Donating Books to Tisch Library

Donating

At this time, we are not accepting most donations of books, journals, scores, recordings, or DVDs. There are some rare exceptions where we welcome conversations about potential donations. Please do not drop off unsolicited gifts.

Exceptions

We remain interested in potential donations of rare and antiquarian books and other special collections. To get some idea of what kinds of collections might fall under this exception, we’ve accepted:

  • books published before 1800
  • a small collection of underground comics from the 1960s and 1970s
  • a private collection of books published in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand gathered by aid workers active in Southeast Asia
  • the stock of a closing music store that focused on Broadway musicals on LP

Retiring Tufts faculty

As a service for AS&E faculty, we do accept donations of books from faculty offices. Department staff should contact us to arrange the details, but a typical process includes:

  • Facilities packs up the books, department administrators coordinate a time to have facilities deliver the books to our loading dock during staffed hours
  • We add relevant titles to our collection, and donate the remaining books in turn to non-profit organizations such as Better World Books or More than Words

Gift acknowledgements

Upon request, we can provide a title count and/or a letter acknowledging receipt of the gift. We cannot provide an appraisal or title lists.

For books that are added to our collection, we add a note in the catalog entry for that item. For example, Aimé Césaire’s A Tempest donated by History Professor Christopher Schmidt-Nowara. (click here to view a sample catalog record)

Where to donate

If Tisch Library is not the right place for your collection, consider your local public library or a donation box, or consider other non-profit, local book collections programs like More than Words.

Textbooks

On the Medford campus, students can donate textbooks a number of ways:

  • Tufts Textbook Exchange
  • Free textbook library outside of Paige Hall
  • Ask your instructor if they would welcome extra copies of the textbook to give out to future students

Contact

If you have questions about a potential donation, please contact us.