Karpeles Manuscript Library

My wife and I have long been fans of the Karpeles Manuscript Libraries, beginning with the one in Buffalo. We visited the one in Tacoma, WA, many times, until its closure. Staff members told us that this location was the original one. After the founder's death a few years ago, the family reduced the number of locations from 17 to 6. This is the place to view fascinating documents related to the history of this great country, along with some historic artifacts and awesome ship models.

We walked by this place and decided to take a peek inside because the name of it was intriguing. We were immediately greeted by a wonderful lady who explained a little history/details about the library, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that admission was free! I am SO GLAD that we stopped to look around. We ended up spending almost 2 hours in the place! It was full of cool manuscripts, artifacts, items from history, and detailed information. It was very inclusive of different countries, religions, beliefs, and theories. We kept being delightfully surprised with every turn. We had never heard of the library before, and have since found out that there are several of them in America, and now we are hoping we get to stumble upon another one sometime. I highly recommend checking it out if you are in Santa Barbara for the day (like we were) or staying there on holiday.

The Karpeles Manuscript Library is a must visit. From the inspirational written word to eclectic and surprising historical gold. At every turn I was happily surprised by what was on display. The experience was amplified by the beautiful Ms.Alexandra, who with great aptitude provided a wealth of information on particular documents I was interested in. Truth be told I was interested in everything. The Karpeles Manuscript Library, a hidden gem in Santa Barbara. Visit respectfully and enjoy. I sure did and will be visiting again.

We walked by and my daughter wanted to stop in. I’m so glad we did. There were so many cool manuscripts and artifacts.

Diane was very helpful and knowledgeable. Lovely museum with lots of interesting manuscripts.

A fantastic collection of documents and artifacts! The subject matter is very inclusive of history, religion, science, music, literature and art. Spend an hour or a day admiring historic documents from our lifetime back to early civilization s. Gather your family and friends, attendance is free. An investment of your time will be rewarded with a most enjoyable experience.

I went there 25+ years ago, I enjoyed it. I was in the next street over today (Mon, 11/07/2022 - 11:18 PM ) with a friend, I should have gone again! One of the few things in Santa Barbara that is free.

Very interesting museum covering a wide range of topics. It’s free, a great walk-through, and the people who work here are super knowledgeable and friendly. Recommend a visit!