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Re: Deed of Gift



I agree that it is a good idea to have something in the Deed of Gift that
gives the institute authority to dispose of items deemed non-historical.
Unfortunately it can also cause a lot of misunderstandings because often the
donor's perceive the "dispose of" to mean that the institute would throw
away items willy-nilly. I had to calm many donor's anxieties.
I also think you can get yourself in a sticky situation if you have it
written in the Deed that you will contact the original donor before you
dispose of any items. You must take into account, that if, for example, you
decide to deaccession some materials 75 years after the donation, will you
be able to find the original donors? How much time and effort must you put
into tracking down the family if the owners have passed on?

Renee Savits
Private Papers Archivist
Library of Virginia
Richmond, Virginia


-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Christopher Beam
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2000 9:49 AM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Deed of Gift


1/10/00

Dear Ms. Salm:

In addition to considerations such as transfer of literary property
rights, an important -- I would say indispensible -- element in a deed of
gift is a clause that the recipient institution has the authority to
dispose of items in a donation that are deemed non-historical.  (The donor
could choose whether to permit the institution to dispose of these at will
or return them to the donor.)

Inclusion of this will spare you a lot of trouble later on.
Unfortunately, I know this from first-hand experience.

I will send you under separate cover a sample deed the Muskie Archives
uses.  The boilerplate on disposal, I think, is pretty standard.

Sincerely,


Christopher M. Beam
Director, The Edmund S. Muskie Archives
Bates College, 70 Campus Avenue
Lewiston, ME 04240-6018
(207) 786-6354, FAX (207) 786-6035
E-mail: cbeam@bates.edu
html://www.bates.edu/muskie_archives



>
> We have a donor who wishes to donate some books, journals, and plaques to
> the University or Library.  At first, we thought the materials would go to
> Special Collections, but now we think the books and journals should be
> placed in the general collection of the library where they are more
> accessible to patrons. The plaques will probably be placed in another
> building here on campus. I'm sure the donor will want to acquire an
> appraisor before the materials are donated.
>
> The question I have at the present time deals with what kind of written
> document should be prepared for this type of transaction.  I am thinking
> that a Deed of Gift or a Declaration of Gift (is there a difference
between
> the two?) would be useful if manuscripts, papers, photographs, etc. were
> involved and the materials would be housed in Special Collections. Since
> these types of material are not involved, what kind of written document
> should be prepared? Would just a letter be sufficient, and if so, what are
> some of the points that should be addressed?
>
> I would appreciate hearing any advice some of you would have who have had
> past experiences in regard to this issue. If you wish, you may respond to
> the list or email jSalm@fhsu.edu. My mailing address is Judith
Salm/Forsyth
> Library/600 Park Street/Fort Hays State University/Hays, Kansas 67601.
> Thanks so much--Judy
>
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>