al kul add, fil-waqt li jkunu rispettati kemm il-li ijiet rilevanti, kif ukoll id-drittijiet tal-individwi, tal-entitajiet, tal-proprjetarji, u ta’ dawk li ju aw l-arkivji;

6. l-arkivji jintu aw biex jikkontribwixxu g all-promozzjoni ta’ ittadini iktar responsabbli.

Assemblea enerali tal-Kunsill Internazzjonali dwar l-Arkivji Il-Belt Valletta, MALTA. Novembru 2009

The backdrop used during the CITRA conference

November 2009

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APPENDIX F PROGRESS ON RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE STATE OF THE ARCHIVES REPORT, 2008 Following the analysis of a questionnaire that was circu-lated among all state, ecclesiastical and private archives in Malta and Gozo, a series of discussions was then car-ried out at National Archives Council level. The main rec-ommendations that were formulated are listed hereunder (text in italics describes the progress achieved so far): 1. That an effort be made by all archives to strengthen their security measures in particular the installation of fire detection systems. During the last two years there were the installations of CCTV and Fire Detection systems at the Head Office of the National Archives and the Legal Documentation Sec-tion in Mdina. The Public Registry also acquired five rooms for storage and equipped them with the necessary facilities for storage. The Notarial Archives also installed a Fire Detection system at the St Christopher Street Re-pository. Security measures at the National Library are now fully functional with CCTV and a private security company in charge for the premises and operations. 2. That statistics of users be kept in order to have a clear picture of the use patrons are making of ar-chives. A request has been made by the National Archives to NSO for the data of patrons who use archives to be col-lected separately from libraries or the other cultural attrac-tions such as museums. This is intended to be able to give a realistic picture of how many and who actually uses Maltese archival repositories. 3. That the same information (i.e. obtained by ask-ing the same questions throughout the various enti-ties) will prove valuable to build up a profile of our patrons. The automation of the records of patrons by some of the archives is helping the data collation exercise. Much remains to be done. There is currently a dissertation for the Diploma in Archive and Record Management which is assessing the perspective of certain University students on archives. A national questionnaire disseminated in all archival repositories is highly desirable. 4. That a concerted effort needs to be made for all archives to register on the National Register of Ar-chives. This facility will be available soon on the Na-tional Archives web-site (www.nationalarchives.gov.mt). The web-site of the National Archives of Malta was launched and it includes the National Register of Ar-

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chives. The first entries have been registered. An information session for users and the printing of a user-guide book will be organised during 2011. 5. That the National Archives in collaboration with other interested bodies organize information sessions targeted

at the specific sectors, e.g. parish archives; band clubs, etc., in order to give basic training on the upkeep of records, tailor made to the needs of particular sectors.

A full day seminar was organised with the theme ‘Records Management at the Advent of Freedom of Information’. The seminar organised by the National Archives in collaboration with ACARM was led by guest speaker Dr Teresa Bastow from the UK. Two information sessions are planned one for band clubs and one for parish archives and other repositories holding medical data. The latter will be held in collaboration with Dr. Vivian Wyatt. Another session of information will be held for Local Councils as part of the plan to put records management in local councils on a professional footing. 6. That public archives be encouraged to appreciate the importance of having graduate archivists on board in

order to organize and protect their holdings. During the two years under review two members of staff of the National Archives were promoted from Archives Officers to Assistant Archivists. The NAM also employed an archive graduate as the first inspector of records, and a graduate in con-servation to set up conservation facilities at the National Archives. 7. That government entities and departments be encouraged to get in line as soon as possible with the National

Archives Act and appoint records officers with the necessary qualifications. Extensive discussions were held with OPM and other entities in order to put into place the Records Officers clause of the National Archives Act, 2005. There is agreement for the issuing of a call for applications for Ministry Records Officers. New training opportunities in records and archives management for public officers will soon be available at the Centre for Devel-opment, Research and Training. 8. That one of the first tasks of the records officers be the drafting of file plans and a general map of the struc-ture of public entities and departments, and their interrelations in terms of documentation. The National Archives carried out initial discussions with a number of entities which have submitted their retention sched-ules for vetting. The process is expected to gain momentum during 2011 when the inspectorate unit of the National Ar-chives will start functioning. 9. That the University of Malta be encouraged to strengthen its archives courses and make them more accessible to public officers. This can be achieved through better publicity of the courses, allocation of more funds espe-cially for the procurement of books related to the topics, and study the possibility of having day time courses as in the case of Public Administration. There are plans for the CDRT to develop certificate level courses in Records Management for public officers. A publicity plan for the Archives Course intake of 2011 is being planned. 10. That employers be encouraged to sponsor employees to follow training in archives and records management in Malta or abroad. Two graduates from the BLIAS course have received sponsorships under the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (STEPS) and the Malta Government Scholarship Post-Graduate Scheme (MGSS) to train in Records Management at Mas-ters level at the University of Dundee. 11. To actively discuss the way to set up a mechanism between the various archival institutions geared towards facilitating participation and tapping in EU projects and funding. Collaboration between the National Archives, National Library, Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heri-tage is already in place. It is hoped that this is strengthened in future, and upgraded to a formal mechanism. 12. That MITA tackles the issue of storage of digital data and accelerate the analysis process for the procurement of software that can handle records management operations. A number of studies were conducted and the possibility of using open-source software promoted by ICA is being investi-gated.

The National Archives Head Office

Hospital Street Rabat RBT1043

Malta

Tel: +356 2145 9863 Fax: +356 2145 0078

E-mail: customercare.archives@gov.mt Web site: www.nationalarchives.gov.mt

ISSN 1997-6348