Library Donation Policy

Financial Contributions

Financial contributions to the Poetry Center and its library represent our area of greatest need. Each year, private contributions from people like you provide the majority of the Poetry Center’s funding for programs that range from K–12 and adult education to community readings and lectures. There are many ways to give, and you can learn more by contacting Executive Director Tyler Meier at tmeier@email.arizona.edu or (520) 626-5880, or by visiting our donation web page.

Library Materials

Your interest in donating library materials to the University of Arizona Poetry Center is very much appreciated. Gifts from our friends help us to build our library, one of the largest and most publicly accessible collections of contemporary poetry in the United States. Thank you for your generosity and support of the Poetry Center!

When considering making a donation of library materials to the Poetry Center, we encourage you first to read over the policies below and check our online library catalog to ensure that the materials you wish to donate are not already present in our collection. You can also view our donation policies as a PDF here.

Donations that may be appropriate for the Poetry Center’s library collection generally meet the following criteria. Please note that due to space and personnel constraints, we are unable to accept all materials offered to us.

  • In Scope: books and broadsides of contemporary poetry in English or English translation, generally published after 1960
  • In Small Quantities, or Single Items: the library does not have the processing resources to accept large quantities of materials
  • In Good Condition: the library does not have the resources to care for damaged or deteriorating books
  • Do Not Duplicate Existing Holdings in the Collection: prior to contacting the Poetry Center library, please check our online library catalog to see if the materials you would like to donate are already in the collection.

As a small organization with limited space and processing resources, the library does not accept materials that fall outside of the above criteria. Examples of materials that cannot be accepted include materials in large quantities; toys, games, kits, and children’s activity sets; two dimensional or three-dimensional visual art (except poetry broadsides and artist books/book objects); teaching materials, curricula, textbooks, or workbooks; materials that are not in the library’s scope of contemporary poetry, or are peripheral to that scope; personal or professional files (authors’ papers); damaged books; books with mold, mildew, or infestations; and books that duplicate existing holdings in the collection.

Donations of library materials that are accepted by the University of Arizona Poetry Center become the property of the Arizona Board of Regents and cannot be returned to the donor for any reason. Upon receipt, the Poetry Center library reserves the right to make all determinations regarding retention, location, use, maintenance, removal, or disposal. The library reserves the right to dispose of unsolicited materials as it deems appropriate.

The Poetry Center’s library staff appreciates speaking with potential donors in advance to determine if your donation is a good fit. If you have questions or would like to discuss a potential donation, please contact the librarians at (520) 626-3765.

Read Between the Bars

Read Between the Bars is a volunteer-based Tucson organization that provides books free of charge to people who are incarcerated in the State of Arizona. The University of Arizona Poetry Center is not affiliated with Read Between the Bars but is pleased to serve as a site for one of the organization’s book donation bins, located in the lobby of the Helen S. Schaefer Building.

If you have books in good condition that are not acceptable for donation to the Poetry Center’s collection, please consider bringing them to the Read Between the Bars donation bin. Read Between the Bars accepts new or used paperback books (no hardcover books, magazines, or audiovisual materials) in good condition, on any subject.

Acknowledgement

Donations of library materials that are accepted for the Poetry Center’s library collection are acknowledged with a letter. Donors must provide a name and address in order to receive an acknowledgement letter. Additionally, if desired by the donor, a “Gift of…” note may be made in the catalog records of accepted materials acknowledging the source of the donation.

Appraisals of gifts are the sole responsibility of the donor. According to U.S. tax regulations, the Poetry Center library cannot appraise donated materials. It is the responsibility of the donor to keep appropriate record of materials donated.