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University of Alberta Libraries

University of Alberta

Donations

The University of Alberta Libraries is home to one of North America's primary repositories of knowledge and the human record. Continuous enhancement of our collections enables us to provide both top-quality educational support and research resources for scholars. Cash donations to the Libraries are always welcome. Donations in kind, both large and small, form a major supplement to the Libraries’ collections. Offers to donate books and other material are generally welcomed, subject to the limitations outlined below.

Donations of money

Financial support is always welcome, and may range from a simple cash gift to various forms of planned or deferred giving such as endowments, annuities, and bequests. Cheques should be made payable to the University of Alberta Libraries, and sent to the office of Mr Josh Bilyk, Director of Development. To explore various planned giving options, please contact Mr Bilyk.

Mr Josh Bilyk
Director of Development (Learning Services)
5-07 Cameron Library
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2J8
josh.bilyk@ualberta.ca
Tel: (780) 492-8001
Fax: (780) 492-7925
Cell: (780) 719-7415

Donations of library materials

All donation offers will receive serious consideration. Donations of material in good, usable condition are accepted with the understanding that the University becomes the sole owner, and reserves the ultimate right to determine retention, location, level of cataloguing, access, and other considerations related to its use or disposition. We do not accept materials in poor condition.

Donations of library materials enrich our collections, enable us to meet the demand for multiple copies of heavily used titles, and also help us replace lost or damaged copies. A donation may include:

  • Books on any subject
  • Manuscripts, letters, and diaries
  • Photographs and postcards
  • Maps
  • Music recordings and scores (Please confirm with us the usability of the format.)
  • Videos and films (Please confirm with us the usability of the format.)

If you wish to donate materials, please contact us to discuss your offer in detail. A brief description of subjects covered, while not essential, aids us in considering donation offers.

Contact:
Ms Natalya Brettle-Seghers
Donations Assistant (Research and Special Collections Services)
natalya.brettle@ualberta.ca
Tel: (780) 492-7057
Fax: (780) 492-3695

Limitations on accepting donations of library materials

In order to facilitate strategic development of the collection, we do not accept:

  • Popular magazines such as Vogue, People and National Geographic
  • Popular books such as those published by Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, Time/Life, For Dummies or For Idiots
  • Social science and humanities textbooks more than 10 years old and less than 100 years old
  • Science, Technology, or Health Sciences textbooks more than 5 years old and less than 100 years old
  • General encyclopedias or common dictionaries less than 150 years old
  • Computer manuals
  • How-to or self-improvement books less than 100 years old
  • Paperbound fiction, with the exception of Science Fiction and Fantasy genres
  • Photocopies of book chapters, articles, conference papers or presentations
  • Outmoded audio/visual media, such as cassette tapes, VHS, 8-tracks

For scholarly print journals, please contact us to ascertain whether we will accept the title(s).

Tax benefits

Donations to the Libraries are considered charitable donations, and may be eligible for tax receipts subject to Canada Revenue Agency regulations. The Libraries provide fair-market, retail-value appraisals for acceptable donations-in-kind that involve tax receipts. In order to issue tax receipts, the Libraries require donors to sign a donation agreement.

Donor recognition

The Libraries are pleased to consider requests for names to be added to electronic catalogue records and/or for bookplates to be inserted in donated books (or those purchased with donated funds). These may bear the donor's name and/or the names of those in whose honour or memory the gift is made.

For major donations of materials on specific subjects, the Libraries may commission special bookplates that designate the donation as a named, subject collection. The provenance of donated materials may also be recorded in the relevant catalogue records through the addition of a note, and more recently, through virtual bookplates. Please see the examples of bookplates below.

Delivery

Unless a specific agreement has been made for other arrangements, donations should be delivered to the Book and Record Depository (BARD), 8170-50 Street. Materials for donation cannot be accepted if packed in boxes weighing in excess of 50 pounds or 22 kilos. We recommend boxes of no more than 1.5 cubic feet in size.

Contact us if other arrangements are required for the delivery of your donation. The Libraries cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited donations or unauthorized shipment charges.

Donation agreement

In order to issue tax receipts, the Libraries require donors to sign a donation agreement.