National Archives to open on Saturdays

The National Archives at Rabat will, from the 28 February 1998, be kept open on Saturdays from 8.15 a.m. to 1.15 p.m. This is being done on the initiative of the Minister of Education and National Culture, the Hon. Evarist Bartolo. Thus a long felt need by local researchers becomes a reality on that day.

The National Archives were officially opened on 28 May 1994, after extensive internal works to modify what was previously known as Santu Spirtu Hospital. The building, in Hospital Street, Rabat, houses Government documents starting with the British period in Malta and continuing into the 1960s. Documents include official correspondence between the Governors of Malta and the Colonial Office.

A small, but growing, section of history and other books on Britain and the Empire is also available. This is intended to act as a background to local history and to identify names of persons and places found in documents. A number of these books, including biographies of famous politicians and military personnel of the times, are being forwarded from the National Library in Valletta.