Mailing address:
California State University, Los Angeles
John F. Kennedy Memorial Library
5175 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032-8306

 Table of Contents

• Overview
• About the Library Collections
• How to Recommend New Titles for the Library to Acquire
• About Donating Materials to the Library

 Overview

In its Collection Development activities, the Library respects the principles of intellectual freedom espoused in two American Library Association documents, the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement.

The responsibility for developing the Library's information and bibliographic resources is divided among the Library faculty based on subject knowledge and experience. These Library faculty are known as Selectors/Bibliographers and have considerable expertise in their respective disciplines and subject areas of responsibility. In addition, Department Library Coordinators are named from among the faculty in the Colleges to serve as liaisons for their Departments with the Selectors/Bibliographers. Working together, they strive to provide information resources which meet the needs of the campus community.

The Library's Knowledge Resources Task Force is responsible for oversight of Collection Development activities and policies.  The Task Force has developed a set of Collection Development Guidelines which define the levels and scope of collection development for all CSULA disciplines.

Faculty who have questions or comments about the Library's Collection Development activities should consult the appropriate individuals on the list of College, Departmental, & Program Library Liaisons.

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 How to Recommend New Titles for the Library to Acquire

Anyone in the CSULA community can recommend that a new book be purchased by the Library. Although the Library reserves the right to make all decisions on what to purchase, it will try to fulfill as many appropriate requests as possible, budget permitting. What is appropriate? Requested books should be academic in nature, support the curriculum, and reasonably priced. Popular or highly specialized titles are of lower priority. Priority will always be given to curricular needs over other pursuits.  Use this Online Form to submit your recommendation(s).

Faculty should submit materials requests via an email to their Librarian/Bibliographer.  Consult this page for a complete list of our liaison librarians.  Please be sure to let the librarian know if your requested item is to be placed on reserve in the library.

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 About Donating Materials to the Library

The Library welcomes donations of books and other information resources which strengthen the existing collection and support the University's educational programs. 

Upon receipt, gifts become the property of the University. Gifts are presumed to be given without condition; any conditions placed upon an offered gift must be negotiated before delivery. Gift materials are reviewed by the appropriate Librarian/Bibliographers for inclusion in the Library's collections based on the library's collection development policies. 

Disposition of gifts "not" added to the collection is at the discretion of the Library and may include: selling the items at library book sale events; donating the materials to other institutions; recycling materials.

Gifts - Basic Guidelines

Generally, current non-fiction books which fall within the scope of the current CSULA curriculum are the most appropriate materials to donate to the University Library.  

With few exceptions, the following types of materials will not be added to the library's collection:

• Subjects/areas that are outside the CSULA curriculum
• Textbooks not in use at CSULA
• Self-help or do-it-yourself books
• Mass market/trade paperbacks
• Duplicates and/or earlier editions of titles owned by the library (unless they're high use titles or in pristine condition)
• Material in very poor physical condition and/or beyond repair
• Ephemera -- pamphlets, flyers, manuals, booklets, etc.
• Professional libraries (e.g., superseded legal or medical materials)
• Media materials in formats not collected by the library (i.e. audio cassettes, filmstrips, 8mm & 16mm films, beta & U-matic videocassettes, etc.)
• Most (but not all) popular periodicals & short-runs or individual copies of journals
• Foreign language publications in languages not included in the CSULA curriculum (except dictionaries)

Gifts - Periodical Subscriptions 
Anyone interested in subscribing to a journal on behalf of the Library should contact Andrew Shroyer at (323) 343-3925 or via email at ashroye@calstatela.edu. Subscription prices for institutions are often much higher than they are for individuals.

Gifts - Archival or Special Collections
Proposed gifts of archival-type material (i.e. files, personal papers, manuscripts, rare books, etc.), should be directed to the Library Administrative Office (323) 343-3950. 

Gifts - Monetary & Other Donations
Inquiries concerning other kinds of donations, such as monetary contributions, endowment funding, bequests, and gifts of art, furniture, equipment, etc. should be directed to the Library Administrative Office (323) 343-3950. 

Gifts - Acknowledgments & Appraisal of Value
Upon request, an acknowledgment of a donation will be sent to the donor several weeks after its receipt. The acknowledgment confirms the quantity and nature of the gift only, but is not an inventory and does not place a value on the gift for tax or other purposes. We are not qualified to provide tax advice, and it is considered a conflict of interest for the library to appraise the gifts we receive. Appraisals, if desired, must be conducted by a third party prior to the delivery of the gift. A number of reputable book appraisers can be located in the Los Angeles Yellow Pages under Books - Used & Rare; for tax purposes, we suggest that donors ensure that an appraiser has a Treasury Identification Number. Gifts valued in excess of $5,000, which are subject to special IRS requirements, must be accompanied by a qualified appraisal at the time of delivery. Such delivery must be made prior to December 15 of the year in which the deduction is to be claimed.

Gifts - Delivery
In most cases, gifts are to be delivered to the Library. If an acknowledgment is desired, be sure to leave us the name and address to which a letter should be sent. Gifts of a few volumes may be left at the Loan Desk or the Reference Desk (1st Floor, Library North) when the Library is open. They may also be delivered directly to Technical Services, B Level Room 517, Library North, during normal business hours.  

Large donations are to be delivered to the Library's loading dock.  Gifts of 1000+ volumes must first be reviewed by a Library representative prior to being accepted/delivered.  Please call Ms. Lucy Tam  (323) 343-4886.

In certain situations, such as when a faculty or departmental office on campus is being emptied, it may be possible to arrange for the transport of boxed materials to the Library; if interested, call Ms. Lucy Tam  (323) 343-4886.

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