Donation Policy
John F. Reed Library welcomes gifts and appreciates the generosity of donors. The primary mission of the library to support the College curriculum, combined with space and budget constraints, impacts the Library’s use of gifts.
Donations will be added to the collection if they meet the selection criteria applied to materials acquisitions. Materials must be reviewed before they are physically accepted by the Library. Any materials left at the library prior to formal acceptance may be given away or disposed of. The library is unable to provide an appraisal of any donated materials.
Prior to accepting a donation, donors will be asked to fill out the Reed Library Donation Form with all relevant book information (title, author, ISBN, etc.) for the Collections & E-Resources Librarian to review.
The donor must also sign the Library Gift in Kind (Non-Cash Gift) Form acknowledging their understanding of John F. Reed Library’s Gift Policy.
The Collections & E-Resources Librarian oversees the donation process and is responsible for review and approval of donated materials, per the criteria below. The Collections & E-Resources Librarian will communicate with the donor regarding drop off, if applicable.
The following procedures will be used to determine acceptance of the donation into the Library’s collection: Step 1. Assess Each Item Using the Following Criteria.
· Currency
o Unless a book is of particular value (monetary value or of value to our patrons, e.g. primary source documents, literature, classic/core works, or titles with regional significance) no book published prior to 2000 should be added to the collection.
o Titles that are superseded by more recent editions should not be added to the collection unless they are of monetary value or of value to our patrons, e.g. primary source documents, literature, classic/core works, or titles with regional significance.
o Titles that are outdated should not be added to the collection.
· Condition (per the donor’s assessment; to be confirmed upon receipt)
o Books that contain mold or mildew, tears, stains, or water damage will not be added to the collection.
o Books with more than a few pages of highlighted and underlined text will not be added to the collection.
o Books needing binding or mending should not be added to the collection unless they are considered of particular value or significance.
o Outdated media formats will not be added to the collection.
· Relevancy
o Titles that do not support the curriculum or the interests and activities of our patrons should not be added to the collection. When making these assessments, consider that many books are better suited to a public library collection, e.g. titles relating to auto mechanics would not be suitable for Reed Library, but guidebooks for hiking in this area would.
Books that do not meet our currency, condition, and relevancy criteria should not be accepted. If there are questions about the value or usefulness of a book, about whether or not a book is outdated, or about the value and condition of a book, it should be left up to the Collections &E-Resources Librarian, in conjunction with the subject liaison, to make the final determination.
Step 2. Check for Duplication in Reed and Delaney Library Collections.
· For books already in either of the above collections, check the edition. If the donation book is a newer edition, we will likely accept the book.
· For books at Reed Library, compare condition. If the condition of the donated book is better than the condition of the book held in our collection, place on the Add to Collection Shelf in Technical Services with a note indicating it is a donation that is in better condition that our copy. Technical Services Staff will make the decision to swap out books.
Step 3. Check Prospector Holdings.
· Check Prospector holdings for the books.
o Indicate the number of academic libraries holding the title on the Donation Review spreadsheet