The Shapiro Library welcomes gifts of appropriate materials from the community that may provide valuable additions to the library collection. All donated materials are expected to meet the same standards of quality and relevance to the collection as all newly acquired titles. Donations should support the university curriculum and the mission of the library as well as meet established collection development guidelines and policies.
All gifts will undergo review by professional library faculty. In the event a reviewer is unsure whether certain material should be added to the collection, other librarians and teaching faculty will be consulted for their views on appropriateness.
All gifts must be presented to the library in good, preferably new or like new, condition. Items considered to be in poor condition (worn, yellowing, brittle pages, heavily marked, etc.) will not be considered for donation.
Items that may be considered for donation include:
Items typically not accepted for donation include:
The library reserves the right to dispose of any gift materials that it considers not to meet the collection needs and policy guidelines of the library. The library may dispose of the unaccepted material in a variety of different ways, including: donating to other libraries; donating to local, nonprofit organizations; donating to academic departments; donating to individual faculty, staff, or students; donating to organizations such as Better World Books; recycling items discovered to be physically unsuitable. If the donor would like to redeem any materials not being considered for addition into the collection, the donor must indicate this preference at the time of donation.
If it is the wish of the donor, items that are added to the collection may be recognized as a gift with the attachment of a book-plate stating the donor's name. The library may also provide the donor with a formal letter acknowledging the gift that is being provided. It is the responsibility of the donor to indicate this preference and provide the necessary contact information at the time of donation.
It is the responsibility of the donor to have a monetary appraisal of his/her gift performed by a third party before it is given to the library, if it is assumed the gift has a large monetary value and if an appraisal is so desired by the donor. This is in compliance with federal tax regulations and the Association of Research Libraries' Statement on Appraisal of Gifts.
All gifts of money must first be discussed with the University Library Dean.
Small donations of up to 20 items may be brought to the first floor Library Information Desk without prior notification.
For large donations over 20 items, please contact the library’s Technical Services Librarian in charge of donations prior to dropping materials off at the library. This advance notice will help ensure appropriateness of materials for the collection and allow staff time to prepare for the arrival of a large donation. Failure to speak to the Technical Services Librarian or another library representative prior to dropping off a large donation may result in the library declining the donation.
Contact Information:
Jessica Sheehan – Associate Director for Library Collections
Email: j.sheehan@snhu.edu
I agree to the terms presented in the Southern New Hampshire University Shapiro Library Gift Policy. It is understood that the Library will accept gifts of books and other materials. These materials become the property of the Shapiro Library and will be evaluated using the same criteria for quality and relevance to the collection as all newly acquired titles. The library reserves the right to dispose of any gift materials that it considers not to meet the collection needs and policy guidelines of the library.
