Donate Materials

The University of Regina Library welcomes the donation of books, including those that may be designated as rare, periodicals and other formats that will enhance or extend the library’s existing collection. Such gifts are assessed for inclusion in the collection according to criteria similar to those governing the acquisition of new materials for the library. The acceptance of gifts to the Library is guided by the following principles:

  • The Library will accept donations which support the teaching, learning and research goals of the University and which are consistent with the Library’s Collection Development Policy.
  • Monetary appraisals may be conducted and tax receipts issued, provided that the donation meets both of the following conditions:
    • has been accepted for the collections of the Dr. John Archer Library
    • has been estimated to have a value of at least $5,000.00, or deemed to be of exceptional significance to the Archer Library
  • For donations estimated to be less than $5000, a tax receipt may be issued, but the monetary appraisal (carried out by a professional, arms-length appraiser) would be the responsibility of the donor.

    Note that this stipulation does not apply to the University of Regina Archives (see below).

  • The Library will initiate internal or external appraisals only for donations that have been formalized. The appraisals will be carried out in accordance with the University of Regina Policies and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulations and guidelines and will be based on fair market value.
  • Faculty who are donating items purchased with funds from their Accountable Professional Expense Account, research accounts or operating accounts are not eligible for a tax receipt.

The Library is not able to accept every offer of donated materials because of space limitations and the costs associated with processing of materials. The following materials will ordinarily not be considered for donation:

  • Textbooks and course packs
  • Popular paperbacks and magazines
  • Duplicate material already present in the collection, unless there is a need to substitute a damaged item or a duplicate item is deemed appropriate
  • Outdated, superseded titles and editions, except where they are deemed to have value to Special Collections
  • Scattered or single issues of periodicals; broken runs of periodicals are accepted only if the issues are required to replace missing or damaged issues or to fill gaps in runs of titles to which the Library currently maintains an active subscription
  • Materials in poor physical condition
  • Materials requiring special preservation arrangements which the library is not able to support
  • Materials requiring the use of technology no longer supported by the Library
  • Any material which has been copied from an original
  • Material to which the donor has attached restrictions which will limit access for the library users or which seek to determine the shelving location of the materials
Responsibility for Coordinating Library Donations
All gift offers intended for the main Library collection or for Special Collections should be referred to Collection Services and will be coordinated by the Collection Development Librarian. The University Archivist should be contacted for all gifts intended for the University Archives.

Each donation is assessed by Collection Services in consultation with a Subject Liaison Librarian, Special Collections Librarian, or University Archivist to ascertain whether it would make a valuable addition, in whole, or in part, to current holdings, and if there are special preservation needs to be considered.

The Collection Development Librarian will discuss the extent and conditions of the donation with a potential donor. After the initial discussion, if the donation is deemed to be of value to the library, the Collection Development Librarian will make the arrangements to receive the gift.

In the case of a large collection, the Library may choose to examine the materials in situ if the collection is deemed to be of potential value.

In general, donors must deliver their gifts to the Library at their own expense.

Donation Agreement
The donor must sign two copies of the Donation of Library Materials Form at the time a gift is handed over to the Library. One copy will be retained by the Library; the other copy will be given to the donor. The Donation of Library Materials Form must be used to indicate a request for a tax receipt.

Donation Inventory
It is the responsibility of the donor to provide a detailed inventory of donated materials to ensure the accuracy of the gift acceptance and subsequent monetary appraisal. The library cannot prepare lists of donations for or on behalf of donors.

Monetary Appraisals
A monetary appraisal may be conducted for those donations estimated to have a value of at least $5,000.00, or deemed to be of exceptional significance to the Archer Library. Note that this stipulation does not apply to the University of Regina Archives (see below).

Revenue Canada regulations require that all donations valued in excess of $1,000 be evaluated by a professional, arms-length appraiser in order to establish fair market value. The donor is required to cover the costs of external appraisals for those donations estimated to be less than $5000 CDN in value.

If an article of significant and exceptional value is donated, a second independent appraisal will be obtained (University of Regina Policies and Procedures Manual, 30.55.01.) These appraisals must be prepared independently of each other.

Any appraisal done by the Library will be carried out only after the Library has assumed the full ownership of the material. No appraisal will be performed for gifts received from University departments or other University related institutions, and no tax receipts will be issued in such cases.

Timing of Monetary Appraisals
External monetary appraisals are typically coordinated and completed in January/ February of the year following the donation so that the materials donated are eligible for tax receipts credited to the year in which they were donated.

The Library will attempt to accommodate tax deadlines where possible but cannot guarantee that a particular taxation year deadline will be met for any items donated after the last working day in November of a given year.

Unsolicited Materials
The Library is under no obligation to acknowledge, return, or retain unsolicited donations of any materials received in the mail or dropped off at the Library from individuals or organizations. If the Library decides to retain an unsolicited donation, the donation will be formally accepted and acknowledged, where possible, and additional follow-up with the donor may be required.

Offer of Unwanted Materials to another Institution
Where the Library does not accept a gift, the Collection Development Librarian may provide to the donor a list of possible institutions which might be interested in the donation. The University of Regina Library cannot undertake to find alternate placement for gift materials.

Acknowledgements
All gifts from a known donor will be acknowledged by a form letter or personal letter from the University Librarian or designate, depending on the circumstances and as appropriate.

To acknowledge significant gifts, bookplates will be considered for placement in donated books upon donor’s request.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Donation of Library Materials Form
University of Regina Policies and Procedures Manual, Charitable Donations to the University, 30.55.01

Contact Information
Michael Shires
Collection Development Librarian
Dr. John Archer Library
University of Regina
3737 Wascana Parkway
Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2
Email: Michael.Shires@uregina.ca
Phone: 306.585.5418
Fax: 306.585.4493

Archival Donations:
Donations of Archival material are co-ordinated by the University Archivist. Personal papers and other material are accepted from University faculty, staff, and outside individuals or organizations. For information on the types of materials we collect you may contact, Mark Vajcner for specific details.

Archival donations are accepted with the understanding that the University of Regina Archives becomes the sole owner, and reserves the ultimate right to determine retention, location, organization, and other preservation considerations related to the use or disposition of materials. For archival materials, copyright remains with the donor or creator unless gifted to the University.

Due to the extensive amount of work required in assessing and organizing an archival collection, we cannot ensure that a tax receipt will be issued in the year of donation.

For further information, visit the Archives donations page.