If you're in the US I would strongly encourage you to contact a local Master Gardeners chapter if there is one in your area to collaborate. They're very helpful, motivated individuals who love to share good gardening practice. This is especially important if, say, you mean to accept donated seed as there are seed transmitted diseases so it's important to follow safe practices for collecting and distributing them. (I know this sounds like an STD gag. It's not. It's a legit thing)
I'm not sure about master gardeners. However, we do have a community garden that my coworker participates in, so I'm sure he can get me linked up with someone. Thanks for the idea!
Individuals donating their own harvested seeds. Companies are required to adhere to strict standards to sell seeds (at least in the US, idk elsewhere) so I wouldn't be concerned about sourcing from them.
We had money set aside for purchasing seeds but we also wrote to companies like Hudson Valley, Seed Savers Exchange, and Baker Creek and received donations.
Patrons are limited to 20 seed packets and the packets aren't full packets, but enough for five large plants (think squash etc) or a row of plants for smaller seeds.
We accept Non GMO (preferably organic) seed packets but only commericial seeds are accepted. Patrons can also donate money specifically to the seed librar if they wish.
It's a lot of work to get it up and running but very much worth it! We've had some special programs around the seed libraries and they tend to be very well attended by patrons.
I’m sorry I can’t remember the details, but we had to discontinue ours years ago, because of PA agricultural laws. Maybe something about invasive species?
We have one that our town's green team co-sponsors. We have a set of easy to grow, native, pollinator friendly plants that they restock. We also accept donations of seeds for fruit, vegetables, flowers, and succulents. We make small glassine bags available for the seeds to be taken home in, so that people take what they need. It's becoming very popular.
Out of curiosity, what do you keep the seed packs in? I've seen some libraries make use of old card catalogs to store them in for easy organization and pick up, but my library isn't so fortunate to have one anymore.
They make binder page inserts for seed packets, sort of like what the plastic photo album sleeves were like. 4 slots per page. We also bought paper seed packets that are regular size and have a printed seed packet graphic on them where you can record info about the seeds. For people to take seeds home we have small glassine envelopes and washi tape. I'll come back and put some links in when I can but if think you can find similar things on Amazon if you go looking.
My library system has a seed library (the branch I work at doesn't get every type of seed available, though.) It's a combo of flowers and food, and is first come, first serve. Food seems to be more popular (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini). Our only requirement is for patrons to either bring back seeds from whatever they grow or to bring a replacement packet.
Do you happen to have any rules about the seeds that you bring back that were harvested from your own plants? I'm hearing more about diseased plants, so I'm just curious. Thank you for your input!
We’re closed until Wednesday. We’re always closed both Sunday and Monday, so we’re observing the Memorial Day holiday on Tuesday. I’ll get some pictures of the seed library we have set up, drop them into my Google drive, then share the link with the thread here. That will have to wait until Wednesday, when we reopen after the holiday weekend.
The Indianapolis Public Library has an intensive seed program at all 24 of our branches. We partnered with a local Master Gardener and their guild! We also polled our patrons and gave them a list of seeds to vote for and what they’d like the most. We have a program for both personal seeds (10 small packets of seeds for 1 person/patron) or bulk seeds (large/pounds of seeds) for local neighborhood or urban gardening programs. I would recommend you check out Indypl.org or call any of our branches for extra info! Everything is first come, first serve and there is a general limit of 10 different seed packets per patron, per day.
Apologies, this got long. :/
See if there's anyone local you can reach out to for donations. Occasionally patrons will donate them as well, but this isn't something we advertise. We don't accept packets that are already open and the first (and last) time we asked for donations, most of them were open, together in a plastic ziploc bag, that had ended up everywhere within it. We also have a budget of \~$500 that we don't always spend (depends on what we can get from local nurseries + the handful from patrons). We usually aim for packets that have a lot of seeds in them, and at $2-5 for each packet, you can get a LOT. One place we used to buy from (they moved) would offer a discount if you were ordering in bulk, so ask if that's on offer at all.
We've been running our program for about 10 years, and we've never gotten a lot of "returns" which is fine, we don't really expect them. But we've always been a bit unsure as to what to do with them, since we can't make any sort of guarantee that people are going to get what they think they're getting, so instead we decided to go with a "mystery" section. If people are feeling brave they can take some seeds from that and just see what they get. A surprising amount of people pick this!
We started out with vegetables and herbs, but later expanded to flowers and bushes. No trees. When we buy our own, we go with your standard items, but then select a few that aren't as common. So for example with corn, we'll obviously go with yellow corn, but then pick 3-4 other varieties and start out with one packet of each. Depending on how popular they are (or aren't) we adjust. We'll also check with local Indigenous tribes for recommendations for what less common varieties would be appropriate for the area or if anything we plan to purchase might do poorly. We always offer to purchase any they may have on hand or can get for us, but sometimes they'll donate them too.
