Arnie Nixon Center accepts invitation to 'Wonderland'

The life and works of Lewis Carroll will be celebrated Saturday

By Allison Bethurem

Picture yourself at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Alice is sitting to your right. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are sitting to your left. And the White Rabbit is running into the room frantically with his big stopwatch.

Does this scene sound familiar?

“Alice in Wonderland” is one of the most famous children’s books written by Lewis Carroll, and her life and work will be celebrated and discussed Saturday at The Lewis Carroll Society of North America’s fall meeting, held in the Residence Dining Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The meeting, sponsored by the Arnie Nixon Center in the Henry Madden Library, is an opportunity to give people an up-close and personal encounter with authors who have built their lives and careers around Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

Author and illustrator Robert Sabuda, known as the king of pop-up books, is the keynote speaker of the meeting. With more than two million books in print, Sabuda’s best-sellers include pop-ups “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Enthusiasts will have a chance to hear, speak with and meet the author, along with participating in a book signing.

Angelica Carpenter, curator of the Arnie Nixon Center, will open the event and speak about her book, “Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass,” a biography for young people. Carpenter will also speak of the new contribution the Arnie Nixon Center has received and the expansion plans, currently in progress.

Carpenter will be showcasing the new book collection that has been purchased and received from the late Hilda Bohem, a Carrollian scholar and a rare books librarian at UCLA. The book collection consists of 2,000 books by and about Carroll.

“I am extremely proud that The Lewis Carroll Society of North America is coming here,” Carpenter said with a smile as wide as the Cheshire cat’s, “and I am even more excited about the new collection we received of international importance.”

The collection of Carroll’s books bought by the Arnie Nixon Center is the largest private collection in the United States, and is now one of the largest library collections in the country.

“We did purchase this collection, but Hilda always gave a lot to this center,” Carpenter said. “She and her sister were always sending and donating many pieces to us.”

With such a large addition to the constantly growing collection, the Arnie Nixon Center has acquired additional space next to its main office, on the first floor of the library. The space of the center has almost doubled, going from the original 1,700 square feet to the now 3,000 square feet.

During the two-hour lunch break from the conference, attendees will be encouraged to go to the expanding Arnie Nixon Center to look at the actual collection they received and see prized pieces from Bohem’s collection. Also, throughout the library are display cases full of “Alice in Wonderland” memorabilia, books and toys.

The meeting is open to the public and is free of charge, but advance registration at the Arnie Nixon Center.

For more information, call 278-8116.