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Gifts-in-Kind Policy: Policy Document

Revised 3/21/12
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GIFTS-IN-KIND POLICY General Collections

  1. A gift-in-kind is an item or a collection of items donated to the Columbia University Libraries (CUL). These are typically books but may include scores, LP's, audio- and video-cassettes, CD's, DVD's, and other material for the Libraries' collections. They are handled from the Monographs Acquisitions Department (MAS) of CUL.

Gifts-in-kind are primarily distinguished from monetary donations, which are to be referred to the Library Development Office (the liaison with the Office of University Development and Alumni Relations)---but also from donated works of art, manuscripts, and rare books, which are to be referred to the appropriate special collections division of Avery or Starr Libraries, or to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

  1. Acceptance Conditions: CUL will accept scholarly material in good condition.  CUL will not accept the following:
  • Textbooks
  • Children's books
  • Books that have been heavily marked up or highlighted
  • Books in brittle condition
  • Books which contain mold or show evidence of vermin

CUL reserves the right to reject any gift material that does not meet its academic or preservation standards.

  1. Small donations (generally 1-25 items) are either mailed in, or presented at the Library Information Office (LIO) or MAS office.  These are often works presented to CUL by their authors.  They also include the regular receipt of recent publications by the Columbia University Press which are accepted and presented to selectors.  Individual selectors are responsible for writing and sending acknowledgement letters for items they accept for the collections from small donations.

Whenever possible, the donor will be asked to complete and sign an Instrument of Gift form (See Appendix I) which transfers the donor's "right, title, interest and possession in and to" the donated material.

Donations of intermediate size (generally 2-5 boxes) are either presented at LIO, collected from on-campus offices, or picked up from locations in the greater metropolitan area.  Individual selectors are responsible for writing and sending acknowledgement letters for items they accept for the collections from intermediate sized donations.  If the selector handling an intermediate size donation is located in a departmental library, the donation should be delivered to and processed at the appropriate library whenever possible.  

Large donations (6 boxes or more) require the most elaborate handling. They are typically scholars' libraries, often offered by a retiring faculty member or by the surviving spouse--but also include miscellaneous offers by alumni or alumnae of the University or by residents of the greater metropolitan area with no particular connection to Columbia.

  1. The standard procedure for large donations of gifts-in-kind:

PRIOR TO ACCEPTANCE:

    1. The head of the Monographs Acquisitions Department is to refer the offer to the relevant selector. Or, in the case of highly varied material, to the selector primarily relevant.
    2. Whether by telephone, by e-mail correspondence, or (preferably) by on-site inspection, the selector is to ascertain the following:
      • that the value of the material to CUL justifies the cost
      • that the donor's ownership of the material is free and clear, and that the donation to CUL would be without restrictions or reservations
      • that the physical condition of the desired material is acceptable, not entailing exorbitant efforts and expenditures for its preservation or conservation ( All materials infested with mold, insects, or other pests are to be categorically refused.)
      • that the donor expects no benefit or consideration in exchange for the gift

      • whether the donor intends to report the gift as a Noncash Charitable Contribution, claiming $5,000 or more as its value--in which case the material requires a formal appraisal, and an IRS 8283 form must eventually be submitted to CUL for an official donee signature [See #7 below: "Special Note: Appraisals and Taxes"]

      • whenever possible, the selector should separate and identify material that has a strong likelihood of being accepted for CUL collections
    3. During discussion with the donor, the selector should NOT promise the following:
  • a list of the titles donated
  • a special location for the material, as an intact collection or in a segregated spot
  • the entering of special notes in bibliographic records for titles accepted for the collections
  1.  
    1. The selector SHOULD acknowledge that the unselected residue of any gift is apt to be large and that the remaining material will either be offered to charitable organizations, or otherwise distributed free of charge.

    2. While the selector should not raise the topic of bookplates, see "Gift Plates" below [#6] in case the donor asks.

    3. The donor should also be informed that all gifts are routinely acknowledged, upon receipt, with a letter suitable for ordinary tax purposes (claimed value of less than $5000). [See #4 below, "Acknowledgements."] 

    4. If the selector decides to accept the gift, that decision is to be submitted to the Director, Collection Development for review and confirmation.
    5. If approval is given by Collection Development, the selector should contact the Head of MAS to ascertain if enough space is available in stacks 1 for a large gift.  If there currently is no space available in stacks 1, the Head of MAS will confer with the Director of MPS on whether the gift can be placed at ReCAP
    6. After it is determined where the gift will reside, the selector will provide the donor's contact information and the size of the donation (no. of boxes) to the Head, MAS.  Head of MAS will complete a Request for Trucking Service form and route to the Supervisor of Shipping & Receiving. The Supervisor of Shipping & Receiving will contact the donor and make arrangements for date and time of pick-up.

