Smith Circulation Manual

RUL Drop-Off Book Donation Policy

Gifts of books and other materials play a crucial role in building the collections of Rutgers University Libraries. This policy statement governs proposed gifts of materials to the Libraries.

The Libraries continue to welcome gifts of materials that support the Libraries' mission, with particular interest in scholarly, current, or rare items in good physical condition. However, the Libraries must also consider the cost incurred in evaluating, processing, cataloging, preserving, storing, and providing access to contributed materials.

For these reasons, the Libraries cannot accept all offered gifts of materials. Once gifts are received, items become the property of Rutgers University Libraries. The Libraries reserve the right to use or dispose of such materials in any manner deemed appropriate, without any obligation to the person making the donation.

Potential donors should first contact the appropriate subject selector. All large donations or collections that will require special handling or considerations must be approved in advance by the Vice President for University Libraries and University Librarian.

The Libraries are prohibited from appraising any book donation. Donors may request a brief letter of acknowledgment that states the number of items donated for tax purposes. For additional information on legal or tax consequences, all prospective donors are encouraged to consult with their financial advisors before finalizing any gift.

The Libraries have been enriched by carefully reviewed donations, and these gifts can provide a lasting legacy for those who have built significant book collections and now wish to make them available to the Rutgers community.

June 29, 2021

Drop-Off Book Donation Policy

Smith Library Drop-Off Book Donation Policy

Gifts of books and journals continue to be important to the growth of the resources of the Smith Library. However, we are no longer able to accept everything for a variety of reasons; staffing, storage and IRS regulations to name a few. While all offers of donations are appreciated, only those needed by the Library can be accepted. As a result, no gifts will be accepted without the prior approval of the Gifts Coordinator.

The following guidelines have been adopted as the procedure for donating books and /or journals to the Library:

• Telephone offers should be discussed with the Gifts Coordinator (973) 972- 7830 that will indicate whether or not the materials are in the collecting scope determined by the Collection Development Committee.
•  Prospective donors are asked to provide an inventory of the items being offered. If books: include author, title and publication date. If journals: include title, volume, issue number, year and whether bound or unbound. Include your name, address and telephone.

Gifts Coordinator

Rutgers-Smith Library 30 Twelfth Avenue Newark, NJ 07103

Attn: Archivist

• Donors will receive a response within a few weeks. Should the Library be able to accept the offer, instructions will be given for delivering the materials.

Damaged Books for Repair

• The damaged books are identified through the "Shelf Reading" process of the Stacks, Reserve, or Reference Collections.
• The assigned staff pull the damaged books out of the shelf and repair them at the Circulation area.
• A  "Work Order" can be applied to change the status of the book in the library catalogue as "Unavailable"
• When the book is repaired it must be "checked in" again to change the status in the "Quick Search" catalogue as "Available".
• After repairing, the books are placed back in their designated collections.
• The staff also replaces the faded labels, or when the holdings appear without the respective label, the staff label them back on the upper part of the spine, based on the holding description in the library collection, and replaces missing barcodes.