Kresge Library welcomes the opportunity to discuss with potential donors the possibility of contributing materials to the Kresge Library.  Such gifts can enhance the Library's collections in a variety of ways, thereby enriching the resources available to OU students, faculty and the larger community.

Guidelines for Donating Material

Before accepting a gift, librarians must determine if a reasonable number of the items will be appropriate to add to the collections.  Materials must be in good physical shape (not heavily underlined, in need of repair, etc.), supportive of the University curriculum or research interests of faculty and students, and on an appropriate academic level. Journal issues should fill gaps in our holdings or are of sufficient completeness and importance to justify adding without having had prior holdings.

Academic libraries have varied and specific needs that frequently exclude items such as: standard editions of classic works, which usually duplicate holdings; textbooks, as they quickly become outdated; and books printed on paper too brittle to make them usable.

If you are considering donating to the library, please contact the library’s Coordinator of Collection Development to discuss your proposed gift. The Coordinator may need a listing of the items before determination can be made concerning acceptance. Upon receipt of your donation, you will be asked to complete a Kresge Library Donor Record Form (printed on the reverse side of the paper version of the gift policy).

Shawn V. Lombardo
Coordinator of Collection Development
248.370.2493
lombardo@oakland.edu

Ownership and Gift Acknowledgement

All books and other library materials given to Kresge Library become the property of Oakland University. The Library will add to its collections only gift material that supports the research and teaching mission of the university and, in most cases, titles added will be integrated into existing collections that are available to all of the Library's patrons. At the request of the donor, materials added to the collection may be bookplated indicating the donor's name. Remaining gift materials may be sold; given to other institutions, students, faculty or other individuals; or otherwise discarded by Kresge Library.

The Library attempts to acknowledge each gift with a letter. Because of the volume of gifts that we receive and the subsequent labor involved in processing them, the library will not provide donors with an itemized list of the materials donated. 

Tax Issues

Due to legal restrictions, the library is unable to provide appraisals. Gifts of materials worth more than $5,000 must first be accepted at the University level and an appraisal, at the donor's expense, is required from an independent qualified appraiser. Donors of gifts with an estimated value more than $500 should read IRS publication 526, Charitable Contributions and/or publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property, both available from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. It is always best for the donor to review this and other important tax matters with his or her own tax advisor or attorney.

Policy revised November 2008