A seed library is an institution that lends or shares

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

. It is distinguished from a

seedbank A seed bank (also seed banks or seeds bank) stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, disease res ...

in that the main purpose is not to store or hold

germplasm Germplasm are living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, preservation, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of seed collections stored in seed banks, tr ...

or seeds against possible destruction, but to disseminate them to the public which preserves the shared plant varieties through propagation and further sharing of seed.

History

The first contemporary seed library was created in 1999 at the Berkeley Ecology Center. It was called the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL). The first seed library to be established in a public library was at the Gardiner Public Library in Gardiner, New York and was developed by Ken Greene in 2004. Since then, the number of seed libraries has grown to over 450 across the globe, with most being established in the United States.

Function

Seed libraries usually maintain their collections through donations from members. but may also operate as pure charity operations intent on serving gardeners and farmers. A common attribute of many seed libraries is to preserve agricultural biodiversity by focusing on rare, local, and heirloom seed varieties. Seed libraries use varied methods for sharing seeds, primarily by: * seed swaps otherwise known as seed exchanges, in which library members or the public meet and exchange seeds * seed "lending," in which people check out seed from the library's collection, grow them, save the seed, and return seed from the propagated plants to the library Seed libraries may function as programs of

public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...

, such as the programs of the Richmond Public Library in California (the "Richmond Grows" program is the "unofficial spiritual center of the ublic library seed librarymovement") and the New Port Richey Public Library (Florida). Seed library initiatives in public libraries garner patron participation as a novelty supplement to book check-outs. Seed packets are usually located next to everyday circulated items like books, audiobooks, CDs, and DVDs. Seed libraries in public libraries have been successful because they catch patron hobby curiosities. Public libraries are an appropriate space for seed libraries because they make seeds and plants available to everyone. They are also located in college libraries, such as

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

's seed library; museums, such as the Hull-House Heirloom Seed Library, a program of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. or as membership based online programs like the Hudson Valley Seed Library. Some have developed as programs of

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

s, such as that of the

VanDusen Botanical Garden VanDusen Botanical Garden is a botanical garden situated in Vancouver, British Columbia, in its Shaughnessy neighborhood. It is located at the northwest corner of 37th Avenue and Oak Street. It is named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitf ...

, or from gardening associations and research institutes, such as the Heritage Seed Library of

Garden Organic Garden Organic, formerly known as the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA), is a UK organic growing charity dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food. The charity maintains the Heritage Seed Library to pr ...

. Other seed libraries have evolved from community sustainability or resilience efforts, such as the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) (the United States' oldest seed library, which developed from the

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

Ecology Center); and still others from the

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...

movement, such as

Grow Gainesville Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers, also known as Florida Organic Growers or FOG, is a non-profit organization founded in 1987. It is classified as a 501(c) corporation. One of the main facets of FOG is Quality Certification Services, ...

's seed program. While "lending" is straightforward, "returning" or re-depositing seeds presents a challenge, since the new seeds are not necessarily well-described, and may be inadvertent hybrids. Some libraries, like the Live Oak Public Library in Savannah, Georgia, do not accept returns or unsolicited donations to ensure quality control. Other libraries, like the Live Oak Public Library in, Live Oak, Florida, ask that borrowers return seeds if possible but there is no penalty for not doing so, and they will not accept hybrid or GMO seeds. Seed libraries complement the preservationist activities of

s, by collecting local and heirloom varieties that might otherwise be lost, and by collecting new local varieties. In theory, lending and returning seed libraries will also promote local agriculture over time, by growing collections of seeds locally adapted to the region.

History

Function

See also

References

Further reading

External links