Art. 2 Interpretation. — MALTA LIBRARIES ACT

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"author" means a person or a body corporate responsible for the

intellectual, and or artistic content of a work and includes the

person who undertakes the editing, printing or compiling of such

work even when no specific author is identified;

"the Council" means the Malta Libraries Council established

under article 4;

"depositor" means the person or body corporate responsible

under this Act to deposit documents with the depository library;

"depository libraries" means the National Library, the Gozo

Public Library, and, at its own request, the library of the University

of Malta;

"document" means a published or unpublished document, record,

publication, or work containing information or otherwise meant to

communicate, regardless of form or medium, including ephemera

of permanent value;

"electronic document" means a document, regardless of form or

medium, produced using electronic means to make information

available to the public and stored in computers or other storage

media, and which may be displayed or accessed either on a

computer monitor, on other storage media or as a print-out;

"financial year" means any period of twelve months ending on

the 31st December

Provided that the first financial year of the Malta Libraries shall

begin on the coming into force of this Act and shall end on the 31st

December of the next following year;

"House" means the House of Representatives;

"legal deposit" means the deposit of published documents,

publications, records on works, with depository libraries, as

provided for in this Act, to ensure the building and long-term

preservation of a national collection for the current and future

reference, study and research requirements of present and future

*See article 1 of the Act as originally enacted, and Legal Notice 312 of 2011.

MALTA LIBRARIES

generation;

"libraries" means the libraries falling under the responsibility of

the Malta Libraries and include the National Library, the Central

Public Library, the Gozo Public Library, and the Regional and

Branch public libraries;

"Malta Libraries" means the entity called Malta Libraries

established under article 4;

"Malta National Bibliography" means the list, irrespective of

form or medium together with a detailed bibliographical

description, of each new publication received in a given year by

way of legal deposit and to be compiled under article 7;

"medium" is any means of storing information or

communication;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Malta

Libraries and its libraries;

"National Librarian" means the head of the Malta Libraries

appointed under article 5;

"National Library" means the National Library of Malta;

"the Permanent Secretary" means the person appointed to

supervise the Malta Libraries in terms of the Public Administration

Act;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations or orders made

under this Act;

"the Principal Permanent Secretary" means the person appointed

in terms of article 14 of the Public Administration Act;

"printer" means the person who prints, reproduces, or otherwise

makes multiple copies of any publication, regardless of form or

medium;

"Public Libraries" means the Central Public Library, the Gozo

Public Library and the Regional and Branch Public Libraries;

"publication" means any published document, record, or work,

regardless of form or medium, including printed, audio-visual,

microform, electronic hand-held or online documents, records or

work, made available to the public whether freely, on loan, or for

sale;

"public officer" has the same meaning assigned to it by article

124 of the Constitution;

"publisher" means any person or body corporate responsible for

making available to the public any publication, regardless of form

or medium, irrespective of whether such person is the author,

printer, producer or other person or body making finished copies of

such publication;

"record" includes any book, manuscript, parchment paper,

photograph, or any form, schedule, questionnaire, or other such

document, or any recorded or stored information, regardless of

form or medium;

MALTA LIBRARIES

"Regional and, or Local Council" means a regional and, or local

council established under the Local Government Act,

"work" includes every literary, scientific or artistic book, part or

division thereof, pamphlet, monograph, newspaper, periodical,

sheet of music, map, plan, chart or table separately published,

regardless of form or medium, but does not include any second or

subsequent edition of a work unless such edition contains additions

or alterations in the maps, prints or other engravings belonging

thereto.

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