Thank you for considering a donation to the Cleveland Institute of Art's Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library!
Many alumni, employees, students, and friends choose to support the library by making a financial gift or by donating gift-in-kind items. The library staff welcomes donations of physical items in excellent condition and will acknowledge all donations in writing; the staff is not permitted to assign values to gift-in-kind donations.
Below are the answers to most commonly asked questions regarding donations. If your questions are not answered here or to find out more about either type of donation, contact the library at library@cia.edu.
CIA's Gund Library is grateful for and benefits from donations earmarked for the Library. Monetary gifts have far-reaching impact and we rely upon donors to help support and expand the resources and services available to students and scholars from the CIA community. These important donations support purchase of materials for the collection, digital resources, staff development, special programs, and services otherwise not covered by college expenditures.
Online donations can be made by visiting https://www.cia.edu/donate and designating the library as the recipient.
Other giving options can be found at CIA's Give Now page. Thank you for considering a gift to the Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library!
In addition to financial gifts, the Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library welcomes donations of legally acquired, new and good condition used books, tabletop games, or items related to the history of the Cleveland Institute of Art.
The library does NOT accept magazines, newspapers, outdated textbooks, clippings, encyclopedias, Time-Life books (including the World of Art books), CDs, audio or video cassettes, DVDs, Blu-Rays, vinyl records, damaged books (including those with evidence of water damage, insect damage, mold, torn pages, highlighting, underlining, annotations, etc.), self-published books, computer/software manuals, art supplies, or miscellaneous items.
Please contact the library at library@cia.edu with any questions or if you are considering donating items that are rare or unique.
Donations should be dropped off at the library during open hours, Monday through Friday. Donation deliveries must be scheduled in advance. To schedule a drop off of your donation, please contact the library at library@cia.edu. If you need assistance or would like entry to the parking lot, your drop off should be scheduled before 5pm. Donations can also be shipped to the library with advance notice.
Once donated, items become the property of CIA Gund Library. We give donated materials the same careful review as purchased materials and add those gifts that enhance our library’s collections. Items not entered into the collection may be sold in the library’s book sale (with proceeds returning to the library’s budget), sold to outside entities, given to another Institute department, given away to other libraries, recycled or discarded. Regardless of the final disposition, your donation is appreciated and will help the Institute. Donated items will not be returned to the donor, and the library will only accept items that are outright gifts. Temporary gifts for use during a limited period of time are not accepted.
The library reserves the right to determine the retention, location, cataloging treatment, and other considerations related to the use or disposition of all gifts. Donor restrictions regarding housing, access, circulation, marking, processing, or other limiting factors will not be honored. Final decisions on the retention and disposition of all gifts are the responsibility of the Library Director.
All donations, regardless of their ultimate disposition, are acknowledged in writing unless you specifically ask us to not provide one. Please share your email address and/or mailing address with the staff person who receives your gift items . Acknowledgment letters are generally mailed within four to eight weeks after the receipt of the donation and include only a count of items received by category (e.g., hardback, paperback, etc.). The library may not acknowledge donations of materials we don't accept, particularly magazines and newspapers. The Library does not provide inventories of items donated. If you need an inventory, please complete an inventory prior to delivering your donation.
As recipients of the gift, the library and CIA are considered to be interested parties and therefore are unable to provide appraisals or fair market values for donated items. It is your responsibility to establish fair market value or obtain expert assistance in establishing any value prior to dropping off your donation at the library. The library staff cannot recommend or endorse appraisers or render tax advice regarding donations. You may wish to make a list of items donated for personal or tax purposes. The library will not provide an inventory of items. Once items have been accepted by the library, obtaining appraisals, fair market values, or inventories is not possible.
Thank you for considering a donation to the Cleveland Institute of Art's Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library!