Groves Public Library

Gifts and Donations Policy

 

                Groves Public Library, a department of the City of Groves, Texas, is pleased to accept gifts, donations, and/or memorial gifts from patrons. Gifts are gratefully and willingly accepted as long as no restriction is placed upon their use.

Major Gifts

      Major gifts to the Library may be accepted by the City Council upon recommendation of the City Manager and the Library Director. Major gifts may include but are not limited to land, buildings, art objects, and substantial collections of books or other materials that have either a significant monetary, historical, or literary value.

Materials Selection Policy Criteria in regard to Donations

      Usual acceptance of gifts (of books and other library materials) will be determined by the library director on the basis of their suitability to the library’s purposes and needs in accordance with the library’s stated materials selection policy and/or the space needs of the gift. The director will use the same objective selection criteria with gifts and donations that are applied to purchase of new materials.  We will not accept gifts of materials such as reference books over five years old, textbooks, National Geographic collections or Reader’s Digest condensed books. To be useful to a library, donated books need to be in:

  1. Good condition,
  2. Be attractive to readers,
  3. Meet selection criteria including currency and "fit" in the collection.

For example: Donations of a collection of "old books" and magazines require careful screening. A really valuable "old book" collection is rare, since monetary value depends on condition and interest to collectors. Old periodicals will probably receive very little use but take up a lot of space.

It is preferable that patrons wishing to honor someone with a book purchase allow the director or library staff in charge of ordering purchase the memorial materials since responsibility for what is installed in the library falls under the guidance of the materials selection policy.

If a patron wishes to make ongoing donations of a certain kind of material (for example: Oprah Book Club titles) it is advisable that the patron consult with the staff on a regular basis to ascertain if the gift is still meeting collection criteria

 

Donation Waiver

            At the time a donation is made, donators will be asked to sign a form indicating that donations are made without restriction and that they understand that the library may use the donated items as the director deems appropriate.

 

Monetary Gifts

 

            Except in rare circumstances, memorials and tributes are accepted in the form of monetary donations. The library will make every effort to honor the donor’s wishes regarding the selection to be purchased. However, the final decision rests with the library in accordance with its needs and selection criteria. Since prices can change, we ask that a monetary gift of at least $25.00 be given for the purchase of an adult hardcover book. A junior or easy book will require at donation of at least $15.00. A bookplate will be placed in the item purchased with the memorial and tribute gift funds. The bookplate will record the honoree as well as the donor. The Library will send letters to notify families of the deceased or honoree of this gift.

Donations of Books from a Personal Library

In those instances where an individual wishes to donate a memorial book from his personal library, the decision to accept the gift will be based on the described principles described above. If accepted, the bookplate and notification will be handled in a normal manner. If it is not accepted, the book will be returned to the donor.

Deselection of Donated Materials

             The Groves Public Library director, Groves City Manager and/or the Groves City Council will determine use or disposal of all gift materials and donations. The library has the right to discard any gifts or donations in poor physical condition (e.g. brittle paper, water or mildew damage, torn and/or missing pages). Donors should be aware that if the materials are rejected for circulation, the materials might be placed in the book sale area and the proceeds of the sale will go to the Friends of Groves Public Library.

 

Appraisal of Gift or Donated Items

                       

            The library director or library personnel will not appraise gift or donations values for income tax purposes. Donors wanting written proof of the gift/gifts are asked to make their own lists in advance and present it to the library staff for a signature and date of donation.