The John Hookham Frere Memorial Medical Library and the origins of the Malta Medical School Library

Abstract

The initial attempt to form a non-private medical library in Malta goes back to 1682 when Dr. Fra Giuseppe Zammit, the first Director and Lecturer of the School of Anatomy and Surgery (1676) - the forerunner of our present Medical School of the University donated his personal collection of medical books to the Holy Infirmary at Valletta for the use of the professional staff of that hospital. In 1797 these books or rather what remained of them - were transferred to the Public Library which occupied a house in Valletta, known as Il Forfantone, sited in Republic Street corner with St. Lucy Street. Zammit's books, however, were not kept separate from other books derived from other sources but were merged with the general stock of the new library. Zammit's collection thus lost its identity as a medical library.