Passengers booking an Air Malta flight will each be contributing one euro to the restoration of a collection of Shakespeare works that is falling to pieces along with other priceless manuscripts at the National Library in Valletta.

Air Malta CEO Joe Capello said the airline was spurred into action by an article in The Times that highlighted the pitiful state of a large collection of old books at the library.

“We believe these books should be restored not only for their intrinsic value but also because it adds value to Malta’s cultural and tourism heritage,” Mr Capello said.

The initiative follows on that of the Lions Club Sliema, which in May launched a project that kicked off with a €9,000 contribution to the restoration of three volumes of the Hortus Romanus, an eight-volume collection of botanical engravings published between 1772 and 1793.

The Times had revealed that, though most of the library’s 750,000 books were in a good state, there were hundreds of tomes – dating between the 16th and 18th centuries – that are literally turning to dust.

Speaking at the launch of Air Malta’s campaign yesterday, Education Minister Dolores Cristina pointed out that expenditure on the library had tripled from €1,700 in the first six months last year to €5,724 in the corresponding period this year, while the Central Public Library saw €71,000 being spent on books. But the money going to the National Library collection is nowhere near what is needed to restore these priceless volumes.

In fact, the ministry’s coordinator for library projects, Henry Cachia, had confirmed that there was no specific budget for restoration at the National Library. But thanks to private sponsorships like that of the Lions Club and Air Malta, the process can be speeded up.

The money from Air Malta’s campaign has been earmarked for the restoration of the oldest known Shakespeare complete works on the island, which date back to 1782 and are written in French.

The campaign is valid through to September 12 and customers will not be charged extra. It also runs in tandem with a campaign the airline is running for the protection of turtles.

Mrs Cristina encouraged other organisations to follow in Air Malta’s and the Lions Club Sliema’s footsteps in contributing to this “national monument”, adding that this was a fine example of corporate social responsibility.