The National Library Service of Belize was founded in 1825. It is the legal deposit

Legal deposit

Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The requirement is mostly limited to books and periodicals. The number of copies varies and can range from one to 19 . Typically, the national library is one of the...

 repository for Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

. It is headquartered in Belize City

Belize City

Belize City is the largest city in the Central American nation of Belize. Unofficial estimates place the population of Belize City at 70,000 or more. It is located at the mouth of the Belize River on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and...

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The Library is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of ten members, eight of which are appointed by the Minister of Education to represent a cross-section of Belizean society.

Belizean citizens may use the library upon application for a membership card, which costs $13. Non-citizens may obtain a card for $43, 40 of which is refundable upon departure from the country.

The Library Service utilizes the Dewey Decimal Classification System

Dewey Decimal Classification

Dewey Decimal Classification, is a proprietary system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876.It has been greatly modified and expanded through 23 major revisions, the most recent in 2011...

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