We are grateful to the alumnae/i and friends of Berry College who have generously donated resources to Memorial Library. Gifts of books and other materials have greatly enriched Memorial Library’s collections over the years. The following guidelines are offered to assist donors.
Our goal in accepting gifts is to acquire only materials which are highly relevant to the college’s needs. Only pre-approved gifts that meet the curricular and research needs of the college are accepted. We review offers of material donations carefully and reserve the right to decline gifts that fall outside the scope of our collecting policies or that are largely duplicative of our existing holdings. Materials generally not accepted include damaged, annotated, or moldy books, condensed books, textbooks, photocopies, videotapes, recordings on vinyl, sheet music, standard editions of musical scores, and journals.
Gifts-in-kind are received with the understanding that they are unrestricted gifts and, as such, the college becomes the owner of the material and reserves the right to make retention, location, cataloging, and other decisions relating to use or disposition.
Potential donors are encouraged to discuss major gifts with appropriate library representatives (see contact information below). Donors may be asked to provide a list of titles considered for donation to assist in determining the appropriateness of the materials for the college libraries. Depending on the size and value of the gift-in-kind, the donor may be asked to fill out a deed of gift.
Issues concerning appropriateness, transportation, disposition, appraisal, and processing should be resolved before a donor ships or delivers materials. Generally, donors are expected to arrange for the packing and transportation of materials to Memorial Library.
Gifts delivered without prior arrangement or contact with the library may not be accepted or acknowledged.
Memorial Library acknowledges gifts-in-kind with a count of the number of items donated.
By law, we many not assign a value to gifts-in-kind. If the claimed annual non-cash charitable contributions of a donor exceed $500, IRS Tax Form 8283 must be filed. Gifts valued at more than $5,000 must be appraised. The appraisal of a gift for income tax purposes is the responsibility of the donor. Appraisal should be completed before transport to Memorial Library. To find a suitable and qualified person who can perform an independent appraisal of your gift of books, consult the web site of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (www.abaa.org).
The Berry College Archives serves as the primary repository for materials pertaining to the Berry Schools, Berry College, and founder, Martha Berry. If you have items you think are appropriate for the Archives collection, please contact the Archivist, Michael O'Malley (momalley@berry.edu, 706-238-5886).