Guidelines for Donations

The UFV Library guidelines have at their foundation the UFV Policy 110.03 on Donations.

While donations are very much appreciated, it is not widely understood that donated material frequently requires more time to screen, organize, catalogue and process than new material. For this reason, the decision to accept a donation cannot be taken lightly.

Donation Review

An initial screening of the materials on offer to the Library is undertaken whenever possible before materials are delivered to the Library. A screening can be done over the phone; however, it is preferable that the Donation Review Form be completed either online or by picking up a paper copy from the Library. The information requested on the Donation Review Form is extremely helpful in considering donation offers. Donors are contacted as soon as possible to be informed of which materials the Library is able to accept for further examination.

Materials not accepted for donation

• items which are not clean, undamaged, unmarked, and free of pests, mold and mildew
• outdated textbooks (more than five years old)
• newspapers
• photocopies
• materials produced in infringement of the Copyright Act
• loose-leaf publications

Periodical Donations

The library will accept donations of periodicals (magazines and journals) if the donation meets a number of criteria:

1. Periodical content is relevant to UFV's curriculum or research activities
2. Periodical fills a gap in our current holdings, either by adding retrospective backruns or by adding missing issues to our holdings.
3. Periodical is indexed in sources available to UFV students
4. Issues are clean, undamaged, unmarked and free of pests, mold and mildew
5. Periodical content is not duplicated in an online full text format (unless the print format is judged to be essential for proper usage of the journal)

The library does not add "orphaned runs" of periodicals for which there are no plans to add a current subscription.

Delivery of material

After the initial review, the Library will request that the materials required for further screening be delivered to the Library. Generally, it is the responsibility of the donor to arrange for the delivery or transfer of the donation.

Disposition of Donation

Donated materials added to the collection are expected to meet the same standards of quality and relevance to the Library collection as new titles. They should support the curriculum and the Mission of the Library, as well as meet the requirements of the UFV Library’s Collection Development Policy.

After individual examination, donated items may be added to the library collection. If not, they may be put in the Library book sale (with proceeds going to the purchase of Library materials), offered to another UFV department or another institution, recycled or discarded. Materials not accepted can be returned to the donor if this request is indicated on the Donation Agreement.

Examples of items which might be added to the Library book sale include:

• materials not relevant to UFV’s curriculum or research activities
• materials already in the Library collection (unless they are high-use items)
• materials whose content is out of date
• items which are not clean, undamaged, unmarked, and free of pests, mold and mildew
• items of a fragile nature which would not withstand library circulation
• mass market paperbacks

Appraisals and Tax Receipts

Appraisals and tax receipts are undertaken only for materials which are to be added to the library collection. Upon request of the donor, the Library will arrange for a tax receipt to be issued by the UFV Finance Office. Tax receipts will not be issued for donations valued at less than $10.

In accordance with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) guidelines, donated items must be appraised before tax receipts can be issued for them. For donations valued at $1,000 or less, appraisals are done in-house, by library staff, and considered final. In-house appraisals are based on the standard values stated in the Council of Post-Secondary Library Representatives, “Guidelines for the Appraisal of Gifts-in-Kind to College and Institute Libraries.” Copies of the Guidelines are available upon request.

A donor may choose to have an external appraisal done before donating to the Library. The library reserves the right to reject an appraisal that it judges to be unjustifiable. The library will provide a list of certified appraisers upon request. Donations valued in excess of $1000 must be assessed by an independent appraiser. The cost of an external appraisal is borne by the donor.

According to CRA guidelines, materials acquired using government funds (for example, university research grants, or a professional development allowance) are not personal property and are therefore not eligible for a tax receipt. Complimentary and review copies received from authors and publishers or any other materials received free by the donor, are also not eligible for a tax receipt.

The library will attempt to accommodate deadlines where possible but cannot guarantee that a particular taxation year deadline will be met. A processing time of three months may be required for library staff to review donated materials for acceptance. Tax receipts are generally issued within this time however, donations that require an external appraisal may take longer.

Donor Recognition

Tax receipts are accompanied by a letter of acknowledgement from the UFV Development Office.

In very special circumstances, the Library may express gratitude for a donation through a bookplate, an electronic gift note added to the cataloguing record as viewed in the online catalogue, or some other honour program.