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Moon Library Policies and Guidelines

Information regarding library policies and guidelines related to purchase requests, donations, guest computer use, and more.

Gift and Donation Policy

Moon Library accepts gifts to its collection on an unrestricted basis.  Gifts of books and other materials will only be accepted under these guidelines.  For further information contact Ruth Owens, Acquisitions/ILL Librarian at 315-470-4780 or at rmowens@esf.edu.

1. Arranging donations:

  • All arrangements for gifts to Moon Library should be made with the Acquisitions/ILL Librarian. 
  • Donors are requested to inform the Library in advance that a potential gift is being offered.  The Library can generally not accept gifts without prior notification.
  • The Library reserves the right to refuse materials which are inappropriate for the Library’s collection, obsolete, duplicate materials in the collection or are in questionable physical condition.  Potential gifts are evaluated according to the Library Guidelines for Collection Development (see attachment A). No donation will be accepted without an evaluation for appropriateness to the collection.
  • The Library reserves the right to refuse donations which the Library may not be able to care for due to the costs associated with conservation and storage of those materials.
  • The Library staff can not make on site evaluations of potential gifts. Thorough evaluation of gifts requires the use of library catalogs and files. Lists of proposed gifts, which may be checked against the Library’s holdings, are preferable.  A random selection of the materials from a proposed donation may also serve as a sample by which an evaluation may be made.
  • The donor must arrange for delivery of gifts to the Library.  The Library will be happy to offer advice about means of delivery.
  • Donors signify their agreement with these terms by signing the policy linked to below.

2. Appraisals:

  • The legal and tax complications of appraisals and the fact that the Internal Revenue Service considers the Library to be an interested party make it impossible for the Library to enter directly into such transactions.  For the donor’s benefit, it is the policy of the Library not to be become involved in matters relating to the appraisal of donated materials.
  • The donor should make arrangements directly with an appraiser.  The Library may help to identify an appraiser.

3. Acknowledgements:

  • The Library will acknowledge receipt of gifts by letter.
  • If the gift to the Library is for the College Archives the donor must complete a signed release form transferring title to the College.  (See: Donor Policy for the College Archives and Donor Agreement Form).

4. Retention and Disposal of Donated Material:

  • The Library has the right to retain or dispose of donated materials as collection demands dictate.
  • Donated "collections" are integrated into the Library’s collections.
  • Bookplates identifying the donor may be placed in those items retained by the Library and a gift note may be included in the cataloguing record for the material.