Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/811845
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 This Week 33 as well as Viennese musicians in a programme that travels back in time to reach its climax with Beethoven's Ninth 'Choral' Symphony. More information and a full programme: http://www. iso-festival.com/. APRIL 29 Mueran Humanos Live Spanish act Mueran Humanos will be performing alongside YEWS and The Velts at Razzett L-Ahmar, Mosta at 21:00. Mueran Humanos consists of an Argentinian Duo Carmen Burguess (vocals, drum machines, synths) and Tomas Nochteff (vocals, bass, drum machines) who together make propulsive, unfurling Spanish language pop songs using experimental, punk and avant- garde methods. Also featuring DJ sets by Lady Irene, The Chemist and Darren Borg. Tickets are at €15. Bookings: https://shop. trackagescheme.com/event/ mueran-humanos-live/. EXHIBITION APRIL 21-MAY 17 Truth || Lies Collective and exhibition by local and international artists themed around the mutability of the truth in the current media landscape, held at Blitz, St Lucy Street, Valletta. Featured artists include: Armenoui Kasparian Saraidari, Sara Rees, Giuseppe Torre, Erica Giusta, Guillaume Dreyfuss, Jacques Borg Barthet, Manali Jagtap-Nyheim, Tom Bull, Philip Cartelli, Mariangela Ciccarello, Arnold Aganze, Ina Lounguine, Will Henry Carter and Neale Willis. The exhibition will open on April 20 at 19:00, and remain on display at the venue until May 17. Opening times at Blitz are: 10:00-15:00 (Tuesday to Thursday); 15:00 to 19:00 (Friday and Saturday). THEATRE APRIL 23-26; 27, 30; MAY 1, 2 Twelfth Night WhatsTheirNames Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at The Pub, Archbishop Street, Valletta at 20:00. There will also be morning performances at April 22, 23 and 29 at 10:00. Spaces are limited to 20 places for each performance. Directed by Philip Leone-Ganado. Cast includes Joe Azzopardi, Nathan Brimmer, Becky Camilleri, Joanna Wills and Joseph Zammit. Tickets: whatstheirnames. theatre@gmail.com; 7734 5207 or 7905 2522. FESTIVAL APRIL 21 Night Terror 2 Horror film double bill at City Lights, Valletta at 21:00. Featuring The Omen (1976) and The House on Haunted Hill (1959). There will be an afterparty following the performance. Entrance is free. WHAT'S ON What was the main impetus behind this programme of events, and why did you feel the particular libraries and subjects that the programme covers needed to be tackled in Malta at this point in time? This programme of events is carried out to commemorate Libraries Day, which falls on April 23, which also happens to be World Book and Copyright Day. We celebrate in a number of libraries including the National Library by organising educational sessions, exhibitions and library services awareness campaigns through the support of other organisations such as the National Literacy Agency, the National Curriculum Centre, and Graphic Novels Library Malta (GNLM) and Horizons Publishers. In the past year, Malta Libraries extended its business and remit due to official detail- ing of the Gozo libraries' staff and the merg- ing of library operations across the board. The programme of events seeks to reflect the new and wide-ranging scope of the entity. Moreover, we have sought to rope in initia- tives at every level, encouraging librarians from public and regional libraries to act on their own initiative and come up with events that attract their own clientele. How much importance are libraries given in Malta, and would you say the quality of their collections and accessibility to their venues (in every sense of the word) is adequate to guarantee their continued usage by a large swathe of the Maltese populace? How do events like your two-week programme aim to tackle and improve upon these realities? Unfortunately, libraries and their relevance in our community is still overlooked. Al- though we make every effort to update their collections and accessibility there are limita- tions beyond our control – mainly financial resources and lack of adequate space. Nonetheless, we are continuously re-eval- uating the existing libraries and seeking op- portunities to increase facilities and services through the support of Local Councils and the National Literacy Agency. Additionally, with today's technological developments people can also access the National Library's digitised material online and public library members can download ebooks for free 24/7. These events aim to create more awareness of the importance of libraries in the community and also their pertinent role to aid inclusion, since library services cater for diversity. Some of the highlights of the programme appear to be the Talking Books initiative -- which seems to be focused on improving reading for the blind as well as giving more multimedia options for those wanting to experience audiobooks – and Mixjet il-Malti – which aims at giving students a more tangible experience of the texts they will be studying for their O Levels. What do you hope to achieve with these books in particular? The Talking Books Service will be replacing the former 'Services for the Blind' which started way back in 1968 and solely catered for the visually-impaired. This upgrade in the audiobooks service is being launched in a bid to render a more inclusive service and reach out not only to library members that are visually-impaired but also those who are housebound, have reading difficulties or require the audio format of a book. The Mixjet il-Malti exhibition ties in nicely with our overall position on the transfer and accessibility of knowledge – by presenting the students with an immersive and tangible experience we trust that they would experi- ence their studies in a way that they would then be able to carry it on with them later in life. For a full programme of events related Malta Libraries' celebration of Library Day, log on to: http://bit.ly/2o7giYH Celebrating libraries, celebrating inclusion Ahead of the week leading up to Libraries Day, Malta National Libraries CEO Cheryl Falzon tells TEODOR RELJIC how this annual milestone will be celebrated The 'Talking Books' initiative seeks to upgrade the former 'Services for the Blind' and cater for those who simply prefer audiobooks to printed material Cheryl Falzon The Libraries Day celebration programme starts tomorrow morning with Mixjet Il-Malti at the National Library, Valletta