Barbara Elleman I love your library

Today after work I looped over to the Eric Carle Museum's Barbara Elleman Research Library. I have never met Barbara but I know I would like this woman based on what she felt were valid books to begin collecting. The Barbara Elleman Research Library is a small library off the main picture book library at the Carle. You have to call or email ahead to let them know you would be interested in being in the BERL, a simple step to guarantee there is someone at hand to help you out if needed. Barbara Elleman's library is comprised of all the books the normal world would find dull and boring. Holiday House the first Sixty-Five years, Biography of Tomie dePaula, Caldecott Winners 1938-, The Golden Years--all the books I've been tearing my parents house apart looking for from my own collection. A colleague at work today asked me what kind of chip the iphone five used to connect to wifi, and I looked at them and said, "You want to know what Trina Schart Hyman painted her illustrations in? Acryllic washes with a zero sable brush for the line work... How Eric Carle makes his tissue paper?" That's how I feel about Barbara Elleman's library. Barbara Elleman's library is my geek capital.

In I waltz out of the first New England storm. Cold air swirling around my wool sweater and hoist open the doors to the Carle. No matter how many times I walk through those doors they always stump me as they slide oddly on their tracks. In I tumble, and a high pitched shriek greets me as a young kid is running from her hot-on-pursuit mother. I find my way back to the picture book library and into the BERL. 

"Betty can help you with anything you need," Abigal tells me gesturing to the woman seated at the main table.

Wherein Betty and I proceed to have a delightful hour long conversation about all things children's literature. Betty's in my So You Want To Choose The 2013 Caldecott mock committee and so we both took a second to figure out how we looked familiar and then on it was to fairy tales, librarian training, favorite books, and book clubs. It was awesome. It was more than awesome. I was surrounded by all these fantastic books that were all geeky research books, skimming through the Triva of the Caldecott's book looking for any last minute notes I ought to add for Trina's chapter, while Betty was looking through her archives for anything Trina related.

She disappeared and returned with a bulletin from 1977. Trina Hyman, it said on the top and proceeded to be an article about this woman's favorite illustrators. Initially, we thought it was an article about how someone loved Trina, but in fact, there was no mention of Trina... save for the title. Then as we began to look closer, it actually was TRINA's take on her favorite illustrators and why. "Oh this is totally Trina writing, listen to this...." I'd say and read a line about completing a book and a bottle of whiskey, or about how something annoyed this writer. Trina was up front. She never bothered to mince words; if you annoyed her, it didn't matter if you weren't suppose to actually WRITE that, she would write it. It was rather fascinating to do the backwards deduction, not to mention the magical discovery of something Trina related that I had not yet read. 

I left feeling magical. I left feeling like the best day ever when it had only been an hour spent in a small library of books donated by Ms. Elleman. It was just perfect. A day before, I was cursing how I didn't have access like I did as a student to research books. But today, I was reminded there are other points of research other than college stacks. It was a reminder of how much I just love that literature stuff. There aren't many people that get as excited by old letters, cards, library books, and chatting about The Witch of Blackbird Pond, or favorite authors and illustrators. But I do. Betty does. And I was bubbling over with so much excitement that I wanted someone who would get how perfect it was so I called Bren but she did not answer. I called Will, because he too, would understand my excitement and I caught him signing a pile of books for his speaking engagement tomorrow. And I just drove home with a smile on my face because things are special out here, and I think, I think just maybe, I'm getting back to the path of my best self.