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NLW
106,1216/1217 Handling gift books in libraries:
a view from the US
Kay Ann Cassell
450 New York Public Library, New York, New York, USA

Abstract
Purpose – To define the elements of a gift books policy.
Design/methodology/approach – Research based on a review of library gift policies.
Findings – Provides libraries with general guidelines as to what should be included in a gift book
policy.
Originality/value – Provides assistance to libraries to find a way to explain to prospective donors
how the library handles donations and gifts.
Keywords Libraries, United States of America, Collections management, Charitable donations
Paper type General review

Libraries everywhere struggle with the issue of gift books, also called donations. Some
gifts can be very valuable and add an important new resource to the library while
others are simply not suitable for the library collection. Librarians do not want to
appear ungrateful to the donor, yet handling gifts is time consuming and costly to the
library. A gift book policy is definitely needed by all libraries. This article breaks down
the various components of a gift book policy and offers suggestions as to possible
ways to handle various aspects of dealing with gifts.
Many libraries include gift book policies in their collection development policies as
the acceptance of gift books is intertwined with the library’s collection development
policy. Collection development policies are an important document for libraries. In
these policies the library describes its collections and users and discusses its policies
for each aspect of the collection. The kinds of materials collected are enumerated and
the level of collecting in each discipline is described. It also describes the kinds of
materials not collected by the library. This document provides a way to develop the
library’s collections in a consistent way and to communicate the library’s policies to its
users.

New Library World
Vol. 106 No. 1216/1217, 2005
pp. 450-453
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0307-4803
DOI 10.1108/03074800510623128
Overview
Library gift policies generally begin by stating that once materials are donated to the
library, they are the property of the library and the library has the right to dispose of
them as it sees fit. Much depends on the condition of the donations and the needs of the
library’s collection. Gift policies state that donations that will be added to the library’s
collection are accepted under the same policies as books purchased for the collection.
For more information on collection development policies, see Cassell and Futas (1991)
and Evans (1999). This statement helps the library to avoid adding donations to the
collection that are outside the scope of the library’s collecting policies. For example, the
public library might receive a collection of books on the history of mathematics. But
the library’s policy does not identify this as a subject the library collects so there would
be no use to add these materials to the collection. Libraries often state in their gift book
policies that if a gift added to the collection becomes outdated, worn or is no longer Handling gift
being used, it will be discarded in the same way as items the library has purchased. books in libraries
The library cannot guarantee that the gift will be a permanent part of the collection
(Gift Policy, Montana Public Library, 1994).
Even the largest libraries have very specific guidelines for the receipt of gifts. The
branch libraries of The New York Public Library’s guidelines for gifts asks that users do
not bring to the branches newspapers, catalogs or journals, old textbooks, or materials 451
that are in poor physical condition. The Research Library of The New York Public
Library prefers to get a list of donations in advance of the donation to see if the donation
will fit within the scope of the library’s collections as defined by their Collection
Development Policy. They state that “Many of The Research Libraries” most important
books, manuscripts and other materials were received as donations. In general, a gift of
books or manuscripts to the library (if not written by or for the donor) produces a federal
income tax deduction for the donor in an amount equal to the full fair market value of the
donated property on the date of the contribution. All donations must be cleared through
the “Library’s curatorial staff and legal counsel.” (www.nypl.org)
The Library of Congress states on its web site that “the Library welcomes inquiries
about donations, but, cannot accept everything. Prospective donors should NOT send
item(s), but instead, send gift offers identifying the item(s) to be donated” (www.loc.
gov/philanthropy/donate.html). Contrary to popular opinion, the Library of Congress
does not have a copy of every book published nor does it accept all gifts received. All
gifts are, however, carefully reviewed for possible additions to the collection in the light
of the Library Collection Policy Statement. The Library says that it usually rejects
individual company sales manuals, advertisements, coloring books, elementary and
high school textbooks (except in US history), instructors’ manuals, student workbooks
and self-published books except for genealogies and local histories. Books that are not
added to the collections are placed on shelves in a special area so that they can be
examined and selected by federal agencies, school libraries and other non-profit
organizations. The Library of Congress also has exchange arrangements with
institutions outside the United States. For information about these arrangements, visit
their web site: lcweb.loc.gov/acq/donatex.html

