Tips and Guidelines for Giving Books

The following section will give you some tips on making a donation of books or other printed material to the library. Library staff share the donor's concern that gift material will actually be used at the library. Therefore, if you are considering donating to the library, we urge you to first contact the Gifts Coordinator. It will often be possible to determine the appropriateness of a proposed gift with a simple telephone call. When it seems advisable, library staff can make a personal visit to the donor to review the gift material.

The needs of a university research library are both varied and specific. Be aware that they exclude some of the items people often wish to donate. However valuable they may be, standard editions of classic works are likely to duplicate our collections. They would be of better use to a public library or charitable organization. Textbooks quickly become outdated as new editions are published. Many items, although theoretically valuable, may be printed on paper too brittle to make them usable. Rare books, scholarly works, or works on out-of-the-way or little-known topics are often a good fit for the library. We are also glad to have new books, and replacements for items missing from our shelves.

We will be happy to assist you in finding alternative donation options if it turns out that your gift does not fall under Northwestern University Library's collection needs; feel free to call us. There are many institutions which welcome donations. Your local library is one; there are also many charitable organizations with donation programs for books and journals.

Before bringing a donation to the library, please box all materials, and contact the Gifts Coordinator to discuss any special circumstances concerning your donation.

Please note: once your gift enters our processing workflow, we can no longer accommodate an appraiser; therefore, if you are considering a tax deduction and wish to have your collection appraised, you should do so prior to making the donation. Further information on appraisals and IRS guidelines for tax deductions can be found in our Tax Issues web page.

Materials the Library Needs

Materials which may be less suitable for donation

Library Gifts Policy

Books and other library materials given to Northwestern University Library become the property of the Library. The Library will add to its collections all gift material that supports the research and teaching mission of the University. Other gift material may be sold at book sales sponsored by the Library, or at auctions; sale proceeds are used to buy new books. Gifts may also be sold to or traded with other libraries. Any materials which upon receipt are found to be so deteriorated as to make them unfit for either use or sale, will be discarded.

Each gift to the library is acknowledged with an acknowledgement letter from the Gifts Department, stating the number of volumes and the date of receipt.

Content Questions? Contact c-grove@northwestern.edu
Technical questions? Contact betsy-allen@northwestern.edu



Last updated: 02/09/2009