Gifts/Donations Policy
Donations of items/collections
- Refer to Archives
Other donations or gifts (new and used books, audio recordings, DVDs, and similar materials) are accepted into the LWLC’s collection if they meet the following criteria:
- Consistent with the mission, vision, scope, and purpose of the LWLC
- Relevance and usefulness to the LWLC’s educational, research, exhibition, collection growth, or activities
- Received in good condition
The LWLC will not accept the following as donations or gifts:
- Items with conflicts regarding property rights or legal title
- Items with any constraints in terms of intellectual property rights or copyrights
- Items with any concerns as to the authenticity of the object
- Items with safety concerns related to the object
- Most textbooks, especially outdated textbooks
- Gifts to which the donor has attached conditions or restrictions
- Materials that duplicate existing holdings
- Mass media paperbacks, periodicals, or subscriptions
- Photocopied materials or copies of original audio/video productions
- Damaged, brittle, and/or materials affected by mildew or mold
- Advance Reading Copies/Galleys/Preview copies
- Audiobooks
- Books that are underlined, mutilated, or otherwise in poor condition
- Computer software and manuals, CD-ROMS, digital files
- Encyclopedia sets
- LP records, cassette tapes/audio cassettes/VHS tapes/CDs
- Reader's Digest Condensed Books and similar types of material
- Romance novels
- Titles inappropriate for an academic library
Before donated material is accepted, donors must sign the Gifts Form or the Deed of Gift Form. The Gifts Form can be found at the Information Desk, while the Deed of Gift Form is located in the Archives department. Donors will be advised in advance that the LWLC reserves the right to dispose of gift material that does not conform to the selection criteria of the LWLC. This material may be exchanged with other libraries, given away, recycled, or discarded. The LWLC does not appraise gifts. Appraisal for income tax purposes of a gift to the library is the responsibility of the donor and is governed by the Tax Reform Act of 1984. US tax law forbids non-profit institutions from appraising donated materials. IRS Publication 561 “Determining the Value of Donated Property” may be helpful and can be found at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p561.pdf