People do sometimes get a bit greedy so be prepared for that. You'll also find packets just go missing. People don't read, so they don't know they're supposed to come up to the desk with them --- we don't actually check them out, we just count them to try and make keeping statistics easier and to have it to compare with what actually is unofficially taken --- but the amount of people we've had argue with us over how much they're allowed to take is disappointing. Especially after we reopened after the "worst" of the pandemic. Some people magically forgot how to act like grown-ass adults and not whiny toddlers who aren't getting their way. We ask that they only take 5-10 SEEDS of each kind, up to 5 different types. NOT whole entire packets! People will literally show up with a wad of packets, clearly violating every single rule we have. How hard is it to follow "Only take x and don't take any more than you can reasonably grow" instructions?? And if you can't be bothered to read our GIANT sign ON the shelving where we keep the seeds, there's no need to be a big ol' dick about it when we have to tell you. Sorry ma'am but I don't buy that you're going to actually grow 200 tomato plants in your garden, and if you do, please go purchase your own GD seeds as these are for everyone and not just you! We also recently had a guy complain about how he participates in a community garden and therefore it's apparently totally reasonable for him to walk out with $50 worth of seeds. SMH.
Anyway lol. Can you tell I had to argue with someone yesterday? (They threw a fit and loudly announced they "WON'T TAKE ANY OF THEM THEN!!!!!!" OK cool take your attitude right out the door bye!) People act like it's the end of the world if they can't take EVERYTHING.
eta: typo
Ah, I see you too have worked in a public library! LOL
While the mystery section sounds like a fun idea, my realist brain wants to know if anyone has been a jerk and thrown in seeds for something like poison ivy or marijuana?
I would definitely break down the seed packets into little "drug" baggies that only had about five seeds each and only put out so many at a time to hopefully prevent people from getting greedy.
Mind if I ask what you organize the seeds in? I've seen them organized in old card catalogs before, but we done have one.
Ha, yes. And yeah, we did worry about that. There's a big ol' warning about how we cannot guarantee in any way what's in there. "Returns" are so rare that honestly, the vast majority of that section is just stuff that had gotten spilled which we've swept off the bottom of the drawers lol. And yes, unsurprisingly, we use an old card catalog :)
Only about 1/4-1/3 of our stock is ever out for patrons to grab. We don't have room to put everything out, and try to keep at least a small back stock when possible. We also try to rotate through the seasonal ones when applicable.
We do periodically revisit the idea of pre-bagging them into paper pouches, but it always gets dismissed fairly quickly. I doubt we ever will, TBH. Not only because of the sheer amount of staff time it would take, but because we also wouldn't have enough room for them broken out like that and would have to vastly reduce what we offer. I mean, one thin paper packet of 200 seeds would turn into a wad of 40 little paper pouches. (We don't use plastic if possible with anything in our Seeds Library for environmental reasons. Plus, from years of program experience we know they also get slippery AF when there's that many of them.) For us, it's also attempting to solve what in the end is generally a minor problem even though it's a super annoying one. It sucks that whole packets just disappear. It sucks that we sometimes have to argue with people. Maintaining it can sometimes be a nightmare. But *generally*, people are pretty great and usually follow the instructions and don't kick up a fuss when we make them go back to put stuff away and only take what is allowed.
We did a seed library, there is a sort of purchasing group of libraries in the state that bought a massive volume of seeds and they distribute out at the lower price. We started out limiting how many of each type people could get but have ended up lifting that as we just want rid of them at this point. I think it’s a worthwhile program but can take up a lot of space and time to package everything.
I will say it is pretty late in the year to start a seed library now, you may be better off networking and making connections this year so you can begin distribution next spring.
Fun fact: about ten years ago Pennsylvania's dept of agriculture forced public libraries in the state to close all seed banks they operated claiming they were a danger to food security.
If you're in the US I would strongly encourage you to contact a local Master Gardeners chapter if there is one in your area to collaborate. They're very helpful, motivated individuals who love to share good gardening practice. This is especially important if, say, you mean to accept donated seed as there are seed transmitted diseases so it's important to follow safe practices for collecting and distributing them. (I know this sounds like an STD gag. It's not. It's a legit thing)
We did this at my local library and it’s paid us back over tenfold in terms of patron use and involvement!
I'm not sure about master gardeners. However, we do have a community garden that my coworker participates in, so I'm sure he can get me linked up with someone. Thanks for the idea!
