Gray and cold. An ideal time to go find a book at the Saint-Sauveur community library, on Île d’Yeu. There, everything is authentic: the place, the typical smell, a mixture of humidity, paper and ink, but also the wooden shelves which support the weight of the books. The associative library has acquired thousands of them since 55 years.
If there is not enough space during the summer, the rest of the year, it is much less crowded; regulars can borrow books on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. “There are even hours where we don’t see anyone” regrets Martine Welitz, volunteer for 15 years. Because this library operates thanks to the motivation of six retired volunteers who maintain the books or order new ones. Still with the Maison de la Presse de l’Île d’Yeu, there is no question of giving in to the temptation of online merchant sites.
Read also : Why Ouest-France dedicates a series of articles to Île d’Yeu
The small library has recently benefited from new readers coming from the island’s municipal library, which was closed for repairs.
A mess of memories
At the start, it was Paul Sicot, a teacher, who wanted to share his passion for reading: so, he set up in a small room with several dozen books made available to the island’s inhabitants. Then the room grew and so did the quantity of books.
But the method of managing the works has not changed: maps. One slipped under the cover of each book and one per reader with their contact details. These cards, carefully stored in boxes, classified in alphabetical order, are still used today. “Computerizing everything is a bit complicated for us and it would require us to hire a person”specifies Agnès Buchal, volunteer. And this system brings back memories to the oldest“readers who were recorded as children come back to us years later. We look for their card and we find it. They didn’t imagine we could have kept her for so long! We even had a gentleman who was moved to tears when he saw his deceased dad’s card”confides Martine Welitz. In short, this library is a bit like Proust’s madeleine for locals and regular summer visitors.
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