Gifts

Guidelines for Gift Books

Nov. 18, 1997; revised Feb. 26, 2002

Faculty, alumni, outside organizations, and other Stanford University libraries are the most common sources of gift book donations. The decision to add any particular gift to the collection will be made by the Law Library Director or other designated administrators. The decision will be made according to the Policy on the Acceptance of Gifts.

  1. Receipt of Gift Books

    All gift material sent to Acquisitions should be placed in a designated location. If the gift materials cannot be placed in the designated location, notify an Acquisitions staff member. All gift material sent to Acquisitions should be accompanied by a Gift/Action Slip indicating who or where the material is coming from.

    All gift material should go to the approval shelf. Each individual item needs to have an Acquisitions GIFT/ACTION slip (MS Word document) indicating the name, address (if known), etc., of the donor.

    GIFT/ACTION slips are available both from the Acquisitions Department and from Information Services. They may also be printed out from this MS Word document.

  2. Selection

    The Law Library Director or other designated administrators will review gifts and unsolicited material shelved on the approval shelf. Once reviewed, the books will be placed on the Ready-for-acquisitions shelf. The gift slip will indicate whether or not to add the book, create a standing order, or send an acknowledgement.

    Donated casebooks and casebook supplements are added automatically according to the following criteria:

    • Up to 2 copies of current casebooks/supplements are added.
    • 1 copy of previous editions of casebooks/no copies of previous supplements are added.
    • Extra casebooks are given to Paul for distribution to law students.
    • Extra supplements (for the current year only) are kept in case they are needed for course reserve. Superceded casebooks are discarded.
  3. Acquisitions Procedure for Gift Books
    1. Items Added to the Collection:
      • Create a Unicorn record and a received order.
        • Vendor ID “FACULTY GIFT” or “STAFF GIFT” or “GIFT”
        • Order type “GIFTMONO” or “GIFTSER”
        • Fund “NOFUND”
      • Create a NOTE in “Additional line Item Information” indicating the donor. Count each volume for departmental statistics either as “Added gift title” or “Added volume.”
    2. Items Not Added to the Collection:
      • Place the volumes on the designated “Duplicate” shelves.
      • Duplicate issues of journals and law reviews are kept until our copy(ies) are bound.
      • Other items are stored in the Mail Room and are periodically sent to a university in the Philippines or donated to the SUL annual booksale.
    3. If “Send acknowledgement” is checked on the gift slip, print an acknowledgement letter on letterhead stationary and place in director’s box for signature.
  4. Income Tax Credit

    Gift donations from Law School Faculty may require credit for income tax purposes.

    Gifts of periodicals will be credited only if they constitute a significant sequence of issues (at least several volumes). Paperback books and supplements will generally not be credited, as they have little monetary value.

    Gifts may or may not be added to the collection.

    1. Items Added to the Collection:
      • For either a new title or added copy either make a printout of the order record or a photocopy of the title page. If a copy of the title page is used, stamp with Gift Stamp, and indicate the donor’s name. On either form of documentation, indicate item price (if available) at the top of the sheet. See Gift Book Pricing Guidelines.
    2. Items Not Added to the Collection:
      • Copy the title page and indicate the donor’s name, stamp with Gift Stamp, and item price if available at the top of the page. See the attached Gift Book Pricing Guidelines.
    3. Record Keeping:
      • File the printouts and copies, sorted by donor’s name.
      • At the end of the calendar year, collate the files and give to the director’s Administrative Associate.
      • Administrative Associate is responsible for sending the donors’ letters indicating the total value of their donations throughout the year.
      • The files of “No Value Determined” (NVD) are stored for 4 years. This is according to Administrative Guide Memo 34.4 (PDF document) “Retention of Financial Records: Retention Times: Business Transaction Records.”