TRANSPORTATION TO COLUMBIA: Either the donor or selector is responsible for packing the material for donation.  Shipping & Receiving and MAS staff are not responsible for packing material.  Pick-up and deliveries of gift material to Butler Library will be scheduled by Shipping and Receiving in collaboration with MAS. When a gift must be shipped in at CUL expense via an independent carrier, a fund of the relevant selector or of the Director, Collection Development will be billed for the cost. All donors of large gifts-in-kind are to be sent or handed the "Instrument of Gift" form for their signature. [Copy of "Instrument of Gift" attached as APPENDIX I.]

REVIEW UPON RECEIPT:

  1. Upon receipt, large donations of gifts-in-kind will ordinarily be shelved in Butler, either in the MAS stack area, or at ReCAP

  2. No gift can be held for selector review longer than six months. (Exception: gifts of an appraised value of $5,000+, which must be held for two years according to I.R.S. requirements. [See #7 below, "Special Note, Appraisals and Taxes."]) At the first of each month, MAS will send a reminder to each selector, announcing the time remaining for review. When this time is up, the unselected material will be treated as residue. [See #6 below, "Residue of Gifts."]

  3. The selector is to choose material at the item level and is responsible for completing a T2 rider for each item selected. Preservation issues are to be considered as part of the decision-making process.  Items without a T2 will be considered "not wanted" and handled as residue
  4. MAS/MPS are not responsible for searching individual titles of a gift-in-kind
  5. The University Librarian, the Director of Collection Development, the Deputy University Librarian, the Directors of the Avery Library, the Starr Library, and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library are authorized signatories of the Donee Acknowlegement portion of Form 8283 on behalf of CUL. According to the IRS: "The signature does not represent concurrence in the appraised value of the contributed property. A signed acknowledgement represents receipt of the property described on Form 8283 on the date specified on the form. The signature also indicates knowledge of the information reporting requirements on dispositions, as previously discussed. A copy of Form 8283 must be given to the donee."

A note on page 4 of the "Instructions for Form 8283" explains the allusion to "reporting requirement on dispositions": "If the donee (or a successor donee) organization disposes of the property within 2 years after the date the original donee received it, the organization must file Form 8282, Donee Information Return, with the IRS and send a copy to the donor." -To avoid filing this form, CUL holds the residue of all large gifts with an appraised value of more than $5,000, for 2 years from the time of their donation.

[It may be worth noting, however, that the above note immediately continues as follows: "An exception applies to items having a value of $500 or less if the donor identified the items and signed the statement in Part II (Section B) of Form 8283." Since most "items" in these large gifts are single volumes well under $500 in value, donors might be shown a way of so identifying them on the form, allowing CUL to avoid the inconvenience of holding the material for 2 years.]

  1. Acknowledgements.  Selectors are responsible for writing and sending acknowledgement letters for items they accept for the collections from small and intermediate donations.  For large donations, MAS will generate a count of 1) the number of hardcover books and 2) the number of softcover books (or other items) that are housed in stacks 1 in Butler Library.  The request for a letter of acknowledgement for a large donation should come from the selector handling the gift.  MAS will provide the gift count for large donations to the Library Development Office upon request.  The Library Development Office will send the donor a letter of acknowledgement suitable for ordinary tax purposes, which is to include the above counts as well as a statement that CUL has given the donor no goods or services as a result of the donation. While University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) assigns a value to gifts strictly for purposes of internal accounting, the IRS does not allow the recipient of a "noncash charitable contribution" to supply the donor with an estimate of its cash value.

  2. Gift Plates. [See APPENDIX II, for sample plates.]

    1. If the gift-in-kind consists of 1,000 items or less and the donor inquires about a gift plate, the selector handling the gift may ask for Collection Development's approval to have the standard bookplate, including a brief inscription prescribed by the donor, affixed to books accepted for the collections.  Standard gift plates are handled by Collection Development and Library Development Office.
    2. Gifts-in-kind of more than 1,000 items allow the donor to design a customized bookplate. These plates are produced by the University Publications Office.  Requests for customized bookplates should be made to the Library Development Office.
    3. Monetary gifts under $25,000 are placed in a gift fund. The material purchased from this fund may receive a standard bookplate if the donor so requests. (If the Director of Development identifies the donation as exceptional, a customized bookplate may be created even in this case.)
    4. Monetary gifts over $25,000 are placed in an endowment fund. The material purchased from this fund may receive a customized bookplate, designed by the donor.
  3. Residue of Gifts. The unselected portion of gifts is either donated to a charitable organization, or to a book dealer who will remove the materials free of charge. In exceptional cases, such material may be offered for sale to a dealer.

  4. Special Note: Appraisals and Taxes. A donor intending to claim a deduction greater than $5,000 for a gift is required to file IRS Form 8283, "Noncash Charitable Contributions." [See APPENDIX III, IRS Form 8283.] The filing of this form requires the donor to obtain a) a cash evaluation of the donated material from a qualified appraiser, and b) an authorized signature from the recipient institution on part iv. ("Donee Acknowledgement") of the IRS form.

    1. For the convenience of the donor, CUL is willing to supply a list of professional appraisers, without any warranties expressed or implied. IRS rules forbid CUL itself to make any appraisal of donated material. Nor will CUL normally pay for an appraisal.
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