Summary of the project
In a bid to keep the National Collection alive in the collective imagination following a period of restricted access to the National Library of Malta due to Covid-19, a digital presentation and accompanying info panels highlighting the various archives and collections in the National Library of Malta’s trust, travelled across our national and public libraries’ network as well as to book festivals and fairs.
The journey of said info boards and digital presentation started out on Tuesday 19th October 2021 (coinciding with JUM DUN KARM PSAILA – a national day dedicated to Malta’s National Poet) and finished at the National Library in the capital of Valletta where tourists, casual visitors and students stopped to get a glimpse of the rich collections held inside where, for a very long time, only researchers were allowed to enter. In the interim, we were able to present these boards at the Malta Book Festival in November 2021, the National Library of Gozo, the Regional Library of Birgu set within the historic fortification of Couvre Porte and the Central Public Library of Malta in Floriana which is located just outside the Valletta Bastions.
The digital presentation was also on loop at the Campus Book Festival on University Campus in March 2022 (the boards could not be on show due to space restrictions)
Malta Libraries Outreach staff using the info boards and digital presentation to explain the National Library of Malta collections to visitors at the Malta Libraries stand at the Malta Book Festival 2021.
