Maltese digital books being offered to Malta Libraries members for the first time

A collaboration was launched today between Malta Libraries and Octavo whereby for the first time digital books in Maltese will be offered to the Malta Libraries members.

This was announced by the Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Jose Herrera during a press conference as part of Malta Libraries’ celebrations for Libraries Day 2021 which coincides with World Book and Copyright Day. ‘It-Teknoloġija bħala muftieħ għal-Letteratura Maltija’ – or ‘Technology as the key to Maltese Literature’ – was this year’s chosen theme.

“Exactly five years on from the launch of the Malta Libraries eBooks, Audiobooks and Magazines service in English and various other languages through the Libby reading app; today, thanks to the local Octavo platform, we are in a position to also offer eBooks in Maltese and thus Malta Libraries addressed the public’s increasing demand for online reading material in Maltese,” stated Minister Herrera.

This additional virtual service is not only free to the public, but accessible 24/7. Already enrolled Malta Libraries members can express interest in it by filling in a simple registration form which can be found on the maltalibraries.gov.mt homepage. Once the application is processed, the borrower will be given access to a collection spanning a wide range of genres divided into two categories, one for children and teenagers under the age of 18, and another for adults. Schoolchildren who already use the Octavo service linked to their iLearn account can refill this form to get assigned many more free titles in Maltese, over and above what they already have access to through the levelled reading library ‘Qari għal Qalbi’.

Octavo is a digital reading and publishing platform and presents books in the form of an ‘oBook’. One of the primary distinguishing features of Octavo’s oBooks is the way content navigation is designed, using scrollable pages resembling an online webpage rather than the traditional side-to-side turning of pages. The Octavo app which may be downloaded on any Android or iOS device, or through the web app, also offers numerous features to facilitate accessibility among users of different ages and abilities, together with the option to customise the fonts, font size and background colours of their reading screens. Moreover, oBooks are available offline after being downloaded so that readers can access them from any location even in the absence of a Wi-Fi connection.

Through this new service, Malta Libraries and Octavo are also supporting local authors through the Public Lending Rights Act, a remuneration scheme introduced by the National Book Council in 2014 to benefit authors whose books – be they digital or in print form – are available to borrow from the Public

Libraries’ Network across Malta and Gozo. National Librarian and CEO, Cheryl Falzon, said: “Libraries in the digital age must adapt and in adapting take every stakeholder into consideration. By introducing this new service, Malta Libraries addressed a lacuna in the public service and, thanks to the established Octavo service, was able to address the pleas of the community it seeks to serve.” She continues: “We are all proud of this Malta Libraries milestone and grateful to the community of users whose opinions and needs have always informed the entity’s strategy moving forward.”