Gifts and Donations Policy

Donations are accepted only on the clear understanding that the Library has complete control over what is kept, what is discarded and where material is to be located. The Library will not accept donations which must be kept together as separate collections.

Types of donations and gifts

Unsolicited donations are received from a wide range of sources, allowing material to be added to the Library's collections for little or no initial cost. However, donations are not free; they incur ongoing costs to cover cataloguing, processing and storage.

Solicited gifts, particularly from disposal lists from other libraries, are an important source for filling gaps in the collections.

Gifts of money are normally spent after consultation with the donor. However, the final choice of what is purchased rests with the Library, and gifts of money will not normally be accepted under other conditions.

Scope of material

Donations may be received in any format. Academic Liaison Librarians determine what donations are to be retained. Assessment criteria are the same as for other Library material, including:

• existing holdings
• whether they fill gaps in the collection
• the Library's need for extra copies of high use material
• their relevance to the current and likely future teaching and research needs of the University
• whether the cost of repair is in proportion to the likely value or future use

Advice is sought from other Library staff or Academic staff if required.

Unwanted donations

Unwanted donations are offered on Free Disposal Lists to other libraries, given to students, or discarded as appropriate.

Some journals of no permanent value are displayed for a short period and then discarded.