All libraries in Belize/British Honduras Destroyed by 1931 Hurricane
85 years of National Library Service Celebrated in 2020
The 1931 British Honduras hurricane (known as Belize since 1973) of September 10, 1931 killed an estimated 2,500 people. All libraries were destroyed.1
In 1935 the Jubilee Public Library was established. Later the donation of a building was received for library service from Robert Sydney Turton for the building that bears his name - The Turton Library Center. The Carnegie Corporation of New York2presented a grant for the purchasing of books and furniture in the same year (1935).
On December 9, 2020 the Belize National Library Service and Information System celebrated its eighty-fifth anniversary.
Huesmann, James L. “Belize,” in Wiegand, Wayne A. and Donald G. Davis. Encyclopedia of Library History. New York: Garland Pub, 1994.
Savage, Ernest A. The Libraries of Bermuda, the Bahamas, the British West Indies, British Guiana, British Honduras, Puerto Rico, and the American Virgin Islands ; a Report to the Carnegie Corporation of New York. London: Library Association, 1934.
Congrats for the recommendation in Freddie's weekly roundup!
Belize is prone to hurricanes. I strongly recommend Charles Portis's THE DOG OF THE SOUTH, that is if you haven't read it already.