Our Mission

The Normal Seed Library is a free seed project committed to making wholesome food available to our community members. Through this project, we hope to foster community resilience, self-reliance, and a culture of sharing.

The collection is located in the Normal Public Library in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension.

Borrowing and Donating Seeds

Borrowing seeds is free and easy. Just take what you’d like. There is an optional application.

As a bonus, seeds are never overdue. So there are no fines or replacement costs. Borrow liberally!

At harvest time, please take some extra steps to save seeds for others. We ask that a portion of the seeds you save be returned to the seed lending library to keep the library self-sustaining. The more seeds in the library, the more members of our community can experience the pleasures of growing their own food.

Invite your friends and neighbors to participate with you and keep the community conversation alive about gardening, health, and nutrition.

Why Save Seeds?

Humans have been saving seeds for over 12,000 years. Much of that knowledge, however, has been lost over the last hundred years, along with significant biodiversity.

When you grow and save your own seeds, you:

• develop seed stock that is well suited to our climate
• save money
• mitigate our dependence on agro-business

When you participate in the Normal Seed Library you create a culture of sharing and abundance.