Seattle Metaphysical Library

The Student Chapter of the Special Library Association at University of Washington (SLA-UW) hosts 'library crawls' each quarter for students of the Information School. The crawl takes students to special libraries or collections in the Seattle area to introduce them to the variety of opportunities available. Students meet with librarians at the site, tour the collections and discover special libraries. A recent visit to the Seattle Metaphysical Library was written up by SLA-UW secretary Erin Boyington. Vice-Chair Violet Fox took pictures, which are available on this Flickr photo stream. A special thank to Violet and Erin for sharing the tour experience for this blog. Also check out their tour of NOAA Western Regional Center Libraries in May.
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The Seattle Metaphysical Library is a small, subject-focused library that has existed in various forms for 50 years. The original collection was donated by a small group of women who compiled their private libraries and made them available as a hobby. It's been at its current location in Ballard for 6 years. On May 18th we joined Margaret Bartley, the Executive Director of the library, for a tour of this fascinating collection.

The library is open to the public and has a selection of books for sale (both in person and online), but only members can check out books for three weeks at a time. Membership costs $30 a year, and there are about 200 people on the roster. The library organizes events such as classes, workshops, and speakers on a variety of subjects related to its members’ interests.

The Seattle Metaphysical Library is staffed by dedicated volunteers who are interested in metaphysical subjects. They do occasional weeding, reorganization, check out books to members, and make passers-by feel welcome as they enjoy the library’s offerings. Ron, one of the volunteers, said that he considers his work there as a kind of “sacred duty”, which he has been doing now for many years. He explained that “A lot of my metaphysical ideas have developed over time from reading in the library.” Another volunteer, Cathy, agreed: “Being around so many different types of thought opens your mind.”

The library’s eccentric holdings, available to browse online, consist entirely of personal donations. The advantages of browsing and serendipitous finding in this collection are obvious to its users, who may have difficulty finding books about their areas of interest through Amazon or general bookstores.

The library's materials are well-organized by a customized cataloging system which allows for the addition of new categories as needed. Here are a few examples of the categories in the library, which are grouped alphabetically:

Alchemy
Astrology
Bibles
Buddhism
Cookbooks
Elves, Little People
ESP
Face on Mars
Fasting
Graphology
Gurdijieff
Huna
Islam
Charles W. Leadbeater
Mme. Blavatsky
Muktananda
Noah’s Ark
Nutrition
Parapsychology
Parenting
Patanjali
Radionics
Shamanism
Tarot
Theosophy
Transcendental Meditation
UFOs
Vedic

Though it may be an unconventional collection, the Seattle Metaphysical Library’s major concerns and needs are like any other library: preservation, access, organization, and promotion of the unique resources it offers.

Theosophical Society of Seattle Lending Library

This special library is a bit off the beaten path in Seattle's Capitol Hill Neighborhood. I came across this library while searching for volunteer opportunities in libraries on Volunteer Match prior to graduate school.The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875, and operates under three primary tennants,

1. To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color

2. To encourage the comparative study of religion, philosophy, and science

3. To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in humanity.

H.P. Blavatsky is the originating founder of the philosophy, published extensive volumes about philsophy, the theosophical society, and the occult, and is in general an interesting person you should look up and read a biography on sometime. You can check several out at The Theosophical Society in Seattle Lending Library, after paying the $30 annual membership fee. Membership fees for lending are a primary source of income for the library. The staff consists mostly of volunteers, and the space is also used as the lodge for the Seattle chapter of the Theosophical Society. The library is found behind the The Quest Bookshop and is a relaxing oasis within a very busy and vibrant neighborhood. It is worth checking out the collection and space, and the membership is a reasonable price to pay to keep this non-profit going for access to an enormous collection of about 7,000 items about philosophy, theology, the occult, founding members, and various scientific topics. Contact the librarian if you are interested in volunteering. They could always use more helpers with "overseeing the library during open hours; book repair; shelf reading, and the accessioning of new books" according to their website.

These pictures were taken in 2009 when I volunteered as the librarian on Sundays.