Giving to Western Libraries
Your gift to Western Libraries strengthens research, teaching, and learning throughout the university. Funds support critical educational resources, access to digital collections, and important programs and services that promote collaboration and innovation, inquiry, curiosity, and creativity.
We are committed to meeting the changing needs of the people who depend on the Libraries. Because of your help, we are able to provide access to a wide array of library collections, to unique and primary source materials, and to student-centered services offered by the Tutoring Center and the Hacherl Research & Writing Studio.
Through your generosity, Western Libraries can help WWU students engage thoughtfully with our complex history, find solutions to the 21st-century’s most challenging societal problems, and strengthen pluralism and democracy in pursuit of a shared, more promising future. Your support expands opportunities for students to share their research at conferences and to participate in other programs that promote their academic success and lifelong learning.
It is through the generosity of donors like you that Western Libraries can meet the needs of Western Washington University students, faculty, and staff. Thank you for considering a gift to Western Libraries, and for helping ensure we can connect people to the resources, expertise, and collections essential to their academic success, lifelong learning, and community.
Honor with Books
Honor friends and family with a new book for the Western Libraries!
Gifts of $100 or more are recognized with a special note honoring someone in the Libraries' online catalog.
Participate in the Honor with Books program and support the Western Libraries teaching and learning mission.
Contact us for more information.
Donating Materials
The Libraries does not accept gifts for the circulating collection, except as outlined in our gift-in-kind policy and noted below.
- Donations may be accepted by Archives & Special Collections at the discretion of Archives & Special Collections personnel.
- The Libraries may accept single copies of works authored or edited by current students, alumni, or current or retired Western personnel.
- The Libraries continues to honor existing, formal donor agreements and accepts recurring donations associated with these agreements. Donors unsure whether they meet these parameters should contact the Dean or Director of Collections.
- All donated materials must be in good condition, free from damage or marking.
Gift-in-kind Policy
Gift items must be approved by the Dean, Director of Collections, or designee and scheduled in advance with Collection Services personnel. Gifts are not accepted without prior agreement.
Once donated, all gifts become the property of the university and will not be returned. The Libraries reserves the right to accept items and later deaccession them from the collection. The Libraries cannot guarantee a particular schedule for processing gifts and making items available to the public.
Gifts with restrictions such as separate housing, perpetual retention, insertion of book plates, return of items not added to the collections, or restricted access are not accepted. Exceptions to this policy are considered only in special circumstances and must be approved by the Director of Collections or their designee in advance of the donation.
Gifts are acknowledged, if requested. The acknowledgment is maintained in university records.
Western Libraries does not appraise donations. The IRS requires an independent, professional appraisal if the Donor plans to claim a charitable deduction above $5,000. Western Libraries is not able to assist the Donor in finding an appraiser who might be consulted. Tax implications of gifts are the responsibility of the Donor.
Gifts FAQ
Donated materials must be tracked, vetted, and processed by Libraries personnel whether they are added to the collection or not. Given the labor-intensive nature of the gifts workflow and the high proportion of donated materials that do not ultimately make it into the library collection, the Libraries has prioritized staff time toward more strategic collection development efforts.
In their ongoing efforts to build library collections that support Western’s teaching and research mission, library personnel use their professional expertise to achieve positive collection development outcomes. To that end, the Libraries looks forward to working closely with colleagues across the university on potential acquisitions in alignment with our broader mission as a public comprehensive university. We encourage faculty, staff, and students to communicate their needs to the appropriate Subject Team - whether for access to a specific title, expanding a given subject area, or filling in gaps in the collection. Based upon our knowledge of the library collections landscape, we will utilize best practices and draw from available resources to acquire and provide access to library materials. These strategies may include purchase, subscription, or the interlibrary loan of items deemed important to our users. If you have any questions about the Libraries’ acquisitions strategies and processes, please contact the Director of Collections or Dean of Libraries.
If someone in the library has spoken with you about ongoing or future donations but you are not sure whether that qualifies as an “existing donor agreement” as defined in the policy, contact the Dean of Libraries or Director of Collections.
Aside from our existing donor agreements and works created by alumni, current students, or current or retired faculty and staff, the Libraries does not accept donated items. Any items dropped off without prior arrangement will be placed in the Zoe’s Bookside Bagels “book swap” or recycled.
For more information, contact the Dean of Libraries or Director of Collections.