Effective Date: 05/02
Reviewed and Revised: 11/21
Policy
General
In order to encourage private support for the Ela Area Public Library while ensuring that all gifts are appropriate to its mission, the Board of Trustees of the Ela Area Public Library District has adopted these guidelines for accepting gifts and donations.
Procedures
All gifts valued $250 or higher must be submitted to and accepted by the Board of Trustees of the Ela Area Public Library District. Submissions can be made directly to the Board or through their designated representative.
All gifts valued $250 or higher, whether donations of monies or cash equivalents, art work, or real estate will be utilized at the discretion of the Library Board, including addition to the collection, withdrawal from the collection, display in the Library, sale or disposal.
Any restrictions on gifts, whether donations of monies or cash equivalents, materials or art work, must be submitted in writing and approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Library Board will not assess or suggest a value for non-monetary gifts for income tax or other purposes; any letter of acknowledgment will not contain a statement of value.
Gifts may serve to honor or memorialize a donor, family member, organization or friend. All gifts are accepted with the understanding that it may someday be necessary that they be sold or disposed of in the best interest of the Library. The Library cannot commit itself to perpetually housing a donation.
Works of Art
The Library Board or their designated representative reserves the right to determine the location and display of art work. The Board may request that an art work be accompanied by a current appraisal of value and may request evidence of bona fide artistic importance and merit of the work and reputation of the artist.
Monetary Gifts
Monetary gifts given without restriction will be utilized to purchase materials or equipment, support Library programs, or in other ways that the Library Board deems appropriate. Gifts of this type are governed by the Library's Collection Development Policy.
Monetary gifts offered with specific restrictions require Library Board approval before such monetary gifts are accepted by the Library Board.
Donations of Used Materials
The Library no longer accepts most donations of book and other materials for the general collections, due to space constraints and the high cost of reviewing and processing donated materials.
Naming Policy
The Ela Area Public Library District Board of Trustees shall have the sole responsibility for naming library spaces and installing plaques or other identifiers to recognize gifts. The Board will consider honorary names and plaques for certain Library spaces or gifts as a means of acknowledging gifts or extraordinary service to the Library. The Library reserves the right to choose the wording, size, location, and style of the plaque, and/or naming. Requests for naming or plaques should be submitted to the Board for consideration at the time of donation.
