Library Information & Archive Sciences at UM

04/09/2026

The National Archives of Malta has published its Annual Report 2025 online.

Dive into our extensive resources on the topic that interests you. It's like a masterclass to be explored at your own pace.

31/08/2026

The year 2026 marks the 460th birthday of the Hospitaller convent-city of Valletta, in Malta, on 28 March 1566. Taking its cue from this anniversary, the ninth Military Orders conference is being held in Malta with the theme of ‘Documents and Monuments’. Organised by Prof Emanuel Buttigieg (Department of History, Faculty of Arts) and Dr Valeria Vanesio (Department of Library Information and Archive Sciences, Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences), this conference brings together over 80 established and emerging researchers who study the military-religious orders (the Hospitallers, Templars, Teutonics, and others).

This is a closed event open to registered conference participants only, but those interested to know more can follow updates here:
https://www.um.edu.mt/events/militaryorders2026/
https://www.facebook.com/um.lasdepartment
https://www.facebook.com/um.historydepartment
https://www.instagram.com/historyatum
https://www.instagram.com/maksdotmt

The published proceedings of the eight conference ‘The Military Orders Volume VIII:
In a Wider World’, edited by Emanuel Buttigieg and Clara Almagro Vidal, are available from Routledge publishers https://www.routledge.com/The-Military-Orders-Volume-VIII-In-a-Wider-World/Buttigieg-AlmagroVidal/p/book/9781032472706

26/08/2026

One of the books shortlisted for the National Book Prize 2026 deals with private deposits at the The National Archives of Malta. Head of Department Professor Charles Farrugia teamed up with Professor George Cassar and Dr Evelyn Pullicino as editors. We wish them luck in the final selection.

13/07/2026

Bejn it-Tnejn 14 u l-Ġimgħa 18 ta’ Settembru se norganizzaw workshop ta’ palejografija u diplomatika iffukat fuq il-prattika permezz ta’ qari u traskrizzjoni gwidata ta’ dokument oriġinali ta’ tipi varjati. Għalkemm konozzenxa tal-Latin u tat-Taljan tkun ta’ għajnuna, din mhijiex neċessarja sabiex wieħed jibbenefika minn dan il-workshop. Ser inkunu qegħdin niltaqgħu fl-arkivji ċentrali tal-Arkivji Nazzjonali ta’ Malta, f’Santu Spirtu r-Rabat, fis-sezzjoni tal-Qrati u Tribunali tal-istess Arkivji Nazzjonali u l-Arkivji tal-Katidral fl-iMdina, u fil-Kurja tal-Arċisqof fil-Furjana, dejjem bejn id-9 u n-nofsieha. Il-ħames sessjonijiet ser ikunu lkoll differenti u ser inkunu qed nikkunsidraw dokumenti differenti minn kull arkivju. Dan il-workshop huwa organizzat flimkien mad-Dipartiment tal-Klassiċi u l-Arkeoloġija u d-Dipartiment tal-Informazzjoni Libreristika u Xjenzi Arkivistiċi tal-Università ta’ Malta, u bis-sapport tal-Arkivji Djoċesani ta’ Malta u l-Arkivji tal-Katidral Metroplitan. Min hu interessat jattendi jew jixtieq jikseb iktar infrormazzjoni u mitlub jikkuntattja lill-Arkivji Nazzjonali ta’ Malta fuq [email protected], jew billi jċempel fuq 26023800.
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We are organising a palaeography and diplomatics workshop between Monday 14th and Friday 18th September which will be practice-based and geared towards the guided reading and transcribing of original documents from various fonds. Knowledge of Latin and Italian would be an asset but is not required to benefit from attending this workshop. We shall be meeting at the Head Offices of the National Archives of Malta at Santu Spirtu in Rabat, the Courts and Tribunal sections of the same and the Cathedral Archives in Mdina, and at the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana, always between 9 and 12:30. All five sessions are individual and we will be working with different documents from each archive. This workshop is being co-organised with the Department of Classics and Archaeology and the Department of Library Information and Archive Sciences of the University of Malta, and with the support of the Diocesan Archives of Malta and the Archives of the Metropolitan Cathedral. Those interested in attending or wishing to receive more information are kindly asked to contact the National Archives of Malts on [email protected] or by calling on 26023800.

06/07/2026

This week, Dr Valeria Vanesio participated in the SSCLE 2026 International Conference in Porto, contributing to two engaging sessions on the history of the Order of St John.

Dr Vanesio was honoured to present a paper on Hospitaller normative texts as part of the panel organised by Professors Karl Borchardt and Helen Nicholson, with the participation of Professor Anthony Luttrell on the Order's normative tradition. She also delivered a joint presentation with Professor Emanuel Buttigieg on Hospitaller statecraft, warfare, and archival practices in the seventeenth century, exploring the interconnected role of governance, military administration, and documentary culture within the Order of St John.

Beyond the conference presentations, the event provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ongoing collaboration between the Department of Library, Information and Archive Sciences (DLIAS), University of Malta, and colleagues at the University of Porto, particularly Professor Paula Pinto Costa and Dr Joana Lencart, through the Militarium Ordinum Nexus – Beyond Boundaries (MON-2B) initiative. These exchanges continue to foster interdisciplinary research, international partnerships, and new opportunities for collaboration in the study of the military orders and their documentary heritage.

Many thanks to the organisers for an outstanding event and to all colleagues for the inspiring conversations throughout the week. We look forward to continuing these collaborations in the years ahead.

History at UM; Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East

06/06/2026

During the last week of lectures of Semester Two our Bachelor students were addressed by Assoc. Prof Kirsten Greer, Historical geographer at Nipissing University and Dr Adam Csank who is a paleoclimatologist and paleoecologist with expertise in stable isotope geochemistry and dendrochronology. The main topics were archiving colonial mentalities and the dendrochronology archives.

02/06/2026

So proud of the four students from our department who got the Dean's Award during a ceremony held on Friday 29 May 2026 at the University of Malta. Congratulations go to Curtis Callus, Jeremy Debono, Maria Ferranti and Christopher Giordano.

27/05/2026

Extensive coverage of the Archivistics seminar we held at the Biblioteca Apostolica on the Vatican News.

https://www.vaticannews.va/it/vaticano/news/2026-05/biblioteca-apostolica-vaticana-malta-universita-archivi.html

27/05/2026

This event was organise by the Department of Library, Information and Archive Sciences withing the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences MAKS - University of Malta

18/05/2026

Prof William Zammit latest publication. A study of Cardinal Joaquin de Portocarrero, whose impressive collection co-founded the present National Library of Malta.
Portocarrero was an avid follower of the sciences and, besides his (long-lost) impressive collection of scientific instruments, his manuscripts included cartographic works and a comparison between the Ptolemaic Earth-centred and the Copernican Sun-centred solar system.
Published in 'The Art of Negotiating an Existence', edited by Prof. George Cassar, Dane Munro and Noel Buttigieg. Full of very interesting studies and beautifully produced.