Welcome to the Ingalls Memorial Library Seed Library
Our seed library is a collection of organic seeds that we were able to acquire through a program offered by Seed Savers Exchange, a nonprofit organization that is committed to conserving and promoting America’s culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants.
We started our seed library in May of 2018 -- a little late in the year for those planning their gardens. This year, we have a large assortment of seeds available, and are adding more weekly.
So, how does it work? It's simple. Just come to the library and look through our "catalog" -- located by the circulation desk. The catalog includes the seed packets for all varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs that are available for you to borrow - so that you can learn about the varieties you are interested in and read the planting instructions. If you would prefer, you can log into your account at ingalls.bywatersolutions.com/
using your library card number and password and place holds on any seeds you would like...we will have them waiting for you when you visit the library.
Once you've decided what seeds you would like to "borrow", find the packet with the matching call number (For example, Bean 5) in the drawers below the catalog and bring it to the circulation desk to check out.
You DO NOT need to return anything --- but we are hoping that you will help us build our seed garden by saving seeds from your garden and bringing them in to share with other library patrons --- whether the seeds came from plants you grew from this program or from plants that you've always grown. If you do bring seeds to us, please bring them in an envelope and note what kind of seeds they are. We will process them and get them added to our collection.
Also, if you purchase packets of seeds and find that you don't need them all, we would welcome the donation! If you could bring the seeds with the packet (so that we can photocopy it) to the library, your spare seeds will help us grow the library. Thanks!
We hope to have programs on how to save seeds towards the end of the summer or beginning of the fall --- so if you are interested in learning how, watch our calendar of events!