Norm Cohan - Director
Lee Logue - Assistant Director
Dr. Andre Levy - Assistant Curator

The Santa Barbara Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum

1-(805)-962-5322
KMuseumSBa@aol.com

The Santa Barbara Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum proudly takes its place as the dean of Karpeles institutions.

Since its opening in 1986, the Karpeles in Santa Barbara has displayed thousands of historic documents and presented many full exhibits, including:

The Milennium Exhibit
Space Exploration
Great Moments in Medical History
The Quest for the Domination of North America
Mexican-American War
Edison
Civil War Beginnings
Civil War End
Charles V
Mark Twain
Roots
Amistad
Curie's Radioactivity
14 Presidents Before Washington
Spanish-American War
Vacination
Very Early Baseball
Mars
California as an Island

Past Programs and Lectures include:

Aspects of the Enlightenment : A lecture series co-sponsored by the Karpeles and the University of California Interdisciplinary Humanities Center
John Locke Free Speech
David Garrick An actor for the Enlightenment
Mozart and Enlightenment Thought
Enlightenment Thought about women as citizens
Enlightenment Landscapes
Michelangelo
The Invention of Shakespeare
Slave history as fiction in film
Amistad and Roots
Helena Hale one-woman performances: Amelia Earhart, Mata Hari,Mary Cassatt, & other notorious women
Frank Kelly on Harry Truman
Elder Hostel Programs in our 100+ seat Auditorium
CA Map Society David Karpeles featured speaker
Black History Month manuscripts
Norman Cohan on Giordano Bruno, Benjamin Franklin, & others
Alvin Gillens : V1 & V2 secret underground rocket site
Lydia Parker: Hands on Time Photographic civil war narratives & perspectives
Civil War Recital : Poetry, speeches, letters & journals
Jorge Luis Borges : A life in letters
What¹s So Funny : Roman Humor
Lecture: The Birth of Vaccination
Twelve Documents that Changed the World
The Holocaust: A survivor speaks
Marsha Karpeles: The Horror Genre in Literature
The Wisdom of the Elders
Dickinson, Jefferson & Keller
Maverick Women
David Bisno: The Life of Captain James Cook Charles Darwin / Thomas Jefferson VISTAS Programs

Coffee, Tea & History Series:

Food and Culture
Old World Cooks & New World Foods
Tea Tales: The History of Tea
Miriam Hospodar: Food in History Series
Jews and Sweatshops
SPAWN meetings Small Publishers & Writers Network
Successful Fiction Publishing & Marketing
Finding the Personal Creative Expression, etc.

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Among those items on permanent display in the museum is an original Stone copy of the Declaration of Independence, a replica of the globe used by Columbus (sans the Western Hemisphere), handwritten scores by a dozen leading composers, and the computer guidance system used on the first Apollo lander flight to the moon.

The Karpeles in Santa Barbara has played an important role in the educational and cultural life of the area. Among its memorable offerings was the "Anne Frank Exhibit," attended by over 30,000 students. We regularly host a series of Sunday afternoon lectures in our 100+ seat auditorium, and makes the space available to scholars at local colleges and universities, as well as a wide variety of community groups. Wall space at the Karpeles is offered without charge to well-known artists and photographers to display their work for a period of three months. A club of youthful chess enthusiasts meets regularly in our annex building and on our patio in the summer. Several bronzes displayed through the building contribute to an ambiance which leads visitors to often say, "It¹s so nice here," and return again and again.

The Karpeles in Santa Barbara welcomes all to our friendly atmosphere. There is never any admission or fee. The Library and Museum is open daily, except Christmas and New Year's Day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People from all over the world have found us. Come visit us, please.