Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2025·United States and Canada

Assessing the Gap Between Intention and Implementation in Seed Lending Libraries

Hilary Jasmin

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice

Urban Farm DB summary

This study surveyed 58 academic and public libraries in the United States and Canada regarding their seed lending programs' goals and marketing, using an online survey. While some libraries stated intentions related to food justice and activism, their marketing and programming primarily focused on neutral gardening and how-to classes. The findings reveal a gap between the initial, less neutral intentions and the more neutral, less activist programming language used for seed libraries.