This week was an important one in the Adopt a Notary scheme organised by the Notarial Archives Resource Council (NARC) and executed at the Notarial Archives in Valletta. The Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) has adopted items from the impressive collection at the Notarial Archives, which houses over 20,000 notarial registers and other historic manuscripts spanning a period of 600 years.

This  adoption evidences NARC's appeal to the general public, organisations, institutions, and the private sector to safeguard Malta's paper heritage is positively impacting the state of archives in Malta. The CNUE is the official body representing the notarial profession in dealings with the European institutions. Speaking for the profession, it negotiates and makes decisions for the European Union's notariats. It was set up in 1993 and has a permanent office situated in the heart of Europe, in Brussels. Since 2003, the CNUE has taken the form of a non-profit organisation under Belgian law.

The chosen documents are a selection of nine items from the 'Adopt an Item Medieval Documents Collection'. A substantial number of medieval documents in the form of bifolia have been recently unearthed at the Notarial Archives. It has been estimated that c. 23% of the entire collection dates back to the sixteenth century and earlier. These documents are unique pieces since the registers recording the original acts and the authentic copy of the same acts are no longer extant. Most of these notarial extracts refer to Gozo which makes them even more precious due to sparse documentation for this island prior to the Turkish razzia of 1551 which is believed to have led to the destruction or dispersion of most of the documentation which could shed light on everyday life.

NARC achieves its goal of preserving Malta's paper heritage for our future generations only through such sponsorships, which are essential to provide the necessary funding for the conservation of the collection at the Notarial Archives. NARC considers the adhering to excellent international conservation standards to be a top priority in its action plan. For this reason, all conservation work is executed by a highly qualified team and supported by the office of the Notary to Government.