Guidelines for Physical Item Donations to the Library's General Collection 

1. Prior to donating items, please contact the Library by filling out the form on this page. Please provide an itemized list including the title, author, and ISBN (if available).
2. We will review your proposed donation and contact you with a list of books we have approved for addition to the Library's collection.
3. We reserve the right to decline donations that are already held in our collections or that do not meet our collection needs.
4. In accordance with IRS regulations, no appraisal can be given for materials prior to donation.
5. The Library only accepts materials in new or like-new condition. Books must be free from water damage, mildew, mold, excessive dust and dirt, missing pages, and spine damage.
6. If Furman chooses not to retain a book donation, the Library will, in good faith, attempt to distribute it in a responsible manner.
7. Please do not send books or leave boxes of books at the library unless they have been approved. The Furman Library cannot accept or acknowledge materials that have not been approved as part of the process outlined above.

Furman Libraries may accept the following types of material:

• Books and Monographs 
• Children’s Books 
• Fiction and Non-fiction 
• Furman Annuals (Please contact our Special Collections & Archives department regarding these) 
• Rare Books (Please contact our Special Collections & Archives department regarding these)  
• Music materials (please contact our Music Librarian regarding these)

Furman Libraries will not accept the following types of materials:

• Audio Cassettes, VHS Tapes, LP Records/Vinyl, & Computer Software 
• Audiobooks 
• Custom Course Packets  
• Directories, Telephone Books and Indexes 
• Duplicate copies of items held electronically or physically by the Furman Libraries
• DVD and Blu-ray discs 
• Encyclopedias 
• Journals and Periodicals 
• Microfilm and Microfiche Newspapers and Magazines 
• Textbooks (unless currently in use in Furman courses) 
• Reader’s Digest Condensed and Time-Life Books  
• Tax and Government Documents or Forms 

Guidelines for Physical Item Donations to Special Collections and Music

Donations for Special Collections should be discussed directly with our Special Collections & Archives department and will have different criteria than general collections items outlined above.

Music donations should be discussed with our Music Librarian and will have different criteria than general collections items outlined above.

It you have any questions about the book donation process, please e-mail us at libraryresources@furman.edu.