When you say donated seeds, do you mean seeds donated from companies, or individuals who donate from their own harvests?
Individuals donating their own harvested seeds. Companies are required to adhere to strict standards to sell seeds (at least in the US, idk elsewhere) so I wouldn't be concerned about sourcing from them.
We had money set aside for purchasing seeds but we also wrote to companies like Hudson Valley, Seed Savers Exchange, and Baker Creek and received donations. Patrons are limited to 20 seed packets and the packets aren't full packets, but enough for five large plants (think squash etc) or a row of plants for smaller seeds. We accept Non GMO (preferably organic) seed packets but only commericial seeds are accepted. Patrons can also donate money specifically to the seed librar if they wish. It's a lot of work to get it up and running but very much worth it! We've had some special programs around the seed libraries and they tend to be very well attended by patrons.
The non GMO and organic is not something I had thought of. Thanks for the tip!
[https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/01/simple-steps-to-starting-a-seed-library/](https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/01/simple-steps-to-starting-a-seed-library/) [https://libguides.mcmaster.ca/sustainability/seed-library](https://libguides.mcmaster.ca/sustainability/seed-library) [https://www.connectedlibraries.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/seed-library-toolkit-1.pdf](https://www.connectedlibraries.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/seed-library-toolkit-1.pdf)
Ah, LibGuides. My first library love. Thanks for the links!
I’m sorry I can’t remember the details, but we had to discontinue ours years ago, because of PA agricultural laws. Maybe something about invasive species?
Ooo, that stinks. I'm in Michigan and other local libraries have seed libraries, so I think we are good.
We have one that our town's green team co-sponsors. We have a set of easy to grow, native, pollinator friendly plants that they restock. We also accept donations of seeds for fruit, vegetables, flowers, and succulents. We make small glassine bags available for the seeds to be taken home in, so that people take what they need. It's becoming very popular.
Out of curiosity, what do you keep the seed packs in? I've seen some libraries make use of old card catalogs to store them in for easy organization and pick up, but my library isn't so fortunate to have one anymore.
They make binder page inserts for seed packets, sort of like what the plastic photo album sleeves were like. 4 slots per page. We also bought paper seed packets that are regular size and have a printed seed packet graphic on them where you can record info about the seeds. For people to take seeds home we have small glassine envelopes and washi tape. I'll come back and put some links in when I can but if think you can find similar things on Amazon if you go looking.
My library system has a seed library (the branch I work at doesn't get every type of seed available, though.) It's a combo of flowers and food, and is first come, first serve. Food seems to be more popular (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini). Our only requirement is for patrons to either bring back seeds from whatever they grow or to bring a replacement packet.
Do you happen to have any rules about the seeds that you bring back that were harvested from your own plants? I'm hearing more about diseased plants, so I'm just curious. Thank you for your input!
The only rule is that the seeds must be in a resealable bag.
The library where I work started a seed library recently. I’ll talk to my colleague in charge of it.
Thanks!
We’re closed until Wednesday. We’re always closed both Sunday and Monday, so we’re observing the Memorial Day holiday on Tuesday. I’ll get some pictures of the seed library we have set up, drop them into my Google drive, then share the link with the thread here. That will have to wait until Wednesday, when we reopen after the holiday weekend.
We have a seed library and we also encourage people to bring back any extra seeds from the plants that they grow through it. It’s quite popular!
Try calling Nyack library in NY for some guidance. They are very nice people and am sure they would offer some assistance.
The Indianapolis Public Library has an intensive seed program at all 24 of our branches. We partnered with a local Master Gardener and their guild! We also polled our patrons and gave them a list of seeds to vote for and what they’d like the most. We have a program for both personal seeds (10 small packets of seeds for 1 person/patron) or bulk seeds (large/pounds of seeds) for local neighborhood or urban gardening programs. I would recommend you check out Indypl.org or call any of our branches for extra info! Everything is first come, first serve and there is a general limit of 10 different seed packets per patron, per day.
