UCSB Libraries Gift Acceptance Policy

The Library greatly appreciates gifts of books and other materials that enrich the Library’s research and special collections. We accept gifts of materials that support the University’s academic programs and contribute to the excellence of research and instruction.

Guidelines

The Library will accept for review gifts offered by faculty members of UCSB, as these gifts have proven to be useful for the collection. Because of space constraints the Library may ask to pre-select needed items from faculty offerings before they are delivered to the Library.

Because of space limitations, the Library is obliged to be selective in accepting gift materials. The Library will normally decline to accept items that:

• are not within the scope of its collections.
• duplicate existing holdings.
• do not support research or instructional programs of the University.
• require extensive repair or conservation.
• include donor restrictions that the Library cannot honor
• outdated textbooks, popular books and magazines, and journals that duplicate titles in the collections.

Donors offering materials in areas of special interest to particular subject collections will be referred to the appropriate collection manager for further consultation. Gifts of rare books, manuscripts, and other special items will be referred to the Head of Special Collections.

• Acknowledgement letter. A letter acknowledging the gift that gives a general description of donations but does not evaluate them will be provided to donors. Copies of these letters are maintained in the Librarian's office. In order to receive a letter of acknowledgement, donors must provide a name and address.
• Estimated value and appraisals. According to U.S. tax regulations, the Library, as the recipient, cannot appraise gifts for tax purposes. It is the responsibility of the donor to keep appropriate records of items donated. Library staff is not able to maintain records of sufficient detail to report to donors after the fact about which volumes have been retained and which have not. Upon request, the Head of Special Collections can provide a list of appropriate appraisers. Appraisal costs are the responsibility of the donor.
• Donor plates. Gift materials, with the exception of memorial gifts, selected special collections items, and those requested by donors, are not plated.
• Incorporation of Gifts into the Collections. The general policy is to incorporate gift materials into the regular collections, since the optimal benefit of gift materials is realized when they are placed in the Library's regular collections and located with other materials on the same subject for browsing and easy access.
• Referrals. The Library will assist donors by referring them to other libraries in the area if their materials are not appropriate for UCSB.

Approved: October 17, 2007

Gift Agreement Form