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Library MakerSpace: Seed Library

Seed Library Overview

What Is a Seed Library?

A seed library is a place with a collection of seeds which may be ‘borrowed’ by any library user free of charge for small-scale home gardening. Community members may also donate seeds to a seed library. The purposes of seed libraries include helping library users learn about gardening and promoting sustainability by preserving native and heirloom varieties of plants. 

Our Mission

The Library MakerSpace’s Seed Library operates as a free-to-use, hands-on educational resource to enable the UNC-Chapel Hill community to learn about gardening, seed-saving, and native plant life. The Seed Library strives to provide users with the materials and informational resources necessary to get started with home gardening, and to preserve via circulation varieties of heirloom and native plants.

The Seed Library is supported by funding from the Student Library Advisory Board (SLAB) and by a donation from the Community Seed Library (Sponsored by the Orange County NC Master Gardener Volunteers). The card catalog was provided from the Science Library Annex. 

The Library MakerSpace's seed library, which is an old card catalog with seed labels along the front. There is a clipboard and a sign on the wall

How to Use the Seed Library

  • The Seed Library is self-serve, available during MakerSpace open hours, and no formal checkout process is required.  
  • UNC affiliation/a OneCard is not required to borrow seeds; any community member can use the Seed Library. 
  • Patrons should select five (5) or fewer brown coin envelopes of seeds and note which ones they’re taking on the mini clipboard next to the Seed Library. We are limiting the number of envelopes borrowed because of the limited quantities of each variety.  
  • Patrons should not borrow full size commercial packets, only coin envelopes. 
  • Patrons should refer to the binders of emptied commercial packets (in the Growing Info drawer), LibGuide, or books for more growing information. 
  • Seed-saving (harvesting and ‘returning’ next season’s seeds to the Library) is encouraged, but not required especially for beginner gardeners. This is an educational resource supported by the library, but donations of open-pollinated, non-proprietary seed varieties are appreciated.

FAQ and Policies

Answer: The Seed Library is open during the Library Makerspace hours. Visit the UNC Libraries website for updated hours. 

Answer: There is no formal checkout process and no need to visit the library desk. Just take the packet(s) of seeds you’d like and please note which one(s) on the clipboard sheet by the library. Please limit your selection to five (5) or fewer envelopes total as we have limited quantities of each type.

Answer: Nope! We appreciate and accept donations, but the Seed Library is first and foremost a hands-on educational resource and learning to save seeds can be tricky at first. There is no requirement or obligation to return leftover seeds or those of the next generation from your plants that have gone to seed, but it is always appreciated. Bringing in your leftover or saved seeds helps us maintain the collection for future users. 

Answer: If you do have some seeds to donate, please take a blank donation sheet and fill out the information label as completely as you can and take the sheet with your seeds to the desk. Don’t worry if some fields are left blank. We accept open-pollinated and known noninvasive varieties of seeds. Please note we do not accept patented varieties or those under the PVPA. Thank you!

Answer: Seed saving means allowing some of the plants you grow to go to seed, and then harvesting and preserving some of those seeds for the next growing season. Seed-saving technique varies by type of plant. Check out the books and other resources listed in this guide for more information about saving seeds. 

Additional Learning