The Indiana University Bloomington Libraries appreciate the consideration of those who would like to donate materials to our collections. However, space constraints and the high cost of processing donated items mean that we cannot accept all materials.

If you are considering donating materials, please contact a subject librarian. All potential donations should be evaluated by a subject librarian before acceptance. To facilitate this process, please be prepared to provide an approximate count of items and a complete or partial inventory of the materials you would like us to consider.

Potential donors should be aware that the library is usually not able to accept the following types of material:

  • Items that duplicate current holdings
  • Items that are out of scope, i.e., not congruent with collection priorities
  • Items that are in poor physical condition
  • Issues of periodicals
  • Textbooks and computer manuals
  • Pre-published materials (proofs, pre-prints, etc.)
  • Offprints, photocopies, reproductions of sound/video recordings, etc.
  • Printouts of born-digital resources

Donated materials become the property of the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. Items that we are unable to add to the collections may be sold, donated, added to the Indiana University Librarians’ Association Book Sale, or otherwise disposed of. When gifts are accepted into the collection, an acknowledgement letter of receipt will be sent for your tax purposes. United States’ Internal Revenue Service prohibits our institution from placing a financial value on gifts received.

Please also consider donating materials to other local venues such as the Hoosier Hills Food Bank Book Sale and Monroe County Public Library.

Thank you for your interest in giving to the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries.