What Are Seed Libraries and How Do They Fit Into This Project?

Seed libraries save and distribute seeds by loaning them to patrons who then grow plants and return seeds to the library after harvest.

Seed libraries are growing in popularity in public spaces, however, there has been little uptake in academic libraries (Ingalls, 2017). Currently, eight universities and three colleges on the land we now call Canada have implemented seed libraries within academic institutions: Brock University, Dalhousie University, Douglas College, Durham College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, McGill University, Okanagan College, University of British Columbia, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Toronto and University of Winnipeg. Through a survey and interview I sought to find out if and how seed libraries were contributing to food security and sustainability efforts, while also understanding the role of seed libraries in Canadian academic institutions (more generally).

In developing this project, I started with an interest in learning more about seed libraries and focused my investigation on academic seed libraries, about which there is very little research. I was curious about the role that seed libraries could play in a college or university, how these programs contributed to larger objectives and the rationale for keeping seed libraries in an academic setting. Dean and Mezick’s (2020) examination of academic seed libraries in the United States revealed that institutions highlighted food security as a goal, and seed libraries were created in part to encourage patrons to lead a sustainable lifestyle. However, their findings failed to address structures of power inherent in seed library systems, overlooking the resources required for a garden, and which communities were benefitting from the programs. These findings made me wonder if food security and sustainability were also motives for implementing seed libraries in Canada.

Framework of analysis

My approach to this project is grounded in the principles of data feminism as developed by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein (2020), which offers tools for identifying power relations within systems that can be extended to seed libraries and academia. Although this framework was designed for data science, the principles lend themselves to systems more generally, and the tools and language is adaptable to social and cultural contexts that exhibit an unequal and inequitable distribution of power. Additionally, I have collected information and stories from many generous people, which I have then turned into data, which is a powerful tool that should be challenged (D’Ignazio & Klein, 2020). To analyze data through a feminist lens, I have adopted the data feminist principles of D’Ignazio and Klein's (2020) data feminist principles, and in particular: examining and challenging power, embracing pluralism “with priority given to local, Indigenous, and experiential ways of knowing” (p. 18), and making labour visible.

A note on language

I will reference “seed libraries” throughout this exhibit, although this is not always the term that the institutions use for their programs. Other names that are utilized are seed lending library, seed exchange library, seed keeping, and seed stewarding. I recognize that these programs may differ slightly from a seed library, which is a nuance I overlooked to maintain consistency. When relevant, I employed the accurate terminology.