The following is the Library’s policy outlining the terms under which donations are accepted for the State Collection.
The Library receives a large number of donations from individuals and organisations from within Victoria and elsewhere. They are an important source of material, both published and unpublished, for developing the State Collection. Donations help to fill gaps in the Collection, to replace material in poor condition due to high usage, and to expand collecting in areas of high demand or emerging public interest.
Acceptance of donations is determined by the guidelines contained in the Collection & Resources Development Policy and is not necessarily automatic. Donations are subject to the same guidelines and collecting considerations that are applied to purchased material. The costs of cataloguing, storage and conservation are also important considerations in determining acceptance.
There are occasions when the Library will consider accepting significant private collections that fall outside the guidelines of the Collection & Resources Development Policy. Acceptance of such collections is at the discretion of the Selection Committee.
Donated items only become part of the Library’s Collection after they have been accepted by staff of the Library who are authorised to do so, and are then accessioned. Responsibility for the acceptance of donated material is delegated to:
When material is accepted and added to the State Collection the Library reserves the right to catalogue, store, conserve and provide access to the material at its discretion. For material that is not accepted for the collections the Library reserves the right to dispose of the material in accordance with the methods of disposal outlined in the Retention and Withdrawal of Materials Policy. However, the Library will always return any unwanted material to the donor if requested at the time of donation.
As a general principle, the Library does not accept donations offered under conditions imposed by the donor; however there may be exceptions. In deciding whether or not to accept conditional donations, the Library takes into account the importance of the material, the reasonableness of the conditions requested, and the cost to the Library of accepting the conditions. Acceptance of conditional donations is at the discretion of authorized collection managers.The Library is eligible to accept donations under the Cultural Gifts Program, a section of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. The Cultural Gifts Program provides tax incentives to encourage gifts of culturally significant items to Australia’s public art galleries, museums, libraries and archives. The Library welcomes inquiries about such donations.
