National Archives become an open book

The Libraries and Archives Department is holding the first Archive Awareness Week.

The activities, under the theme Preserve to Serve, will be held at the National Archives premises in Rabat between Monday and November 2.

The Ministry of Education and the Friends of the National Archives are collaborating in the event.

The aim is to raise awareness among the general public and decision makers of the importance of such records kept at the archives.

President Guido de Marco will address a public lecture on the importance of bequests by prominent Maltese and also on other themes related to archives in society. The lecture will be held at the archives on Tuesday.

On Wednesday the head of archives, Charles J. Farrugia, will deliver a talk on reprographics as a preservation tool.

This occasion will also see the launching of a microfilming project by the Friends of the National Archives.

A set of 23 volumes consisting of early British period Memorial have been microfilmed and digitised following fundraising from the public.

Friday will be Education Day at the archives.

Two separate school packs have been prepared by the public services unit of the National Archives in collaboration with the teachers of three different schools - Attard Primary, St Agatha College and San Anton.

Students will visit the archives, tour the place and work through the workbooks with their respective teachers.

The climax of the activities is on November 2 when the archives will be open for public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A photographic exhibition, entitled The Maltese, by photographer Tony S. Mangion will be complemented by an audio visual presentation of old historical photos from the archives collection.

Visitors can buy second-hand books from the Friends' bookshop, have a tailor-made certificate commemorating the day and view the different processes through which public records pass before they become accessible to the reading public.