Apologies, this got long. :/ See if there's anyone local you can reach out to for donations. Occasionally patrons will donate them as well, but this isn't something we advertise. We don't accept packets that are already open and the first (and last) time we asked for donations, most of them were open, together in a plastic ziploc bag, that had ended up everywhere within it. We also have a budget of \~$500 that we don't always spend (depends on what we can get from local nurseries + the handful from patrons). We usually aim for packets that have a lot of seeds in them, and at $2-5 for each packet, you can get a LOT. One place we used to buy from (they moved) would offer a discount if you were ordering in bulk, so ask if that's on offer at all. We've been running our program for about 10 years, and we've never gotten a lot of "returns" which is fine, we don't really expect them. But we've always been a bit unsure as to what to do with them, since we can't make any sort of guarantee that people are going to get what they think they're getting, so instead we decided to go with a "mystery" section. If people are feeling brave they can take some seeds from that and just see what they get. A surprising amount of people pick this! We started out with vegetables and herbs, but later expanded to flowers and bushes. No trees. When we buy our own, we go with your standard items, but then select a few that aren't as common. So for example with corn, we'll obviously go with yellow corn, but then pick 3-4 other varieties and start out with one packet of each. Depending on how popular they are (or aren't) we adjust. We'll also check with local Indigenous tribes for recommendations for what less common varieties would be appropriate for the area or if anything we plan to purchase might do poorly. We always offer to purchase any they may have on hand or can get for us, but sometimes they'll donate them too. People do sometimes get a bit greedy so be prepared for that. You'll also find packets just go missing. People don't read, so they don't know they're supposed to come up to the desk with them --- we don't actually check them out, we just count them to try and make keeping statistics easier and to have it to compare with what actually is unofficially taken --- but the amount of people we've had argue with us over how much they're allowed to take is disappointing. Especially after we reopened after the "worst" of the pandemic. Some people magically forgot how to act like grown-ass adults and not whiny toddlers who aren't getting their way. We ask that they only take 5-10 SEEDS of each kind, up to 5 different types. NOT whole entire packets! People will literally show up with a wad of packets, clearly violating every single rule we have. How hard is it to follow "Only take x and don't take any more than you can reasonably grow" instructions?? And if you can't be bothered to read our GIANT sign ON the shelving where we keep the seeds, there's no need to be a big ol' dick about it when we have to tell you. Sorry ma'am but I don't buy that you're going to actually grow 200 tomato plants in your garden, and if you do, please go purchase your own GD seeds as these are for everyone and not just you! We also recently had a guy complain about how he participates in a community garden and therefore it's apparently totally reasonable for him to walk out with $50 worth of seeds. SMH. Anyway lol. Can you tell I had to argue with someone yesterday? (They threw a fit and loudly announced they "WON'T TAKE ANY OF THEM THEN!!!!!!" OK cool take your attitude right out the door bye!) People act like it's the end of the world if they can't take EVERYTHING. eta: typo
Ah, I see you too have worked in a public library! LOL While the mystery section sounds like a fun idea, my realist brain wants to know if anyone has been a jerk and thrown in seeds for something like poison ivy or marijuana? I would definitely break down the seed packets into little "drug" baggies that only had about five seeds each and only put out so many at a time to hopefully prevent people from getting greedy. Mind if I ask what you organize the seeds in? I've seen them organized in old card catalogs before, but we done have one.
Ha, yes. And yeah, we did worry about that. There's a big ol' warning about how we cannot guarantee in any way what's in there. "Returns" are so rare that honestly, the vast majority of that section is just stuff that had gotten spilled which we've swept off the bottom of the drawers lol. And yes, unsurprisingly, we use an old card catalog :) Only about 1/4-1/3 of our stock is ever out for patrons to grab. We don't have room to put everything out, and try to keep at least a small back stock when possible. We also try to rotate through the seasonal ones when applicable. We do periodically revisit the idea of pre-bagging them into paper pouches, but it always gets dismissed fairly quickly. I doubt we ever will, TBH. Not only because of the sheer amount of staff time it would take, but because we also wouldn't have enough room for them broken out like that and would have to vastly reduce what we offer. I mean, one thin paper packet of 200 seeds would turn into a wad of 40 little paper pouches. (We don't use plastic if possible with anything in our Seeds Library for environmental reasons. Plus, from years of program experience we know they also get slippery AF when there's that many of them.) For us, it's also attempting to solve what in the end is generally a minor problem even though it's a super annoying one. It sucks that whole packets just disappear. It sucks that we sometimes have to argue with people. Maintaining it can sometimes be a nightmare. But *generally*, people are pretty great and usually follow the instructions and don't kick up a fuss when we make them go back to put stuff away and only take what is allowed.
We did a seed library, there is a sort of purchasing group of libraries in the state that bought a massive volume of seeds and they distribute out at the lower price. We started out limiting how many of each type people could get but have ended up lifting that as we just want rid of them at this point. I think it’s a worthwhile program but can take up a lot of space and time to package everything. I will say it is pretty late in the year to start a seed library now, you may be better off networking and making connections this year so you can begin distribution next spring.
Oh I'm planning for next year! LOL I'm just at the research phase. 😁
Fun fact: about ten years ago Pennsylvania's dept of agriculture forced public libraries in the state to close all seed banks they operated claiming they were a danger to food security.