Treasured within the ancient city of Walata, the Al Taleb Boubacar family has preserved for decades a remarkable library safeguarding around 800 manuscripts. These volumes, part of a wider Mauritanian legacy of over 30,000 manuscripts dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, though with examples reaching back to the 12th, represent an extraordinary cultural inheritance. They include works of Islamic law, mystical and literary texts, dictionaries, grammars, biographies, and treatises on history and science. Walata itself, founded in the 13th century under the Ghana Empire, once flourished as a major stop along trans-Saharan caravan routes. Its strategic position made it a hub of trade and scholarship, rivaling Timbuktu until the late 16th century. Manuscripts held immense value, sometimes equal to the price of a camel, and Qur’anic schools attracted students from across the Sahara, North Africa, and the great Sudanese empires. The city’s wealth of libraries and scholars, along with its distinctive red-ochre architecture decorated with geometric motifs, gave it lasting renown. Today, desertification and depopulation threaten this fragile legacy, with many manuscripts at risk of disappearing. The Al Taleb Boubacar family’s efforts remain a vital act of resilience, preserving Walata’s intellectual memory.