I keep returning to this, Bill. Probably because I both like it and don’t understand it. I’m not seeing the connection between the close (which I’m quite fond of) and what leads up to it. I’m thinking that perhaps the librarian represents a love interest or (past) relationship (or maybe even love itself ??) as both versions have her treating the speaker as if he were something special (“just for me”/"only for me"). And I prefer the revised, brief smile version.
I looked up The Birds of America, which I wasn’t familiar with. According to wiki, “Audubon used…the barrel-of-the-shotgun method” in order to paint all of the birds. And unlike previous artists, he would put them into lifelike positions (using wires etc.) when painting them. (Paraphrased from Wiki, below.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_of_America