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Shambhala Booksellers, the 32-year-old Berkeley bookstore that was a pioneer in offering titles in Eastern and other religions of the world and their sacred traditions, may be forced to close its doors. 

Shambhala has long filled a niche in Telegraph Avenue’s booksellers row, but ironically it is threatened by the recent mass popularity of so-called “new age” books that the store always sold to its clientele, owner Philip Barry said. 

“The subject matter we specialize in is more popular than ever. Now we have the Dalai Lama on the New York Times bestseller list,” said Barry. “ That never used to happen. We are the victim of success.’’ 

The book chains expanded their inventory to include the best selling “new age” books, wrote Barry in a letter to his customers, and that meant fewer sales for Shambhala. The Internet booksellers have posed similar challenges. 

“We’re in a crisis situation,” said Barry, adding that the store may continue operating for only a few more months. “When you can’t maintain the quality of the store, that is the beginning of a downward spiral, and it’s a very The neat shelves along the walls in the small bookstore are labeled in a range of categories that include the world’s religions, Oriental medicine and Celtic studies. Robert Dreyfuss, a longtime customer and practitioner of Oriental medicine, said the store is unique. 

“It offers so much in the realm of spirituality that is so concentrated, so broad spectrum,” he said. 

Barry said he still is able to purchase inventory, but not as much as he would like to buy. 

“We always paid our bills and had a good credit rating, and we have now started to hit the point where we have trouble paying bills,” he said. 

Sales plunged 15 percent in 1998 but the store recovered 3 percent of that in 1999, but then after November sales dropped 5 percent, falling below the 1998 level. 

“We’re looking for an investor,” said Barry, who employed 13 full-time workers in 1987 and now employs a three part-time staffers besides himself. The store is open seven days a week. 

Dan Liebowitz, used book manager at Moe’s Bookstore at 2476 Telegraph, said the two stores have a symbiotic relationship. Moe’s sells used books in the same “very Berkeley” categories that Shambhala sells new, and customers can shuttle between both stores. 

He said Moe’s deliberately keeps its section of new books on Eastern religions, metaphysics and spirituality small so it doesn’t interfere with Shambhala’s trade. 

Liebowitz said that Shambhala’s owner “is a very discriminating buyer. It means a ton, and it rewards people who come into the store looking for that thing.” 

Shambhala was founded in 1968 by Samuel Bercholz and Michael Fagan in a tiny space in Moe’s Bookstore where a sign read: “Now Entering the Kingdom of Shambhala.” In Tibetan mythology the word means an elevated or happy place. 

“The store was cutting edge and it grew from there,” said Barry. 

Moe Moskowitz lent Bercholz money to move the store in 1969 to its present location at 2482 Telegraph, which had been a Christian Science reading room. 

“If I do get an investor, we’ll expand without leaving our spot,” said Barry, who began working as a clerk at Shambhala 21 years ago. 

The store’s business model no longer works, and he said he would seek a broader market without changing Shambhala’s emphasis on inventory categories. 

He would like to bring in authors and musical performances and make physical improvements in the space. On the positive side, he said, the woman who owns the building is “extremely generous.” He has an “amazing” 35-year lease signed 15 years ago. 

Hut Landon, executive director of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, of which Shambhala is a member, said “the thing we have to do is market ourselves better.” 

A bookstore owner himself, Landon said the college students in the Telegraph Avenue area are lured by the appeal of Amazon.com, a company “that has spent millions branding itself,’’ as opposed to advertising books. 

He said his association has to remind potential customers that there are alternatives to buying books on the net and in book chains. 

“There are things offered by stores like Shambhala that they can’t get on the Internet. It’s our job and Shambhala’s job to try to figure out ways to reach those people,” Landon said.