The Department is interested in carrying out research which is of both Maltese and international relevance.
The Department is highly interested in carrying out research both of local, national and international relevance. It is committed to advance the different aspects of information studies, support the creation of policies and plans of action in the archival and library sectors.
A number of interdisciplinary projects have been undertaken and we are currently working on new ones. Here a glimpse of some of them.
The ‘Naval Battles Pamphlet’ database is an ongoing project aimed at the digitisation and full-text uploading of rare pamphlets describing naval engagements by the Order of St John or by Maltese corsairs during the 16th to the 18th centuries. Work on the database, set up by Prof. William Zammit, has proceeded with the help of foreign institutions who provided the personnel and other resources required. In collaboration with the University of Malta Library, the Department curates the database. The pamphlets - many of which were not previously bibliographically recorded and no copy of which exists in Maltese public libraries - were digitized and uploaded on the database with the required metadata. The database may be accessed here: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/22697
COST 18140: People in Motion, which also covers ‘paper in motion’ (Prof. William Zammit).
COST 18205: Worlds of Related Coercions in Work, which also covers documentation related to various forms of unfree labour (Prof. William Zammit).
COST OC-2018-1- 22951: Saving European Archaeology from the Digital Dark Age (SEADDA). Making archaeological data open and freely accessible is a priority across Europe, but the domain lacks appropriate, persistent repositories. Due to the fragility of digital data and non-repeatable nature of most archaeological research, the domain is poised to lose a generation of research to the Digital Dark Age. The key to mitigating this crisis is to bring archaeologists and data management specialists together to share expertise and create resources that allow them to address problems in the most appropriate way within their own countries. While important international standards exist and should be used, there is no single way to build a repository. To be successful, archaeologists must be at the decision-making heart of how their data is archived to ensure re-use is possible. SEADDA will be vital for establishing a priority research area in the archiving, dissemination and open access re-use of archaeological data, and includes proposers from 26 COST countries. It will bring together an interdisciplinary network of archaeologists and computer scientists; experts in archaeological data management and open data dissemination and re-use. It will create publications and materials that will set out the state of the art for archaeological archiving across Europe, recommendations to mitigate the crisis and at least one major funding application. It will organise meetings and training that will allow archaeologists from countries with archiving expertise to work with archaeologists with few or no available options, so they may share knowledge and create dialogue within their countries, and move forward to address the crisis (Dr Charles Farrugia).
reSEArch-EU Grant Agreement: 101017454. This project led by the University of Malta deals with Open Educational Resources, Open Science and Open Access. It is an EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. HoD Dr Charles Farrugia is representing DLIAS in this project and in particular participating in the Work Package leading the Open Research Data Working Group.
Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS). This project is led by Professor JoAnn Cassar, Head, Department of Conservation and Built Heritage within the Faculty of Built Environment. The UM has joined IPERION HS - www.iperionhs.eu - which is the precursor to E-RIHS. Within this three-year project, the UM will outreach to various communities (Librarians and Archivists included) to engage them with the facilities offered by the E-RIHS platforms. Thus, DLIAS aims to engage and support his national node aiming to create a culture of facilities and resources sharing of the heritage science infrastructure (Dr Charles Farrugia; Dr Valeria Vanesio).
COST Action Dialogue. DIALOGUE is trying to address the currently fragmented nature of the European digitisation ecosystem in which computer scientists, cultural heritage professionals and digital humanities researchers are still working, to a large extent, in silos. DIALOGUE aims to (i) enhance access to Europe’s digitised historical textual cultural heritage and foster the exploitation of the related data in Digital Humanities (DH) research by making Europe’s Cultural Heritage FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and (ii) establish a common research agenda for digital humanities (DH), cultural heritage (CH) and Computer Science (CS). DIALOGUE will create the necessary conditions to facilitate an ecosystem where DH researchers, CH Institutions and developers can communicate and interact in more efficient ways (Dr Marc Kosciejew).
COST Action CA18126: Writing Urban Places. New Narratives of the European City. This Action proposes an innovative investigation and implementation of a process for developing human understanding of communities, their society, and their situatedness, by narrative methods. It particularly focuses on the potential of narrative methods for urban development in European medium sized cities. By recognising the value of local urban narratives -stories rich in information regarding citizens sociospatial practices, perceptions and expectations, the Action aims to articulate a set of concrete literary devices within a host of spatial disciplines; bringing together scientific research in the fields of literary studies, urban planning and architecture; and positioning this knowledge vis-à-vis progressive redevelopment policies carried out in medium-sized cities in Europe (Dr Marc Kosciejew).
