Technical Services: Gifts In-Kind Guidelines and Gift Form

Gifts of books and other materials can provide valuable additions to the library collection that might not otherwise be available to users. The Library welcomes materials that are in good physical condition and that comply with our collecting priorities. Space limitations prevent the Library from accepting offers of gifts-in-kind that are not in good condition or that do not fall within our “Collection Development Guidelines.”

Gifts-in-kind are accepted with the understanding that all donated materials become the Library's property. The Library reserves the right to determine the disposition of all gifts, including retention, location, cataloging, and treatment.

General Guidelines

As a general rule, the following guidelines apply to the acceptance and addition of gifts to the library collections:

• The responsibility for determining the value of the gift for income tax purposes rests with the donor and all such appraisals must be completed before the material is given to A&M-Central Texas. Donors may wish to discuss prospective donations, appraisals, and tax considerations with appropriate financial or legal advisors.
• According to IRS, donors may wish to read IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions and/or IRS Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property and/or consult with an attorney or an accountant. Donors should further consult their tax advisor in all cases, as the tax code regarding charitable donations is revised frequently. You may also want to take a look at the Internal Revenue Service's website.
• All gift donations must conform to the Library “Collection Development Guidelines.”
• Large donations (100 titles or more) must be reviewed by the Director of the University Library or a designee who will determine the appropriateness and physical condition of the collection prior to acceptance and delivery to A&M-Central Texas.
• Donors must be willing to allow the Library to identify and select suitable items, rather than accepting an entire collection.
• All gift items which fall into areas of interest to Archives or Special Collections may be referred to the coordinator of the Archives.
•  Large donations will not be accepted solely for disposal.
• Items in poor physical condition will not be considered for the collection unless they are very rare and valuable.
• Duplicate copies of items already in the collection will be added only if heavy and continuous use warrants.

Guidelines for Adding Monographic Gifts

Guidelines for adding monographic gifts include:

• Incomplete multi-volume sets will not be added unless the volumes can be used independently of each other or those volumes fill gaps in the collection.
• Workbooks, lab manuals, or any type of consumable material will not be added to the collections.
• Books with heavy underlining, marginalia notes, or extensive highlighting will not be added to the collections.

Guidelines for Adding Periodicals

Guidelines for adding periodicals include:

•  Periodical issues for which the Library has duplicate holdings in microform or electronically will not be added unless heavy use or archival value warrants.
•  A gift of a serial title may be added if there are three or more consecutive years.
• Scattered issues of periodicals and other serial titles, when they complement a title in the collection or current curriculum and research needs of the university community will be added.

Commemorative Donations

Individuals who wish to donate items in commemoration of an individual or entity may do so. When the commemorative item is received, the Library will place a small bookplate on the inside of the front cover indicating that it is commemorative, and a note will be made in the library catalog.

Gifts of Funds

Those who wish to donate funds for the enrichment of the Library or the purchase of a specific resource may do so through the A&M-Central Texas Office of Advancement and Alumni Services.

Adopt-a-Journal

One option for the donation of funds is the support of a subscription to a journal for the Library for one or more years. The donor will be asked to choose a journal from a list of predefined journals chosen by the Library, and to provide at least one year of the subscription cost for the chosen journal. Donors are encouraged to renew their donation each year, and are asked not to create a subscription in the Library’s name on their own, since this makes the management of the subscription more difficult. The Library will not accept the donation of partial funds for a subscription. Donors are advised that academic journals can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars annually. 

Bring filled out, signed form with donation.  Email Dawn Harris or call 254-519-8716 to schedule donation drop-off.