NGĦOŻŻU L-KARTA

For this year’s participation, under the title “Ngħożżu l-Karta” (Cherishing Paper), our library will focus on sustainability, creativity, and the importance of giving books a second life.

Throughout the year, the library promotes the value of books and encourages their reuse through various initiatives. Books that have been withdrawn from the library’s collection or donated by the public are given another opportunity to be appreciated. Some are placed on a dedicated trolley for patrons to take home, while others are included in initiatives such as Blind Date with a Book, encouraging readers to discover and enjoy books that might otherwise be overlooked.

This year, we will take this philosophy a step further by focusing on the reuse of paper from old books, particularly those whose pages have yellowed with age. Rather than seeing these pages as worn out or no longer useful, we recognise their beauty, history, and potential to become something new.

Through a creative art installation using pages from these books, we aim to demonstrate how paper can be transformed and appreciated beyond its original purpose. The versatility of old book pages will also be explored through smaller creative activities, including the making of seed envelopes in collaboration with other entities.

“Ngħożżu l-Karta” celebrates not only the importance of reducing waste and reusing materials, but also the emotional and cultural value of books and the stories they carry. It reminds us that even when a book can no longer serve its original purpose, its pages can continue to inspire, communicate, and take on new life.