Ernest M. Espelie papers

Ernest Marvin Espelie was born on June 22, 1908, in Stoughton, Wisconsin. He was the son of Even and Mamie (Oftelie) Espelie. Espelie attended Luther College for his undergraduate education. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1931. Espelie then earned his bachelor’s (1932) and master’s (1935) in library sciences from the University of Michigan. He married Mary Belle Whitten on September 11, 1933, and the couple went on to have three children. Espelie worked in the University of Michigan library system from 1932-1937. He then held posts at several other libraries until 1959, when he was hired as the head librarian for Augustana College. He remained in that post until his retirement in 1974, after which Espelie returned to work part-time as the Special Collections librarian. During his time at the college, Espelie also edited the Augustana Library Publications. He had a keen interest in children’s books, and made sure to add a number of volumes to the school’s rare book collection. The Ernest M. Espelie Papers contain letters from authors and illustrators, as well as newspaper articles (some photocopied) about some of the books he collected. Items were collected from Special Collections books by librarian Sarah Horowitz beginning in June 2010.