Donations & Gifts

Weymouth Public Libraries

Donations & Gifts Policy

The Weymouth Public Libraries welcomes donations and gifts that support existing facilities, services and collections. The following guidelines are intended to ensure that all gifts are appropriate to the mission of the library.

Monetary Gifts

Donors are encouraged to direct monetary gifts to the Friends of Weymouth Libraries, the 501(c)3 organization that supports the work of the Weymouth Public Libraries through direct fundraising. Donations made to the Friends are tax deductible and donors are sent an acknowledgement of their donation for their records. 

Donations made directly to the Weymouth Public Libraries will be used at the discretion of the Board of Library Trustees and/or the Director of Library Services in whatever way is deemed appropriate. Monetary gifts with restrictions will only be approved if the restriction is fairly broad and supports the library’s mission.

Significant Gifts/Bequests

Gifts intended for perpetuity should be discussed directly with the Director of Library Services.

Gifts in Tribute/Memoriam

Weymouth Public Libraries welcomes donations in honor or in memory of an individual or organization. In the case of direct monetary gifts, donors are again encouraged to direct them to the Friends of the Weymouth Libraries, who are able to track those donations and acknowledge each of them.

When requested, the library is able to directly coordinate the purchase of materials, sometimes on a specific theme or topic, in honor of an individual or organization, with a small bookplate inside each item indicating it was purchased through donations made in their name. This kind of donation can be coordinated by contacting the Director of Library Services.

Gifts of Materials

The Friends of Weymouth Libraries accepts recently published used books in good condition whenever the Friends’ Bookstore, located at Tufts Library, is open to the public.

The Weymouth Public Libraries does not directly accept donations of materials to be added to the collection, with two exceptions:

1. Published works by locally based authors who would like to submit their work for inclusion in the library’s collection, subject to the Collection Development Policy.
2. Materials that have some significance in regards to the history of the Town of Weymouth and the library’s existing local history collection, subject to the Special Collections Accessioning and Deaccessioning Policy.

Furniture, Equipment & Decorative Objects

For policies relating to gifts of art or objects of historical significance, see the Special Collections Accessioning and Deaccessioning Policy.

Gifts of furniture, equipment, or objects, will be accepted based on their appropriateness to the existing décor in the building, quality, condition, and potential future maintenance. Acceptance of this kind of gift will be determined by the Board of Library Trustees and/or the Director of Library Services. A Deed of Gift Form will need to be completed before the donation can be accepted.

Acknowledgment and Valuation

The Weymouth Public Libraries will provide written acknowledgement of the receipt of gifts to the donor. The library will not provide a formal appraisal of any kind. Donors wishing to have an appraisal of their gifts for income tax purposes should do so prior to donation.

Right of Refusal and Disposition

The Weymouth Public Libraries reserves the right to refuse any gift that the Director of Library Services and Library Board of Trustees, in its sole discretion, deems not to be in the best interests of the library to accept.

Gifts accepted by the library shall be final and without restriction, other than restrictions specifically approved by the Board of Library Trustees. All gifts and donations, once accepted, become the sole property of the Weymouth Public Libraries. The library cannot guarantee that any gift will be a permanent part of the collection or building and reserves the right to dispose of gifts as it sees fit, without notification to the donor.

Approved by the Weymouth Public Libraries Board of Trustees on May 5, 2021