Libraries were supposed to be wiped out by the internet, but like an animal facing extinction, they’ve adapted, adding computer lounges, e-book lending, searchable data bases and free movie rentals.

Now, Altadena Public Library is going to seed. Literally.

It is adding a seed library to its collection of books and periodicals. Patrons pay $10 get a lifetime membership. They can take out a lettuce seed or a bean seed or a handful of both, plant them in their gardens and then at the end of the season, collect the seeds and return them to the library. That way, the seed inventory gets replenished. And someone else could “borrow” them.

The Altadena Library District formed an agreement with the Venice-based Seed Library of Los Angeles to open a seed-lending branch at the main library, 600 E. Mariposa St. in Altadena. The seed library will be open the first Saturday of each month, starting Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Altadena library’s community room.

Bettina Gatti fills seed orders during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. Members check out seeds and are expected to bring back seeds after their harvest. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

Bettina Gatti fills a lettuce seed order during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. Members check out seeds and are expected to bring back seeds after their harvest. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

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Candace Rumenapp, right, of Tarzana, shares a Frederick Passion Vine clipping with Pia Harris, of Eagle Rock, during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

Debbie James, of Lake Balboa, leads a flower arranging lesson during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

Flower arrangements during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .



Candace Rumenapp, of Tarzana, places her seed order during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

Bettina Gatti packs up seeds during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. Members check out seeds and are expected to bring back seeds after their harvest. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

Bettina Gatti fills an order for Broad Windsor Fava Beans during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. Members check out seeds and are expected to bring back seeds after their harvest. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

A seed order during the Seed Library of Los Angeles’ meeting at Sepulveda Garden Center in Encino on Nov. 17, 2017. SLOLA is expanding to Altadena with a meeting at the Altadena Public Library on Dec. 2. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) .

“This is exactly the kind of thing the Altadena Library is trying to do — to make new partnerships,” Ryan Roy, the library’s public services director, said in an interview.

District officials feels it will mesh with the interests of the unincorporated community, whose residents have a penchant for vegetable gardening and organic foods. The small community, located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena, even has a community garden.

“Through the educational programming provided by the Seed Library of Los Angeles and the ongoing operations of this new seed library, we will expand the knowledge of our already environmentally conscious community and provide community members with access to invaluable seed-saving skills they may never have encountered otherwise,” Library Director Mindy Kittay said in a statement.

The Venice-based nonprofit started collecting and lending seeds in 2009. At the time there were four libraries in the state and now there are 100, some run by other nonprofits, said David King, founder of Seed Library of L.A. His group recently expanded into Woodland Hills, San Fernando, Altadena and next year in Watts.

“It is to make sure everyone can have access to good, clean and I mean non-GMO, food,” King said.

King’s organization doesn’t believe in genetically manipulated seeds. The library’s seeds are genetically pure, or as close to that as possible. Borrowers sign a “safe seed pledge” to tend their gardens without using pesticides.

“In my garden, I use no pesticides, no fertilizer. To me it doesn’t make sense to put poison on it so you can eat it,” King said.

Not everyone will be as dedicated as King, who gets up at 6 a.m. to hand pollinate his plants. At the very least, borrowers must bring back seeds. “Getting the seed back has been the big bugaboo. We want to get the seed back,” he said.

Returning seeds plays a crucial role in expanding the variety of seeds. The group’s winter inventory includes a wide variety of seeds for celery, tomatoes, kale, kohlrabi — you name it, they’ve got it. They want to expand that base, so members can experience more varieties of fruit and vegetables than offered at the local supermarket due to agribusiness picking only the most hardy for longer shelf life and increasing profits.

“We don’t have the variety we used to have. Look at the decline in diversity we use in our food supply today. It is really quite alarming. We want to preserve as many different varieties of the foods we eat as possible,” King said.

Seed lending is a two-way street. Even though it offers 13 different varieties of cabbage, Seed Library of L.A. is always looking for more, often from library patrons.

One time, King tracked down a bean seed from his dentist, who had the bean plant from his great-grandmother from Italy. “He gave me a handful of seeds and from those I created an actual supply of this bean.”

When seeds are returned, they may become more adapted to the environment of the region. For instance, soil in western gardens are more alkaline than soils in East Coast gardens, he said. Also, a successful harvest can make the seed more resistant to global climate change, he said.

Plants such as amaranth, quinoa and mesquite — which produces a bean pod that can be ground into a high-protein flour — have become resistant to higher temperatures. “That makes planting them good for food production. All three sustain themselves in extreme weather,” King said.

Other Seed libraries