Donating Materials to the Library

Policy

The Library will designate donated items that cannot be used in the collection for the ongoing book sale or recycling. This policy does not cover monetary and furniture/equipment donations.

Purpose

To assist the public in making informed decisions regarding material they may wish to donate and to provide direction to staff for the acceptance, disposition and acknowledgement of material donations.

Conditions of Acceptance

All materials donated become the exclusive property of the Atlantic City Free Public Library and will not be returned.
Materials may or may not become part of the Library collection.
Material donations should be in good condition, i.e. not musty, moldy, damp, etc.
Historic materials of Atlantic City/County will be reviewed specifically by Reference Department staff and not fall under the guidelines of regular donated materials. These materials will be accepted under the Alfred M. Heston Collection Development Policy.
Restrictions and special instructions placed on gifts by donors may not be followed.
Materials donated to the Library are accepted upon the same basis as purchased materials using the Materials Selection Policy.
Materials donated are accepted with the understanding that if the Library can not use them, the Library may at any time dispose of the items.
The Library does not provide an itemized list. The Library will supply the donating individual with a donation acknowledgement.
Appraisals are not performed by Librarians. Donors must obtain appraisals prior to acceptance of the materials.
Unwanted material donations are sent to the ongoing Book Sale or placed in recycling.

Unacceptable Materials

Staff will decide to keep material they deem appropriate for initial acceptance as donations. However, as a guideline the list provided below shows materials that are generally not accepted:
Textbooks
Magazines (including National Geographic)
Materials that are dusty, damp, moldy or in otherwise poor condition
Outdated materials