Hi Chloe,
If they fall into my subject area (psychology) then sometimes I can just make the judgement myself, otherwise I consult with the academic specialists. I have a good relationship with them, and a recent time-saving trick I tried was taking a photo of the book covers laid out on my desk and emailing them. It led to a good discussion and quick feedback (it was an area of therapeutics we didn't normally cover but which they thought would be useful for some students, and the donation included some gems). Again, I wouldn't do this unless I got on well with them all.
Generally books would have to be relevant to teaching and/or research to be considered. When I consider receiving a donation I first check with the donator what they would like us to do with any we don't add to stock. Ideally they don't want them back so we can just put the unwanted items into the usual channels (e.g. charity, recycle etc).
At Aberystwyth it is usually the subject librarians who would make the decision on donated materials. One obvious criteria is whether it is in stock already. If it is then I would look at usage (is an extra copy useful?); also condition (maybe the donation is in better condition than our worn copy); and other factors such as edition.
I'm writing this off the top of my head so it's not comprehensive, I hope some of it is useful and other librarians will fill in any obvious omissions.
Cofion,
Karl
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Karl Drinkwater
Llyfrgellydd Gwasanaethau Academaidd / Academic Services Librarian
Llyfrgell Hugh Owen / Hugh Owen Library
Prifysgol Aberystwyth / Aberystwyth University
http://aberssel.blogspot.com/
Twitter: libkarl
-----Original Message-----
From: Chloe Barnes [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 22 May 2013 10:11
Subject: Adding donations to stock
Hi All,
Could I please ask what everyone else does about accepting donations from academics/students/the public and how they decide whether to add items to stock?
Do you have specific criteria to decide relevance for teaching/research?
Who makes the decisions?
Maybe you don't accept any donations at all?!
Any feedback very gratefully received.
Many thanks,
Chloe
Chloe Barnes
Collection Development Librarian
Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday University of Sussex Library Falmer Brighton
BN1 9QL
01273 872930
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