Pioneers in Maltese Archives and Libraries. Project financed by the RSSD funds 2022 and 2023, aims to reconstruct the forgotten 20th-century history of the libraries and archives sector protagonists of the Maltese Archipelago (Dr Charles Farrugia and Dr Valeria Vanesio). More information here: https://www.um.edu.mt/maks/las/ourresearch/projectsandinitiatives/pioneersinmaltesearchivesandlibraries/
RENOwN Project: Réseaux, Espaces, NOblesses en Méditerranée. Project directed by professors Anne Brogini, Germain Butaud and Charles Bouveyron. Université Côte d'Azur, Initiative of Excellence University (2019-2021). The project retraces and reconstructs the network of the Provencal families admitted to the Order of Saint John, their relatives and clientele, and the strategies used to combine and transmit fiefdoms. The project is extending to the whole Euro-Mediterranean arc (Spain, Provence, Italy) and comparing the noble and military strategies specific to the Mediterranean world. Particular attention is paid to archival practices for the admission process into the Order (Dr Valeria Vanesio). More information here: https://msi.univ-cotedazur.eu/support-for-research-projects/peps-projects/renom-%E2%80%93-networks-spaces-and-nobility-in-the-mediterranean
France and Malta in the Age of Revolution, 1775-1815. Research project aiming at digitising, cataloguing and studying the records related to Malta, France and the Order of Saint John from 1775 and 1815 directed by the Malta Study Center, led by Dr Daniel K. Gullo, and involving many holding institutions in Malta and France (2019- ; Dr Valeria Vanesio).
HMML Authority File (HAF) Project by HMML and the Malta Study Center. Multi-year project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a definitive list of authority files for the Order of Malta, including corporate names, geographic names, personal and family names to be submitted to VIAF and Library of Congress (2020- ; Dr Valeria Vanesio is external consultant and advisor). More information here: https://hmml.org/research/resources-for-access-authority/
Langue of Italy Archives Project by the Malta Study Center at HMML. Multi-year project to digitise the archives of the Langue of Italy and the Italian priories, starting with the Priory of Pisa at the State Archive of Florence (2022- ; Dr Valeria Vanesio).
Stories of the Auberge of Italy (IPAS+ funds, Malta Council for Science and Technology), project led by Mr Christian Mifsud and conducted with Dr Valeria Vanesio, Prof Emanuel Buttigieg (Department of History) and Dr Valentina Burgassi (Politecnico di Torino). This project originated and combines the individual research carried out from the members of the team to provide a new multidisciplinary perspective to investigate the building, its uses and functions, the institutional and archival context, and the social narratives. The study intends to expand into the Langue of Italy not as a static geographical subdivision in the ranks of the Order of St John but as a semi-autonomous body inside the central convent connecting Malta and Italy. This research offers a unique opportunity to reassess historiography and:
Main outcomes: lecture, workshop, exhibition at MUZA (11th August-24th September), peer-reviewed article.
Hospitaller Research Forum. Research group that brings together scholars working in the field of Hospitaller studies and undertakes a range of activities, such as an annual workshop on a given theme or topic in Hospitaller Studies. The long-term aim is to formulate a coherent research agenda and address gaps, issues and challenges in the field. In partnership with Prof Emanuel Buttigieg (History at UM) and Dr Anton Caruana Galizia (Newcastle University): https://www.um.edu.mt/maks/las/ourresearch/projectsandinitiatives/hospitallerresearchforum/
Malta & Europe, Europe & Malta. Dissemination of knowledge, sources and architectural models through the network of the Order of St John. International project run jointly by the University of Palermo (Dr Armando Antista), Politecnico di Torino and Construction History Group (Dr Valentina Burgassi), and the University of Malta (Dr Valeria Vanesio). In partnership with the Complutense Universidad de Madrid (Prof. Helena Perez Gallardo), an international conference will be held in Valletta in April 2024, entitled People, Books, and Models: The Order of St John and the circulation of architectural ideas between Malta and Europe (16th-18th century): https://www.um.edu.mt/events/peoplebooksmodels2024/