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Digitial Humanities @ uOttawa

Academic Seed Libraries in Canada

There are currently eleven academic institutions in Canada that have (or had) seed libraries. Of these institutions, nine colleges and universities participated in this research project. In total, twelve seed libraries participated, however the number of seed libraries, institutions and respondents do not align for the following reasons:

  • Three universities have multiple seed library branches that responded to the survey and interview individually. As a result, some institutions are represented at a higher rate.
  • Two respondents from a branch of the University of British Columbia seed library participated in the survey and interview together.
  • Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology share library facilities, resources, and a seed library. There was one respondent that participated on behalf of both institutions.
  • The University of Winnipeg’s seed library is no longer active.
  • Not all respondents who participated in the survey participated in an interview.

Although there are similarities among the seed libraries, each of the programs is implemented in a different way. Below is a high-level overview of the participating colleges and universities with details about how they operate.

Brock University (St. Catharines, ON)
  • Seeds: Purchased
  • Founded by students in April 2022
Douglas College (New Westminster, BC)
  • Works in conjunction with the Sol (sustainability, outreach and learning) garden
Durham College / University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Oshawa and Whitby, ON)
  • Seeds: Mix of purchased and donated
  • Shared library between two institutions
  • Started around 2016 by librarians
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Langley, BC)
  • Seeds: Donated
  • First academic seed library in Canada, started around 2011
  • Seed library began after an organic farmer approached the university, with student and librarian support
McGill University (Montreal, QC)
  • Seeds: Donated
  • Received nearly 300 requests for seeds in 2023 (2300 individual packets)
  • Started by librarian
University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)
  • Seeds: Mix of purchased, donated, grown on-campus
  • Three seed library branches
  • X̱wi7x̱wa (pronounced ‘whei-wha’) seed library started around 2021 and focuses on seeds that are local or important to Indigenous communities
  • Asian seed library branch is being considered
  • Started by librarians
University of Toronto (Toronto and Scarborough, ON)
  • Seeds: Mix of purchased, donated, grown on-campus
  • Four seed library branches
  • Three branches act as hosts for the Toronto Seed Library, at least one of which was founded by a student
  • University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) has a farm and grows their own seed
  • UTSC seed library started around January 2019 by librarian
University of Winnipeg (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Seeds: Mix of purchased, donated, grown by seed library
  • Focus is on seed saving and stewardship
  • Founded and run by students
  • Was not affiliated with an academic library
  • No longer active
Academic Seed Libraries in Canada