Please also see:
These procedures are for handling gifts-in-kind (donated books, etc.), and do not refer to gift/exchange subscriptions and other ongoing programs.
Donations to Your Library
Please take a moment to review the information found on the other Gifts pages, so you will know how to advise any donors who contact your library.
Please note that the library cannot provide a value estimate for the material that is donated. We cannot provide any specific endorsements for appraisers, but donors can search for an appraiser using the Appraisers Association of America’s Find an Appraiser page.
Accepting Significant Donations
Please familiarize yourself with the Accepting Significant Collections section of the Gifts Policy page prior to acquiring or accepting a significant donation. In short, you will need to work with the Office of Collections and Technical Services, as well as any other necessary departments, on a processing plan and address any potential storage issues. In addition, you will be required to fill out the Library Gifts Memorandum of Understanding webform that outlines this plan.
Any donation being picked up at a donor’s home or office needs to be coordinated with the Office of Facilities via a ticket, as well as with the Gifts Staff at libgifts@library.illinois.edu. In order for Facilities to accurately estimate the amount of time, supplies, and staff they will need to dedicate to a sizeable gift pick-up, they ask that one of the following be done:
- Arrange for a Facilities and/or Gifts staff member to accompany you to the donor’s house when evaluating the donation.
- Take a rough measurement of the area to be boxed (ie: five 4-ft. long shelves that are completely full), and pass that information along to Facilities when scheduling the pick-up.
Acknowledgment
All Gifts must be acknowledged, unless the donor specifically requests otherwise. Gifts may be acknowledged by any librarian, not just the Office of Collections and Technical Services. However, please send a copy – either a letter or form – to the Office of Library Advancement so they can ensure the donor receives an official receipt from the University of Illinois Foundation. Alternatively, you can fill out the Library Gifts Acknowledgement Letter webform, which will be emailed directly to the Office of Library Advancement. For further questions about the acknowledgment process, please contact the Office of Library Advancement at friends@library.illinois.edu.
Donations Being Added to the Collection
Once you have vetted the donation and decided which items to add to the collection (whether it is to be housed in your library or elsewhere), you will need to fill out a Gifts Routing Streamer for each and route them through library shipping to: Gifts, 7A Library. They will then be cataloged by the appropriate staff in CAM or CMS.
Unused Donations
Ideally please only accept items that will be added to the University Library collections. However, we can accept in limited quantity for resale any material which has been donated to your library, but is not destined for inclusion in the collection. Candidates for resale include monographs in good physical condition (free of any mold/pest/water damage and excessive highlighting/marking) as well as DVDs in working condition. While journals are not good candidates for resale, significant runs can be offered to other institutions in Illinois. Please email an itemized list (title, volume, issue, year) for each to the Gifts staff so we can advertise them on the CARLI listserv on your behalf. Media not suitable for resale can be offered to Preservation Services, as they sometimes need examples for teaching purposes.
Before routing unused books on to Gifts, please ensure it is clear these items have already been searched and are intended for resale so that there is no duplicated effort. While not absolutely necessary, it is helpful to include a copy of any correspondence, as it helps facilitate processing on our end once we receive your material. Please route through library shipping to: Gifts, 7A Library.
If you plan to send a significant amount of material, please email the Gifts staff ahead of time so that we can plan for sufficient staffing and storage space.
Books Withdrawn from Your Collection
The CMS staff are now taking care of withdrawing materials on behalf of all libraries.
The CMS staff process the withdrawals, update catalog records as needed, and handle disposal of the items. Having one unit handle all withdrawals will improve communication, remove some of the workload from departmental libraries, and ensure consistent record maintenance.
Please see Sending Items to CMS for Withdrawal for information on how to work with CMS for withdrawing items from your collection.