The library hall of the Teruel university campus is overflowing with books. There are three large tables with up to three rows of volumes that fill all the available space. Several shelves and cabinets are also full. Around two thousand copies have come to this point to nourish the jumble sale second-hand organized to raise funds for the residents of the building he occupied number 21 San Francisco street, which on June 13, collapsed in a few minutes, leaving 21 families without their homes and with everything they were wearing. The initiative, which was initially going to end on May 31, has been extended until this Friday, June 7, due to the avalanche of donations. The final collection has exceeded 3,000 euros.
“The novels have been the best sellers,” explains María Eugenia Asensio, librarian and one of those affected by the catastrophic sinking, which, fortunately, caused no personal injury. The donations of copies have been very varied although the works of narrative -police, horror, historical and classic authors-. In many cases, these are relatively current works, a real hook for readers. There have also been works of art, history, occultism, children’s and youth books, religious or Aragonese-themed books.
The influx of boxes of books was such that the organizers asked that no more arrive by lack of space to display and store the materials received, which have been able to be renewed in the exhibitors as they were sold. Although the vast majority of contributions have been from individuals who were getting rid of already read, repeated or old works, there have also been corporate donations.
Asensio highlights the delivery of 200 copies by the second-hand bookstore Re-Read in Zaragoza. “He told us,” says the librarian, “that I wanted to give us books for the market supportive, but he couldn’t bring them. The sister of someone affected by the collapse was in charge of picking them up in the Aragonese capital.”
The indicative rate for each book removed has been three eurosbut buyers have sought round up donations or even go further. “A man took two books and I saw how he deposited a 50 euro bill in the piggy bank intended for collection,” says María Eugenia Asensio, who is grateful for the generosity of donors and buyers.
Still There are around a thousand copies left over with which the San Francisco Street Affected Platform could set up another solidarity market next year.
The library that the University of Zaragoza has on the Teruel campus carries three consecutive years organizing solidarity markets from books. The first two editions, assembled with copies from their own funds, allocated the proceeds to the Red Cross for the care of victims of the war in Ukraine and to the Food Bank, but this edition has surpassed the previous ones by a landslide, both with respect to the quantity of materials offered and the accumulated clientele.
Asensio explains that, among the buyers, there have been many students and professors from the campus, but he declares himself “surprised” by the influx of readers outside the university environment.
A client explains that he stopped by the market, to which he brought a box of volumes on various themes, to “take a look, without a clear objective,” but by dint of browsing he took a handful of novels. “I wouldn’t have bought them in a bookstore, but they are a bargain and they interested me,” he clarifies. His case is not the only one of a buyer who, at the same time, was a donor of copies. “Truly, people have turned around,” concludes the librarian.
