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BARCO LIBRARY

A place for celebrating decades of rich history and innovation. Here, we tell the stories of the disruptors who came before us.

The cable industry was built by entrepreneurs, risk-takers, innovators, and boundary-pushers. The Barco Library is where you can discover how they launched a groundbreaking industry through vision, innovation, and unwavering grit. The Barco Library is the home for our rich history and a tribute to our industry’s most influential leaders who keep the tradition of innovation alive.

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The Barco Library holds the world’s largest collections of print materials, videos, audio recordings, and artifacts that chronicle the journey from the original idea of cable to today’s vast connectivity and content landscape. Researchers, historians, academics, authors, and journalists consult our library because it’s the most complete, wide-ranging compilation available. We understand and appreciate the importance of celebrating the innovations, technological advancements, and stories that are both the foundation of our industry’s past and the inspiration behind its future.

Visit the Barco Library.

Discover and learn in-person how the original entrepreneurs inspire the leaders, bold thinkers, and intrapreneurs of tomorrow.

You can visit the Barco Library in person Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM. You can also take a virtual 360 tour of our building, or explore specific collections online below.

TAKE A VIRTUAL 360° TOUR

Our collections.

Experience from home what the Barco Library has to offer.

Exhibits & Virtual Tours

Take a virtual tour of our building and view our online exhibits.

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Online Catalog

Search our online library catalog to find books and other materials in the Barco Library.

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Hauser Oral History Project

Hear from the original cable industry pioneers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators through an inspiring collection of more than 400 first-person stories in our audio and video oral history library.

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Cable Hall of Fame Past Honorees

See 25 years of trailblazing up close when you get to know all the past Cable Hall of Fame inductees.

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Manuscripts

Industry leaders and organizations have donated document collections containing correspondence, personal papers, drawings, and records that tell insider stories about how cable started and evolved.

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Media

A vast collection of photographs, and videos, that come together to provide an entire industry timeline, including original cable TV shows and programming.

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Edward D. Breen Technical Archives

A collection of more than 2,500 pieces of technology and equipment that show the progression from the original cable antenna systems through today’s technology.

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Memorabilia

Artifacts and objects compiled from every part of the industry’s history, showing how much things have changed over the decades.

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Podcast

Our podcast series, Stories from the Headend, features more than 30 curated hours of audio from cable innovators.

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Mavericks Lecture Series

An archive of our popular Mavericks Lecture Series, where we unite students with connectivity leaders for on-campus lectures and Q&A.

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The Barco name.

George and Yolanda Barco, the original go-getters.

The Barco Library is named after cable pioneers and educational advocates George Barco and his daughter Yolanda Barco. George and Yolanda were attorneys, but natural curiosity and love of learning led them to become some of the very first cable pioneers. A desire to bring television to their small hometown is the foundation for the progression of the service that more than 90% of the country now uses. The Barco Library is presented by the George J. Barco Estate, the Yolanda G. Barco Estate, and the Barco-Duratz Foundation.

Contact Us

For more information about any of the Barco Library Collections or operations, please contact libraryinfo@syndeoinstitute.org

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