40Th Anniversary of the Malta Study Center: Part II Curated Exhibit Goes National New Acquisitions the Chronicle of the Malta Study Center Left: a Photo of St
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THE MALTA STUDY CENTER AT THE HILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY Fall 2013 The Latin wordMelitensia th denotes “things pertaining 40 Anniversary of the Malta Study Center to Malta,” and it is most st frequently used in the world Part II: 21 –Century Preservation Techniques of rare books and manuscripts to describe written collections The last issue of Melitensia told the story of The project had taken years of dedicated work of the history and culture of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library’s and the support of generous donors to cre- the island of Malta. (HMML) mission to microfilm endangered ate the largest single repository of Maltese manuscripts in Malta. Between 1973 and historical documents in the world. The collec- This newsletter reports 1999, HMML’s Malta Study Center micro- tion was worthless, however, if no one knew the activities of the Malta filmed more than 16,000 documents, registers, where it was or what was in it. The microfilm Study Center, and features information about the history books, and other historical papers housed in 53 project represented the first time that anyone of the Knights of Malta and collections on the islands of Malta and Gozo. had listed the contents of Malta’s archives, an the history and culture of the The project included major collections such as incredible achievement even if the materials country of Malta itself. the Archives of the Knights of Malta (National were not yet completely sorted or classified. Library of Malta) and the Archives of the The challenge was to publish this information We welcome your comments Inquisition of Malta (Cathedral Museum, quickly in a format that could be easily updat- and your communication Mdina). In addition, the Mdina Cathedral ed and accessible to researchers in Malta and about others who might Museum Microfilming project, under the throughout the world. HMML turned to the share an interest in this core direction of Fr. John Azzopardi, had patiently Internet to create a virtual Malta Study Center program of the Hill Museum microfilmed numerous small collections of that could serve an international clientele and, & Manuscript Library. documents stashed in parish churches, con- in 1995, the Library hired Theresa Vann to Email: [email protected] vents, and private collections throughout the catalog the collection and put it online. Phone: (320) 363-3514 country. As a result, the project was unprec- www.hmml.org edented for its time because it included the historical record of ordinary people who are usually lost Right: Msgr. John from history. The Azzopardi, Fr. Columba, project organized, OSB, Stewart, Theresa Vann, and Joseph S. categorized, and pho- Micallef at the Cathedral tographed the docu- Archives in Malta, ments of an entire June 10, 2013. Mediterranean com- Note the marble plaques on munity who lived in the wall commemorating the 15th-18th centu- the beginning of the ries, with some docu- microfilm project. ments dating back to the 12th century and others from the 19th th and 20 . Continued on page 2 Vann set up the Malta Study Center website and posted HMML’s decision to change from microfilm to digital successful completion of the NEH Challenge preliminary descriptions of the archives by September technology in 2003 changed how the Library served its Grant has opened up many opportunities for 1995. The virtual Malta Study Center received immedi- patrons—including the Malta Study Center. HMML’s the Center. In addition to establishing digital ate feedback from users around the world. One of the first digital manuscript project started in April of that projects, the endowment supports collection first was Fr. Azzopardi, who emailed Vann to clarify the year, just as the Iraq War was reaching its climax in development, exhibits, public events, and classification schema of Malta’s small archives. The virtual Baghdad. That pioneer project was at the Monastery and scholarly outreach. All this extends the reach Malta Study Center thrived in this new environment, cre- University of Our Lady of Balamand, near Tripoli in of the Center and continues to make it one ated by the rapid and widespread changes in information northern Lebanon. Having seen their most valuable man- of the most important resources for Maltese technology that have taken place in the past twenty years. uscripts disappear during the Lebanese civil war of 1975- (and Mediterranean) culture outside of Vann produced archival descriptions and catalogs that 1991, the monks readily understood the importance Malta itself. anyone in the world with an Internet connection could of HMML’s work and were eager to be HMML’s first access. And many people did—far more researchers vis- partner in the region. After Fra’ Andrew Bertie, Prince Also in 2004, the Center’s