The following general guidelines will help you determine whether we are likely to be interested in your offer. Once you have reviewed them, and have acquainted yourself with our donation process, please feel free to contact Burns Librarian Christian Dupont by email or phone (617-552-0105) to discuss your prospective donation.
Thank you for your desire to help us develop exciting collections through your generosity. Please understand that Burns Library refrains from purchasing materials directly from private parties to avoid conflicts of interest. If you wish to offer materials for sale, we will recommend reputable dealers and appraisers to assist with establishing fair market value and brokering a transaction if we deem the materials of sufficient interest.
Physical condition is an important consideration in our gift review process. We may decline to accept gifts of otherwise desirable materials because they suffer from mold, mildew, or other damage.
Burns Library collects newer as well as older books, as well as other published materials, such as pamphlets, prints, and maps. We will only accept materials that match our collecting areas and that do not duplicate our existing holdings. Please search our library catalog to see if we already own copies of works you wish to offer us.
We also encourage prospective donors to consult "Your Old Books," an online guide published by the American Library Association. It answers many questions about the kinds of books that special collections libraries like ours are interested in, and offers general advice on preserving, insuring, appraising, selling, and donating books.
Do you have personal or family papers that relate to our collecting areas that you would like to make available to researchers through Burns Library? Do you work with an organization that is seeking a repository for its permanent archives and think that they would be appropriately placed at Boston College?
We encourage you to read the following online guides published by the Society of American Archivists to acquaint you with the kinds of archival records that are appropriate for transferring to a research institution and considerations that are discussed as part of the donation process:
We are proud of our Boston College Eagles and seek to document and preserve all aspects of our rich campus life and institutional heritage. Our University Archives house a wide range of materials, from records of our administrative offices, papers of significant faculty members, sport and club programs, and more. Our yearbooks, student newspapers, and many other campus publications have been digitized for easy online access.
While we don't need more copies of yearbooks, we do welcome donations of Boston College memorabilia that we do not already own.
Please see donation process for more information on the steps of the giving process to Burns Library.
