The disappearing library

First it was there, and then it wasn't. In the space of four days a useful and much-needed building disappeared. Or rather, it was transformed into something less useful and less attractive. That's right. On Monday last week, Renzo Piano was reported as saying that the building in Freedom Square will house Parliament and a public library.

He went on to say that he wanted people to enjoy going there. In his words "We want to put on the ground floor of the Parliament a function that is public... I think we have to put there a dignified, noble activity. We are thinking about a library..."

This news may not have attracted as much comment as the debate about what is to become of the opera house site, but it was still undeniably good news. For years, our public library has been located at Belt-is-Sebh - at the bottom of a steep hill. There is no direct bus route to the place.

The building itself is not very large and is not equipped with any of the interactive features which make libraries exciting places instead of musty halls where old books are stacked. The present set-up is a far cry from libraries abroad, where information is showcased in its myriad forms.

So the thought of having a bright, airy library designed by a great architect in our capital city was one of the most welcome aspects of the design. A fellow book lover called me, exclaiming delightedly about the way the government had taken this idea on board. I preferred to wait and see the final designs before expressing myself. My caution was justified. By the time the day of the official presentation of the plans rolled around, the plans for a public library had disappeared.

In its stead we will be having a state-of-the-art (the Gonzi government's favourite buzzword) interactive Museum of Maltese History and Political Development. I wonder how that came about and why.

I guess there were actually no intentions to have a public library there at all and all those hints at a place "with a public purpose" was just another ruse to fob off those who wanted the project to include a cultural element. As it is, we're getting a museum which could easily be situated elsewhere and passing up the chance to have a contemporary public library which is easily accessible to all.

Those people who are so hung up on the symbolism of Piano's plan and who trill on about the importance of having the greatest symbol of democracy - parliament - in a prime position in our capital city, have missed out on the symbolic meaning of discarding the public library idea. For all its declarations about wanting to make Maltese society an information-based society, the Nationalist government has chosen to ignore the pleas for an innovative and up-to-date public library in a prominent and accessible site.

Our library is buried away behind a hulk of a hotel and a hotchpotch of parked cars. It is out of sight and out of mind for our authorities. I guess that the library's location is symbolic of the low position that it occupies on the government's list of priorities.

I read that the Prime Minister has chided the Opposition for not presenting its views on the reform of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa). He said that he had received criticism from all sectors of the population except the Opposition and promised that if Labour wrote to him officially he would authorise an official presentation and would look forward to fundamental decisions for the country.

The Prime Minister has a penchant for requesting the Opposition's help or making pleas for national consensus when what is really needed is decisive action on his part. One of the very first columns I wrote was about Lawrence Gonzi's appeal to the former Labour leader Alfred Sant to keep Malta clean.

On that occasion, the Prime Minister had said, "I am calling on Alfred Sant to join me in an exercise as government and Opposition, or at the level of the Nationalist and Labour parties to have a clean country."

Then - as now - I had thought that the Prime Minister's appeal was an exercise in superfluity - an attempt to deflect attention and blame for his inactivity in a particular sphere. Although it would be good to have the Opposition's views on the Mepa reform, it is not an essential requirement for the long-promised reform.

Before the last election, Dr Gonzi promised that he would take Mepa under his wing and reform it thoroughly. More than a year later, Mepa remains unreformed and all the Prime Minister has done is whine about the Opposition's lack of proposals.

It seems to have escaped his notice that the electorate may have preferred him over the Opposition precisely because he showed some willingness to do something about Mepa. Since the Nationalist government holds the majority of seats in parliament it can go ahead and push through the reforms - in much the same way that it has pushed through other questionable and unpopular measures.

The Prime Minister should get down to the business of Mepa reform instead of blaming the Opposition for his inaction and indecisiveness.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt