Paul Xuereb writes:

John Sultana belonged to a generation of librarians who in their 20s and 30s succeeded in making librarians respected professionals in Malta and our academic libraries reach the high quality needed to support our institutions of tertiary education.

One of the Maltese librarians who in the 1960s obtained professional qualifications in library science from British library schools, he set about with his characteristic energy and enthusiasm creating a library, of which he was given charge, for the newly-created Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. With an initially small staff, he was widely regarded as having done much to give Mcast the library services it needed.

He was strongly in favour of his library co-operating with that at the University of Malta, of which I was then head. Following Mintoff’s determination to downgrade the University in the late 1970s, naming it the Old University and renaming Mcast as the New University, the two institutions, and so the two libraries, were merged in an institution having the former name of University of Malta, and John accepted to be my deputy.

It could not have been easy for him but with his habitual generosity he made himself indispensable. The many people who respected him congratulated him with deep pleasure when in 1985 he was appointed librarian of the National Library of Malta and director of the Public Libraries Department, where until his retirement, he launched the first of the administrative reforms the NLM and the public libraries so badly needed.

John was one of the librarians who in 1969 founded the Malta Library Association (now Malta Library and Information Association), was very active and was its chairman for some years. He played an important role in the library science certificate courses run by the association. For some years, John was active on the Maltese stage. I vividly remember his performance as Mr Emmanuel in Francis Ebejer’s play, L-Imwarrbin at the Manoel Theatre.

My sympathy goes to John’s widow Lina, his sons and his grandchildren. For them and for other close relatives it must be a great loss, but many others who knew him and worked with him must mourn the passing of someone who was a fine professional and a good man.