Turn the Opera House into a modern library

After theatre buffs it was the turn of bookworms to chip into the debate on the old Opera House, calling for the new building to house a modern library rather than Parliament, as is being planned.

Just as stage aficionados had done hours after the government recently re-launched its project for a grand reconstruction of City Gate and the Opera House by Renzo Piano, a Facebook group has been set up to lobby for the library idea.

The group, which already numbers 259 people, is backed by the Malta Library and Information Association (MaLIA), which is proposing that the place should be turned into a cultural centre, with a state-of-the-art library.

The association has so far collected 273 signatures supporting its idea, through an online petition.

This month's announcement that the City Gate regeneration project has been given a new lease of life under fresh plans by world-famous architect Renzo Piano was generally applauded.

However, the idea of rebuilding the Opera House into the new seat of Parliament was not met with the same enthusiasm. The first to complain were the theatre enthusiasts, backed by world famous tenor Joseph Calleja who said he was "shocked" to learn that government was planning to forge ahead with the idea.

The association, however, is not that drastic but is calling for the place to be turned into a cultural hub.

Their petition calls for a permanent display on the history of the Royal Opera House, a multimedia centre and a cafeteria as well as a public, lending library in the heart of the city.

One particular member, commenting on the association's Facebook page online, said that "maybe this is just what we need to give our general knowledge a boost and to decrease the horribly high illiteracy rate that we have in the country!"