Special Collections has benefited from many donations of rare books and archive materials that have helped to develop our libraries’ collections. However, not all materials are suitable for our collections and offers of material are considered on a case-by-case basis. To support this process, the department has an Acquisitions Panel that meets monthly to consider all offers of materials.
Donations terms and conditions
We are only able to accept donations which:
- support the current or future teaching, learning, or research needs of the University of Birmingham, or
- support or enhance existing collections, or
- are materials of rarity or historical interest.
We regret that the following types of material are generally unsuitable:
- duplicates of existing stock
- material that could be deemed to be more appropriate housed at an alternative repository
- material that is in very poor condition
Donations can only be accepted on the condition that they become the property of the University of Birmingham. Donors are required to complete and sign a Gift Agreement transferring ownership.
Delivery
We would not normally able to pay the delivery costs of a donation. We would, however, work with any prospective donor to determine the most appropriate way to transfer the material.
Guidance notes for donors
- Contact details: please provide your name and email address.
- Gift: confirm whether the collection will be gifted to the University of Birmingham outright.
- Subject area of donation: where possible we would like you to give the subject area of the donation.
- Size of donation: in order to ensure we have enough space to hold a donation whilst it is being processed we would need to know the size of it. Approximate size in linear metres and number of volumes/items would be very useful.
- Type of material: is the donation books, periodicals, archival, other types of material, or a mixture?
- Digital: will any digital files included in the donation? If so, what file formats and size?
- List of items: a list of items will speed up checking of the donation and a decision on whether to accept the donation. If you are unable to provide a complete list of items, please provide a smaller list of a representative sample of material included in the collection.
- Photographs: do you have any images of the material which can be shared with us?
- Data Protection: for archival donations, are there any Data Protection issues (e.g. sensitive information) which we should be aware of?
Please complete our donations form with the above information.