Seattle Metaphysical Library

The AS-YOU-LIKE-IT Library changed its name several years ago to the Seattle Metaphysical Library. About two years ago, it moved from the high-rent area of Capitol Hilll to Ballard. They are crammed floor-to-ceiling with over 12,000 books, hundreds of video tapes, magazine, CDs and DVDs. If you want to go in and read, you have to tell the librarians, because sometimes they can be very chatty. Not all of them. There's one guy who works there that you can tell just wants to read, himself. You don't have to join to sit and read, but I've been a subscriber for several years now, as a way of supporting the library, and that allows me to check books and Videos out. My particular interest these days is in alternative health, and also some of the 9-11 DVDs that are out there. I can watch them on the internet, but I like just being able to check them out of the library, so that I don't have to sit in front of my computer to watch them. I've been through a lot of their ancient mysteries material, and they have all of Zecharia Sitchin's books, and they get a lot of donations, so there's always new material, but there's more there than any one person can ever read. A huge amount of material on religions from aorund the planet, including indigenous shamanic traditions as well as the more cultured tradions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucionism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. I really really enjoy this place! more

This is one of those urban legends, but this place really does exist, and it's a weird place! It started in the 1960's with a few people that wanted to study "Life After Death," and Carrie Fisher (no relation!), is often credited with founding it; she gave it the name "As You Like It Library". Donations expand its collection of metaphysical holdings, and theft usually diminishes its holdings, which currently appears to be around 8,000 books. Over the years, it has appeared in half a dozen locations in the area, somehow surviving with support from mysterious donors, though they would definitely benefit from following some of the techniques used by professional fund raisers. In 2005, a former president of their board told me that he had helped to dissolve this 501 (c)(3), but this year, I saw it emerge from the ashes once again, *http://www.seattlemetaphysical.org/ just off Market Street in the Ballard district. A few years ago, some of its members, mostly *http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0121/news-kohlenberg.php fans of Art Bell, split from the organization to found *http://www.seattlechatclub.org/museum.html "Museum of the Mysteries", and were allowed to take many of the UFO books with them. more