The National Library Visit

Today’s visit to the National Library was hosted by Mr. Oliver Mamo, the National Librarian, and Ms. Joanne Sciberras who is the Deputy Librarian. The aim of this visit was to familiarize ourselves with the whole process of tendering-from inception to implementation.

Our hosts provided a detailed and informative explanation of the procedure adopted by the National Library to issue a tender for ‘The Implementation Testing & Training of a Digital Assets Management Software System’ to digitize the precious and historical collections found at the National Library.

Ms. Sciberras described the 3 stages of the process: The Preparation Phase; The Adjudication Phase; The Implementation Phase.

During the Preparation Phase one has to look into a number of issues, such as the budget available, human resources, the type of tender to be issued and also the type of system to be adopted. The tender is issued in line with the Public Procurement Regulation www.justiceservices.gov.mt; and that it follows a standard format provided by the Department of Contracts www.contracts.gov.mt .

Once the tender has been submitted by the bidders, an Adjudication Board sends its report to the authorities with its recommendation for the winning bidder and the tender is awarded to the best bidder. The Implementation Phase deals with the technical aspects of the new software - Digivault, the new database for digitizing the National Library’s collection.

As Mr. Mamo so rightly pointed out, there is a lot of administrative work involved in the tendering process which has to be performed with meticulous attention in every step. Only then can one be sure to yield the best results from such a significant investment.

We look forward to seeing the valuable collection online in the near future! One can access the national library online at www.libraries.gov.mt or follow it on http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Library-of-Malta/109081375784113?fref=ts