University library to review ‘protected books’ policy

Books which have been kept in a special cabinet at the University library, possibly because of their controversial content, may soon see the light of day, after the library committee agreed to “review” the system.

The move comes after months of criticism by the Front Against Censorship and by many academics who complained that some books were being kept “under lock and key”.

A list of more than 30 controversial classics had been mentioned by the Front but it turns out the cabinet is made up of almost 2,000 books, many of which are stored away from the main shelves for safekeeping.

The library committee stressed yesterday the “cabinet collection” was not intended as censorship. In fact, students were allowed to borrow all the books and no requests were ever turned down.

“It is the books that are being protected from the users rather than the users protected from the books,” the committee said, adding most of the books were rare limited editions and volumes that required special protection.

The committee also admitted most of the books listed by the Front were part of a “miscellaneous” group.

Library director Kevin Ellul said the books could have been stored in the cabinet because of their content but the decision would have been taken decades ago, “possibly back in the 1960s”.

“This is clearly the time to review criteria for such categorisation of the miscellaneous group, even to discuss whether such criteria should be applied at all,” the library committee said. The committee had invited the academics who supported the Front’s petition to join a sub-committee that will carry out the necessary review, to ensure full transparency.

The sub-committee will also work on the immediate release of those volumes members of the academic body felt did not require special protection.

“It is hoped the Front and its supporters will accept that it is legitimate to protect books from some types of users and that this does not constitute an act of censorship,” the committee concluded.

This development comes less than a week after an inquiry was concluded into why certain books were kept off the shelves of secondary school libraries. The inquiry found that the book Vampir, whose author Mario Azzopardi had said was banned, should be accessible to students in Form IV and V. The inquiry team also said the classification of books had to done by a group of professionals.

Ingram Bondin, from the Front Against Censorship, welcomed the development as “definitely good news”, saying several controversial books could be placed where they belonged on the shelves among other books.