The Audiovisual Unit

This Unit focuses on the acquisition, cataloguing, preservation and publication of historical Belizean recordings. All required finding aids or recordings are performed by this unit.

A significant percentage of the collection was inherited from the former Broadcasting Corporation of Belize (BCB), when it was closed down in 1998. This station served Belize for over sixty years. It was then known as the British Honduras Broadcasting Station. Another significant portion of the collection, 16mm Films and photographs, were inherited from the Government Information Service(GIS) in 1988. There are also private collections from agencies such as SPEAR, PLUS TV, etc. The department also receives copies of works from Artists locally.

The audiovisual collection of the Belize Archives and Records Service is divided into two broad categories: audio and video -

The audio collection consists of:

· 7,066 ¼” Open Reels

· 775 Audiocassettes,

· 157 Four Track Cartridges and ¼” Open Reels

· 147 Vinyl Discs ( SPs & LPs )

· 89 Compact Discs (Albums)

· 58 Digital Audio Tapes,

The video collection consists of:

They contain information on various topics such as; local news broadcasts, sports, health, education, politics, celebrations and recordings from the meetings at the House of Representatives as well as musical recordings from our local Belizean Artists among others. They are recordings of programmes and broadcasts, documentaries, interviews, panel discussions, morning shows, etc.

Of particular interest are the recordings that have to do with our Independence in 1981. These recordings were done by the British Broadcasting Corporation and a copy was donated to the BBN.

The oldest audio recording is a recording depicting the chanting and singing of Mahogany Woodcutters dated 1957, while the oldest visual recording is a video copy of a black and white film VHS and DVD format. It shows the Hon. George Cadle Price surveying the damage caused to Belize City by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. This information was donated by Great Belize Productions on behalf of the producer.

The Unit plans to provide a catalog of its collection via its online service for public perusal. This will include short clips of musical recordings (Audio only) from our Local Artists during the period 1957 to present.