Library Material Donations

Library Material Donations

The Library welcomes gifts of books, maps, and other materials that extend and complement existing collections. Indeed, the Library relies heavily upon donors to help sustain its growth, many of the Library’s most valuable resources and special collections originated in this way. The same criteria used for the purchase of new materials are applied when gifts are reviewed. In both cases, the decision is based upon the demands, present and anticipated, of the University’s programs of teaching and research. See our Collection Development Policy for more information.

Contacts for collections are listed below. For general questions about donating materials, contact liberes@mines.edu.

Library Interested Items & Contact Information

Archives & Special Collections — Lisa Dunn, Head of Special Collections
ldunn@mines.edu or (303) 273-3687

• • Books, publications, technical materials, papers, photos, memorabilia and small artifacts that support our four Special Collections:
  • Russell L. & Lyn Wood Mining History Archive
  • Colorado School of Mines History Archive
  • Tell Ertl Oil Shale Repository
  • Center for Ropeway Studies (ski lifts, materials tramways, etc.)

Maps — Christopher Thiry, Map & GIS Librarian
cthiry@mines.edu or (303) 273-3697

• • Geologic maps, mining maps, petroleum-related maps, non-U.S. maps
  • Aerial photographs of Colorado

Government Documents — Karen Pfiffner, Government Information Coordinator
kpfiffne@mines.edu or (303) 384-2354

• • U.S. Bureau of Mines materials from the 1990s
  • U.S. Geological Survey, Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, and Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories materials from 1872 to 1920
  • Department of Energy Technical Reports
  • NASA materials

General Collections — Danielle Ostendorf, Head of Collection Management & E-resources Librarian
danielleostendorf@mines.edu or (303) 273-3540

• • STEM focused materials that support the research and instruction at Mines

Course Reading — libcirc@mines.edu

• • Required course materials or textbooks from the most recent 2 years

Materials that fall outside the scope listed above are generally not accepted. We recommend donating these kinds of materials to the Jefferson County Library Foundation or the for-profit company Dream Books Co.

Acceptance Statement

Gifts of materials are accepted by the Library with the understanding that, once received, they are owned by the University. The Library reserves the right to determine their retention, location, cataloging treatment and other considerations related to their use or disposition.

How to Make a Donation

The Library Representative will discuss the materials with the donor and indicate whether the gift would be of value to the Library.

• • To help make such a decision, a list of the items to be donated is very useful. In addition, the gift may have to be physically examined.
  • If the Library agrees to accept the donation, items must be boxed and delivered to the Library at a pre-arranged day and time. There are times when we are not able to accept donations or deliveries.
  • Sorry, we are not able to do pick-ups or offsite reviews of collections or pay shipping costs.
  • If requested, we will provide a Gift Agreement form that is acceptable to the IRS.
  • IRS rules prohibit us from assigning value to donated materials.

Donors with items of unusual value and/or with independent formal appraisals should contact the University Librarian.