Gift Policy
The Board of Trustees of the Union County Library System has adopted the following policy regarding gifts to
the library:
The Board of Trustees welcomes gifts of money, materials, equipment, works of art and service to the library.
The support given the library from public funds is necessarily limited and the addition of contributions, books,
and volunteer help could do much to raise the standards and to improve the service of the library.
Such gifts must fit into the overall program of the library.
Materials
Gifts of books and other materials are sometimes helpful and can represent a contribution to the library. The
Board is pleased to accept gifts of books and materials with the following understandings:
1. Gifts will be judged by the Director on the same basis as purchased material. They are accepted without
commitment as to final distribution or housing. They must be in good physical condition and of worthy content to
justify the cost of processing.
2. They must become the property of the library and the staff must be entitled to whatever disposition of them
will fit into the library service pattern.
3. They must fit into the library’s standards of book selection as to usability, content and physical condition.
4. No gifts can be accepted with any specific restrictions as to shelving or restricted use by certain patrons.
5. Materials must meet the standards of the Materials Selection Policy.
6. Gifts may be designated for certain branches on these conditions:
a. They must be sent to the Main Library to determine suitability, processing, and analysis of the
book collection.
b. It is understood that any book in any library may be used by any other unit in the system.
7. The librarian will not appraise gifts. A donor may request a receipt for the number of items donated.
8. Gift plates indicating the donor’s name can be placed inside gift books if the donor requests and/or the
Director authorizes.
9. Memorial or honor volumes are especially welcome in the library. It is suggested that persons desiring to
memorialize or honor a special person consult with the library staff for suggestions and procedures.
Union County Library System has received sales tax exemption from the State of Mississippi.
Gift Money
The library is a public institution and as such receives the mainstay of its support from public funds. This does
not mean that much more money is not needed to approximate national standards of library service. The Board
welcomes contributions from individuals or organizations provided the use for which the donor designates the
money fits into the general operational policies of the library. It is obvious that a purely public institution could
not accept gifts that would be contrary to the service philosophy of the institution or contrary to the laws under
which it operates.
Donors will be supplied with an appropriate statement regarding any monetary donation that is tax deductible.