Growing Green Thumbs and Cultivating Our Community
Learning how to live with the natural world around you is just as much a part of literacy as learning how to use a computer or finding your next book. Here’s how we’re putting Racine back in touch with our landscape.
The Seed Library
Stop by the seed library for free vegetable seeds! Fruit and herb seeds are sometimes available as well.
To take seeds home, stop by the second floor. Our seed library is the tall, mossy cabinet alongside the Beyond Books nook. Each seed comes packaged in a handy packet with growing advice. The seeds are free, but please take only what you will use so we can serve all of our visitors. No checkout or library card is needed
Dates
In 2026, the seed library will be open Friday, March 20 to Monday, June 22. Seeds are available every year from the first day of spring through the first day of summer, roughly.
Where We Source Seeds
As of 2026, we acquire our seeds from Main Street Seed and Supply.
We do not accept seed donations from our visitors. Unfortunately, it’s easy for homegrown seeds to transfer blight and other diseases to other gardens. We work with agricultural and gardening businesses to offer seeds that visitors can take home with the assurance that they will be safe for their gardens.
About the Seed Library Project
The Racine Public Library Seed Library is offered in partnership with UW Extension to help our community eat and grow healthy food on any budget.
Native Plant Garden
On Friday, June 24, 2022, we installed more than 600 native plants around our Library Drive book drops. Thank you to Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network and all the volunteers who helped plant this garden.
This pollinator garden helps support a healthy ecosystem for birds, bees and butterflies. We purchased our plants from Taylor Creek Restoration Nursery with the support of our generous donors.
Visit the Mitchell Park Domes
Experience passes for the Mitchell Park Domes are now available for checkout! These passes cover entry for your whole household to visit the Domes at no charge. The pass will also give you a 10% discount in the gift shop.
To use the pass, start by placing a hold at RacineLibrary.info/catalog, by calling us at (262) 636-9217, or by stopping by a service station on your next visit. When it’s your turn to use the pass, you’ll receive a notification that your hold is ready for pickup. Once you pick the pass up, you have seven days to use it on a visit to the domes. The pass works for any day the Domes are open, including during the train and holiday shows, as well as members-only events. Please keep in mind that passes cannot be renewed, and patrons will be billed the cost of the membership if the pass is not returned within seven days.
The pass is also eligible at American Horticultural Society public gardens throughout the US, Canada, Cayman Islands and US Virgin Islands. Please call in advance to confirm if the garden you’d like to visit has any limits on accepting other gardens’ passes.