Cap. 511 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 595. Cap. 595.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"author" means a person or a body corporate responsible for the intellectual, and or artistic content of a work and includes the person who undertakes the editing, printing or compiling of such work even when no specific author is identified; "the Council" means the Malta Libraries Council established under article 4; "depositor" means the person or body corporate responsible under this Act to deposit documents with the depository library; "depository libraries" means the National Library, the Gozo Public Library, and, at its own request, the library of the University of Malta;

"document" means a published or unpublished document, record, publication, or work containing information or otherwise meant to communicate, regardless of form or medium, including ephemera of permanent value; "electronic document" means a document, regardless of form or medium, produced using electronic means to make information available to the public and stored in computers or other storage media, and which may be displayed or accessed either on a computer monitor, on other storage media or as a print-out; "financial year" means any period of twelve months ending on the 31st December: Provided that the first financial year of the Malta Libraries shall begin on the coming into force of this Act and shall end on the 31st December of the next following year;

"House" means the House of Representatives; "legal deposit" means the deposit of published documents, publications, records on works, with depository libraries, as provided for in this Act, to ensure the building and long-term preservation of a national collection for the current and future reference, study and research requirements of present and future

*See article 1 of the Act as originally enacted, and Legal Notice 312 of 2011. Branch public libraries; "Malta Libraries" means the entity called Malta Libraries established under article 4; "Malta National Bibliography" means the list, irrespective of form or medium together with a detailed bibliographical description, of each new publication received in a given year by way of legal deposit and to be compiled under article 7; "medium" is any means of storing information or communication; "the Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Malta Libraries and its libraries; "National Librarian" means the head of the Malta Libraries appointed under article 5; "National Library" means the National Library of Malta; "the Permanent Secretary" means the person appointed to supervise the Malta Libraries in terms of the Public Administration Act; "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations or orders made under this Act; "the Principal Permanent Secretary" means the person appointed in terms of article 14 of the Public Administration Act; "printer" means the person who prints, reproduces, or otherwise makes multiple copies of any publication, regardless of form or medium;

"Public Libraries" means the Central Public Library, the Gozo Public Library and the Regional and Branch Public Libraries;

"publication" means any published document, record, or work, regardless of form or medium, including printed, audio-visual, microform, electronic hand-held or online documents, records or work, made available to the public whether freely, on loan, or for sale;

"public officer" has the same meaning assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution;

"publisher" means any person or body corporate responsible for making available to the public any publication, regardless of form or medium, irrespective of whether such person is the author, printer, producer or other person or body making finished copies of such publication;

"record" includes any book, manuscript, parchment paper, photograph, or any form, schedule, questionnaire, or other such document, or any recorded or stored information, regardless of form or medium; sheet of music, map, plan, chart or table separately published, regardless of form or medium, but does not include any second or subsequent edition of a work unless such edition contains additions or alterations in the maps, prints or other engravings belonging thereto.