Material Gift Policy

Overview
The library may accept non-monetary gifts within the guidelines of the town ordinance and library mission statement. Briefly, the Town of Hampden Ordinance, Section 2.2(b) states in part that the Board of Trustees shall be authorized to accept gifts on behalf of the Library. The mission statement expresses the purpose of the Library, and as such, helps to guide the trustees and library director on the appropriateness of donations of books, compact discs, digital videodiscs and other materials for the collection.

Materials donated for the collection
Materials donated for inclusion in the collection shall be considered under the same basis as materials purchased for the library. If the gifts are judged appropriate for the collection, they will be processed as normal acquisitions. A bookplate acknowledging the donor will only be attached to each gift if the donor expressly wishes it. A library staff member will ask donors if they would mind if their gift is donated to the Friends of the Edythe Dyer Library bookshop or book sale. Proceeds from the Friends bookshop and sale are used for the library. Materials accepted for the bookshop and book sale do not include periodicals, Readers Digest Condensed Books, encyclopedias, books on tape or VHS tapes.

Other Material Donations
The Library Director and the Trustees will accept other donations to the library as they judge appropriate.

Acknowledgment of Donations
The Trustees or the library director may acknowledge any gifts accepted for the library. Determination of the value of a gift is the responsibility of the donor.

Revised by the Board of Trustees 5/11/2011. Reviewed and revised by the Board of Trustees 11/9/2016.