Cost of gifts
Libraries have come to realize that adding gifts to the collection is a costly enterprise
and thus the library must carefully consider whether the donation is worth the price of
cataloging and processing it. If it is not on a subject of interest to the users of the
library, no matter how fine the book may be, the library may decide not to add it to the
library’s collection. The Cornell University Library’s (New York) gift book policy
recommends that the donor “consider giving a minimum of $1,000 per 100 volumes
donated to help expedite processing as well as defray cost of maintaining the material
given to the Library” (www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/giftpolicy.html). Most donors
do not realize the cost of adding books or other materials to the collection. Many times
valuable collections languish at a library because there is no money to catalog and
process them. Although most libraries are not as specific as Cornell, its policy reflects
an important issue for libraries.
NLW Physical condition
106,1216/1217 One of the difficult issues to deal with is the physical condition of the book. Donors
often arrive with older titles that are in very bad condition. They think their books are
valuable so they find it hard to understand why the library refuses to put the books in
the collection. Sometimes even if the library adds the book to the collection, the donor is
annoyed that the book has very little intrinsic value because it is not in good condition.
452
Disposition of gifts
Libraries have many ways of disposing of donated books that are not added to the
collection. Some may simply be discarded due to their physical condition or due to the
fact that the book has dated material. Others may be duplicates or simply do not fit
within the parameters of the library’s collection development policy. These may be sold
at the library’s book sale, donated to another library that collects in that area or
donated to a local agency or organization. This, of course, depends on local laws or
regulations.

Appraisals
Many donors want an appraisal of their gifts for tax purposes. Libraries in the US
simply cannot do this because the US Internal Revenue Service considers the library to
be an interested party, which precludes appraisals. All gifts over $5,000 must be
appraised by a “qualified appraiser” in order to claim a tax deduction. Libraries may,
however, have a list of appraisers to recommend to donors.

Acknowledgement
Libraries should acknowledge all gifts. Many libraries have a standard form for
materials that have no special value. If the library receives materials of more
significance, the library may write a more elaborate acknowledgement instead of using
the standard form. For example, the University of Texas at Austin states in their policy
that gifts valued at $500 or less are acknowledged by a form letter or a personal letter
from the Library Director while gifts valued at more than $500 and up to $25,000 are
acknowledged by the President of the University and gifts valued at more than $25,000
require acceptance by the Regents. Libraries may also put bookplates in books
indicating who has donated the book.
Libraries also acknowledge donors in the catalog by adding donor information to
the cataloging information. This is a visible way of thanking donors who have given
valuable materials to the library and providing a way to develop interest in future
donations.

Communicating with the public

Some libraries publish brochures on gifts to alert the public to the procedures for
donating gifts and what kinds of gifts the library will accept. For example, a library in
Texas stated the following gift guidelines: no paperbacks, fiction in excellent condition
with dust jackets and no more than three years old, non-fiction in excellent shape with
no highlighting and no more than five years old. Libraries often state what formats
they will accept such as books, magazines, audio-visual materials, etc. Other ideas for
publicizing a gift policy include: information on the library’s web site, articles in local
papers, a donations hotline phone number, a poster in the library. In Santa Fe,
New Mexico, the public library has the following message for its public: “Your gift will Handling gift
enrich the Santa Fe Public Library in one of two ways. When your gift book falls
within the scope of the Materials Selection Policy of the Santa Fe Public Library and
books in libraries
does not duplicate items already owned, it will be added to the library’s collection, and
. . .if a book is not selected by the library’s staff, it will then be sold in the Friends’
Bookstore or annual books sale. Funds from the sale of gift books are used to support
library activities . . . ” (Bobkoff, 1999, p. 365). 453
Exchanges
Although exchanges are different than gifts, many of the same principles apply.
Libraries should have a policy about exchanges. Even an exchange will cost the library
money in handling, processing and adding the items to the collection. So libraries
should state in a policy exactly what kinds of materials they will accept as exchanges
and whether they have any specific requirements that must be met.

Conclusion
Gift books can be a very helpful addition to a library’s collection but can also mean a
great deal of work for very little return. Libraries have learned through the years that it
is important to be specific about what kinds of donations are welcome and to be
specific about what happens to donations.
Ironically gifts that are discarded can cause problems for the library thus making
libraries more careful about what they accept. Although librarians make a distinction
between library property discarded and gifts discarded, the public may not always
make this distinction. Thus libraries can come under unnecessary scrutiny for
disposing of unwanted gifts.
Gifts can be a problem for most libraries. They must straddle the line between
promoting good will from users and getting rid of materials not suitable for the
collection. There is, of course, no easy answer, but having guidelines to fall back on will
certainly help.

References
Bobkoff, M. (1999), “A bookworm’s eye-view of collection development: making use of gift
books”, Public Libraries, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp. 364-5.
Cassell, K.A. and Elizabeth, F. (1991), Developing Public Library Collections, Policies, and
Procedures, Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., New York, NY.
Evans, G.E. (1999), Developing Library and Information Center Collections, Libraries Unlimited,
Inc., Englewood, CO.
Montana Public Library (1994), Gift Policy, Montana Public Library, Missoula.

Further reading
Anon. (n.d.), Collection Development Policies, available at: www.diapr.lib.az.us/cdt/colldev.htm
Anon. (n.d.), Collection Development Policy, Cornell University, New York, NY, available at:
www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/giftpolicy.html
Library of Congress (n.d.), available at: www.loc.gov/philanthropy/donate.html
New York Public Library (n.d.), available at: www.nypl.org