Ambrose Library does not have the capacity to store large book donations so we generally follow this set of procedures to facilitate their assessment and incorporation into our collection:
- For particularly large donations (e.g. more than one shelf/box) we may wish to make a cursory physical examination of the books in their current location to get a sense of their size, scope, and general condition.
- In order to determine if your books meet the criteria outlined in the library's Collection Development Policy, we need to investigate each title as to relevance and cross-check against the library's catalogue. To that end, we require a list of ISBNs or alternatively, titles, authors and publication dates. For large donations a library staff member may be able to help with compiling a list.
- We will compare the titles on your list against the titles in our collection, determine which books the library is prepared to accept, and subsequently arrange with you their transfer to the library.
- Upon final examination of each book we will catalogue and physically process those deemed appropriate for incorporation into the library's collection.
- If you wish to receive a tax receipt for your donation, you will need to let us know in advance. For donations deemed under $1000 we will work with our Finance and Development departments to appraise the donated items and issue you a tax receipt. For donations over $1000 we may require that materials be professionally appraised by a third party before a tax receipt can be issued.
Our ability to accept large donations depends on staff availability and space capacity. For these reasons we're unable to receive any physical book donations before steps 1-3 have been completed, and we may also defer processing your donated books to a suitable time. Thank you for your understanding!
Please contact library@ambrose.edu or 403-410-2646 if you have any questions.
