Donations & Gift Policies

Print and Media Donation Policy

The Townsend Memorial Library, like most academic libraries, is decreasing its print collections and focusing more on electronic books, journals, and databases. Gifts of physical items such as books, audio/visual materials, and sheet music, incur a significant amount of staff time, space, and funding to evaluate and add to the collection.

Currently, the Library only needs select items that support the teaching, learning, and research of our faculty and students. Only rarely do we accept physical donations for the general print and media collections.

Donation Criteria for Physical Items

Librarians evaluate each item on an individual basis in terms of processing costs and significance to the collections. In making that judgement, we work within these formal guidelines:

• Gifts of physical items must be accompanied by a list of titles and a brief description of the potential donation, including size, type, subject matter, and age and condition of the materials.
• Donations for the general collection will not be accepted until the donor has scheduled an appointment and met with a subject liaison for discussion of the potential collection. If accepted, all materials then become the property of University Library.
• For materials added to the collections, we, unfortunately, cannot accept restrictions on length of retention, housing, access, processing, or markings. But we will, to the extent possible, make every effort to accommodate your requests as a donor.

• The Library is unable to accept:
  • Textbooks
  • General encyclopedias no matter their age
  • Review copies and galley proofs
  • Mass-market paperbacks
  • Popular magazines, either bound or unbound
  • U. S. Government Publications
  • Books, scholarly journals, or other materials which duplicate our holdings
  • Materials in poor condition, especially if they show signs of mold, mildew, insect infestation such as paper mites, or are malodorous
  • Electronic materials requiring dated software or materials that reference dated software, programs, or programming
  • Materials which might cause the library to be liable for copyright infringement (illegally copied print, audio, or video)
• The library furnishes the donor with appropriate acknowledgment and descriptions of materials. However, the library is prohibited by federal law from providing monetary appraisals of physical gifts. Should you have questions about tax deductions, we suggest that you consult your personal tax advisor.
• Arrangements for delivery of donated materials must be made on an individual basis.

Policy updated 7/12/2022