There are two types of gifts which we receive: unacknowledged and acknowledged. Unacknowledged gifts are given to us with no specific requirements or expectations from the donor and can be added to our collection without further paperwork. Acknowledged gifts must be approved by the Library Director and have a formal accession process. Donors for both unacknowledged and acknowledged gifts may want un-accessioned books returned to them.
Note: Most of the process for receiving gifts will be the same regardless of where the item ends up, but there are a couple of key differences. Pay careful attention to these differences highlighted in teal.
As you handle each item there are a number of things you should keep in mind as they can change the way we process the item.
The most important thing to do before receiving donated items is to make sure we do not already have them in our collection, so conduct a thorough search of our catalog before adding the item. It is especially important to avoid language duplicates, so try to use search terms or parameters that will be the same regardless of language or country of publication, such as proper nouns or the topic. The Acquisitions Manager may need to look closer at any titles with an author/topic match, even if they were published years apart.
Briefly flip through the item to make sure the content is subject-appropriate and written at an appropriate academic level. We collect titles on art and architecture from any location and time period, written at least at an undergraduate level. Send the titles of any children’s books we receive to the Ryan Learning Center to see if they would like them.
Editions of 500 or fewer and items signed by the author/artist should be considered for Specials status, the Acquisitions Manager should consult with the Library Director or Head of Collection Services.
If the book was published within the last two years, give it to the Acquisitions Manager who will consult with the appropriate vendor to ensure that it is not marked for purchase or already en route. If the order can be canceled, the gift will be kept. If the item is already en route or has arrived, ask the vendor if it can be returned. Consider the cost of shipping when making this decision. Otherwise, the gift can be discarded.
Items with fewer than 16 pages are considered for the Artist File. Place them in the Artist File tray on the shelves across from the printers.
Look out for book covers that may have artistic and/or intrinsic value to the book. Use a detached barcode for these. Keep all covers with their book regardless.
Some serials or auction catalogs may be mixed in. Separate these out and give them to the Serials/Auction Cataloger. Auction catalogs can be distinguished by:
Serials can be distinguished by:
If the book is damaged, bring it to the Acquisitions Manager. Either the Acquisitions Manager or Book Conservation will assess whether it is worth keeping.
If an item says it is a certain catalog number, volume, or edition (“2nd edition” “IV” “Catalog 87” or “Spring 2016”), it may need to be added to an existing bibliographic record, and for earlier or later editions. If you search the title and find a bibliographic record with multiple items, it should be added to that record instead of sent to the backlog (see Receiving Purchased Acquisitions). Double-check with a Cataloger to make sure this is the right procedure. These titles include but are not limited to:
If you find earlier or subsequent editions with separate bibliographic records we may not want the earlier editions if we own later ones, and/or we may need to move earlier editions offsite. Decisions on such titles may require the Acquisitions Manager to consult with the Head of Collection Services.
Search each title against our holdings. Be sure to use search terms that will pull up any language duplicates we might have.
Acknowledged gifts may go to the backlog, directly to the catalogers, or to specials. Where it ends up should be established as part of the assessment process and the conditions of donation per the donor’s wishes before physical processing begins. If you are unsure of how an acknowledged gift should be processed, consult with the Library Director or Head of Collection Services.
Note: Most of the information will be the same regardless of where the item will end up, but there are a couple of key differences. Pay careful attention to these differences.
Add to Alma
*NOTE: The examples here are the most common, but other metadata may be more appropriate for some items. Make sure you know this information before processing the gift.
Add a barcode. When scanned, it will save and take you back to Purchase Order Line Details. Consult barcode document for details on placing barcodes and using detached barcodes.
In the Receiving Information section, use the “Receiving note” to note the donor information. You should write exactly what will appear on the bookplate.
Once you have successfully created the POL, it must be received. Go to the “Receive” page under “Receiving and Invoicing” in the Acquisitions sidebar menu. Make sure the list is showing everything with “Status: All (Except Closed).”
Input the POL number in the search bar. You can also search by title keywords.
Either check the square and click the “Receive” button at top right
OR
Right click on the POL and select “Receive”
Once the book is received, place a salmon gift flag in the book with the exact message that will appear on the bookplate.
Now the item is ready for a temporary backlog call number. To find the next backlog call number, go to Resources → Browse Shelf Listing. Select “Other scheme” in the Call Number Type field and type “cart” into the Call Number field. Click Go:
Scroll down to see the last backlog call number used. Backlog call numbers start with the last two digits of the current year and count up from “0001”: bYY.1234, for instance b23.0748. Write this number on a blank, white book flag.
To add the backlog call number, pull up the main bibliographic record. Click Holdings → … → Edit
In the Metadata Editor, the 852 field will already have “$$b ARTIC $$c b” At the end of the line after “b”, add “$$h [bYY.1234]”
Use the “Save” dropdown menu to “Save and Release”
Add to Alma
Enter the correct metadata in these fields
Copy ID = 1*
Material type = Book*
Item policy = Circulating Books*
Permanent location = Catalog Department (cat)
*NOTE: The examples here are the most common, but other metadata may be more appropriate for some items. Make sure you know this information before processing the gift.
Add a barcode. When scanned, it will save and take you back to Purchase Order Line Details. Consult barcode document for details on placing barcodes and using detached barcodes.
In the Receiving Information section, use the “Receiving note” to note the donor information. You should write exactly what will appear on the bookplate.
Once you have successfully created the POL, it must be received. Go to the “Receive” page under “Receiving and Invoicing” in the Acquisitions sidebar menu
Make sure the list is showing everything with “Status: All (Except Closed)”
Input the POL number in the search bar. You can also search by title keywords.
Either check the square and click the “Receive” button at top right
OR
Right click on the POL and select “Receive”
Once the book is received, place a salmon gift flag in the book with the exact message that will appear on the bookplate.
Once you have completed the processing, give the item(s) to the Cataloger.
Add to Alma
Enter the correct metadata in these fields:
Copy ID = 1*
Material type = Book*
Item policy = Special Collections, Archives*
Permanent location = Catalog Department (cat)
*NOTE: The examples here are the most common, but other metadata may be more appropriate for some items. Make sure you know this information before processing the gift.
Add a barcode. When scanned, it will save and take you back to Purchase Order Line Details. Staple the barcode on a flag - DON’T attach it to the book.
In the Receiving Information section, use the “Receiving note” to note the donor information. You should write exactly what will appear on the bookplate.
Once you have successfully created the POL, it must be received. Go to the “Receive” page under “Receiving and Invoicing” in the Acquisitions sidebar menu
Make sure the list is showing everything with “Status: All (Except Closed)”
Input the POL number in the search bar. You can also search by title keywords.
Either check the square and click the “Receive” button at top right
OR
Right click on the POL and select “Receive”
Once the book is received, place a salmon gift flag in the book with the exact message that will appear on the bookplate.
Once you have completed the processing, give the item(s) to the Cataloger.
