7 News Belize

It is probably the least familiar and recognized association in the country of Belize, and that's partly because The Belize Book Industry Association was only officially registered less than a year ago. On Wednesday of this week, the association launched Book Week for the second time in its short history. The week features a series of events associated with books published both locally and internationally. The association is working hard at bringing attention to a once very vibrant industry which has fallen victim to the advent of television and the Internet. Today's presentation at the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) featured both local and international publishing companies. I spoke with Otto Puc of Cubola Productions, one of Belize's largest publishing houses.

Otto Puc, Cubola Productions
"We felt that it is time for Belize to have its own celebration of books. The book industry in Belize is very important and we need to draw the eyes of the public to this. So this whole celebration started on Wednesday with an exhibition on books about and books published in Belize, which is still going on at the Image Factory Foundation in Belize City. They have an extensive collection of books that talks about Belize and books that have been published in Belize. You have to realize that Cubola Productions has been publishing books since 1973. We're perhaps one of the largest publishing companies here. So this is all part of celebrating that day."

Jim McFadzean, Reporting
"How has the presentation been received by the public?"

"We have a core group of people who are always interested in books. We are talking about the high schools, the teachers, many students as well. We had the same display at UB yesterday. It was really nice for students to come to the table and say â€˜I have heard about this book. I want to read this book.' That is very, very important for the book industry here in Belize. It is important for us to realize that books mean a lot to what we do on a daily basis. I mean not only read because it's required by school but read because there is something else attached to it. There is something that as a country we need to grow and continue to read books.

The exhibition runs until tomorrow, Saturday. The Association says it intends to sponsor a book fair annually in the hopes of reviving interest in the once popular past-time. Publishing companies from three other countries -- Jamaica, Guatemala and Mexico -- are participating in this year's Book Week.