Refusing large book donations ???
From: "Helen P. Mack" <hpm0_at_Lehigh.EDU>
In the last year or so, we have been the recipient of 2 very large groups of donated
books. In both cases, we're talking about over 1000 books. For political reasons, we
felt it unwise to refuse the donations. But the problem is obvious -- what to do with all
these books when they come through the door? There are concerns relating to staffing,
temporary housing, staging area, time spent reviewing them and selecting the keepers,
disposal of duplicates, cataloging, and shelving. What to do with books in disrepair? I
wonder if the expenditure of all this time and labor is really worth it.
If it is worth it, then we need more staff, more space, and more time to do justice to the
gifts operation. That is not going to happen in this economic environment. If it is not
worth it, then is the answer a policy to refuse any donation over, say, 3 cartons? This
could easily turn into 3 cartons this week, 3 cartons next week ... you get the picture.
Have any institutions gone this route? Has anyone declared a moratorium on accepting
donations? Are there libraries that have discontinued their entire gifts operation? Was
there any fallout from what you did? And what do you do with books that someone just
drops off -- recycle them without looking at them? What if there is a rare book mixed in
with textbooks from 1955, for example? At what point do you say this is too much and
things grind to a halt?
--
Helen P. Mack, Acquisitions Librarian
Lehigh University, Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015-3013 USA
Phone 610 758-3035 * Fax 610 758-5605
E-mail hpm0_at_lehigh.edu
Received on Thu Jul 28 2011 - 03:01:47 EDT