A seed library is a place where community members can get seeds for free or for a nominal fee and is run for the public benefit (Seed Libraries network of seed lending libraries).

A "seed library" is form of community-based storing and exchanging of seeds. Related community-based activities include seed swaps and seed saving. Seed libraries and related community seed saving/sharing activities focus around local gardening.  Community seed libraries differ in organization, operation, and funding from seed repositories (e.g., the Crop Trust's  Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Kew Gardens' Millennium Seed Bank, International Rice Research Institute's International Rice Genebank) which focus on long-term preservation of plant species and crop biodiversity in the form of seed.

This guide suggests resources appropriate for research on community seed libraries and seed sharing.