curator, Theresa ited the virtual Center than the actual one at HMML. and Grand Master of the Order of Malta visited HMML Vann, received a Fulbright to teach library But they missed out on the full benefit of the Malta Study in October 2003 and saw the work of the Center, nego- and information technology at the University Center’s collections, which, in addition to the microfilms, tiations began to form a partnership with the Magistral of Malta. There she began to explore the pos- contained an ever-increasing collection of published Archives and Library of the Sovereign Military Order sibilities of returning to Malta to digitize col- books and materials about Malta and the Knights of of Malta in Rome. The Center used HMML’s successful lections that had been inaccessible during the Malta (also known as the Order of the Hospital). model for digitizing to begin its first digital project at the microfilm project, particularly the law courts Magistral Library in 2005. of the Knights and the notarial archives. She Above: Delegates to the 41st Citra Conference in Malta, 2009, inspect also formed networks with a new generation of the Center’s digitization equipment in the Banca Giuratale, National Two things happened in 2004 that Maltese archival partners. The Center formed Archives of Malta. Noel d’Anastas stands in the background. (CITRA – changed the direction of the Malta Study long-term partnerships with the National International Conference of the Round Table on Archives) Center. First, a challenge grant from the Archives of Malta in 2007 and the Notarial National Endowment for the Humanities Archives of Malta in 2010, in which the parties secular tribunal that the Knights of Malta established led to the creation of a permanent endow- share cataloging, digital imaging, and technical expertise. in 1543 to hear civil and criminal cases involving their ment for the Center. This permitted, for Maltese subjects. The studio began digitizing the 1,411 the first time, long-range planning, includ- In 2010, an advisory group called the “Friends of the volumes of the Acta and its 25–volume index in 2007. ing undertaking new digital preservation Malta Study Center” was created to review the Center’s It will finish photographing the remaining 510 volumes projects in Malta and putting the Center’s progress in fulfilling the goals it outlined during the within the next two years, at which point the studio will rare book collection on the Internet. The endowment drive: to preserve the history of Malta and begin work on a new series from the law courts of the make it accessible to the public. Knights. The studio at the Notarial Archives began digi- tizing 1,335 16th-century notarial registers in 2010, and The Center’s work is far from completed. On June 20, still has a ways to go. And HMML is creating vHMML, 2013, the photography studio at the National Archives of a virtual Library to serve manuscript researchers, students, Malta shipped its one-millionth digital image to HMML. and teachers. The Center will host online studies and th projects through vHMML, extending its reach far Above: The Malta Study Center’s first The image depicts a folium from an early 18 -century beyond Collegeville. Home Page, 1995. volume of the Acts of the Magna Curia Castellania, a Right: The current Malta Study Center website page, now part of www.hmml.org. PAGE 2 PAGE 3 MELITENSIA MELITENSIA COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT RECENT ACQUISITIONS The Malta Study Center recently acquired four 18th-century printed works to add to its collection of rare Melitensia: José Anastasio de Figueiredo Ribeiro, Historia da Ordem do Hospital, Hoje de Malta, e Dos Senhores Grão-Priores della em Portugal (Lisbon, 1793). See photo. This is the first edition of Ribeiro’s Nova historia da Militar View the online exhibit at melitensia.blogspot.com Ordem de Malta (Lisbon, 1800). Ribeiro’s work is an impor- tant addition to the collection because it is based upon documentary evidence from the Portuguese Priory of the Order of Malta. Malta Study Center Curates National Exhibit The remaining works are pamphlets, ephemera that usually February 15, 2013, marked the 900th anniversary of the Association of the Order of Malta asked Theresa Vann, do not survive as well as bound books. Like modern journals papal bull “Pie postulatio voluntatis,” which is one of curator of the Malta Study Center, to create an exhibit and magazines, these pamphlets report news and opinion of the foundation documents of the Order of Malta. Pope for its celebrations that would focus on the experiences contemporary events. They are: Pascal II granted the bull to Gerard, the founder of the of the Hospitallers in the year 1113. Vann, working Order of the Hospital, on February 15, 1113. The title with HMML graphic designer Rachael Witt, created the 1) Fr. Caetano, Relação fidelissima das “Pie postulatio voluntatis,” is taken from the first three exhibit “900 Years of Faith in Action: 1113-2013, The continuas vexaçoens, e grandes tyran- 2) Fr.