Yale University Library Collection Development Council

Disposition of Unneeded Library Materials

This document describes the library’s practices for disposing of books and journals after a substantive decision has been made--by a selector, area curator, or other collection manager--that an item is not needed for the collections of Yale University Library.

These practices apply to material appropriate to the general collections of the library, not to its rare book, and manuscript and archives operations. Custodial/Curatorial units or their delegates, in consultation with the AUL for Collections must exercise their fiduciary responsibility to the University. They should make every reasonable effort to recover the residual value of the materials while ensuring that staff investment in the disposal process is minimized and that the materials are removed from valuable shelf space with all deliberate speed.

There are four categories of material the library disposes of, and four disposition practices. The first two categories cover material that has never been a part of Yale’s collections; the second two categories cover material withdrawn from the collections. The four methods of disposal are exchange with or donation to other libraries and institutions, sale to legitimate book dealers, organized unit or library sale to the public, and discard. Proceeds from the sale of unneeded library materials are returned to the appropriate selector or AUL to be used in direct support of collections, i.e. the purchase of library materials.

1. Gifts of general collection material. The Library often receives gifts of books in lots large and small. These gifts often contain material of value to Yale’s collections along with substantial numbers of items already held at Yale or otherwise out-of-scope or unneeded in our collections. This is the largest single category of unneeded library material.
The library periodically solicits bids from book dealers for large lots of unneeded general collection materials and accepts the highest bid. No staff effort is invested in pricing individual items. If no bids are made or accepted, the library disposes of the materials directly. The responsible selector or AUL for Collections will determine whether the unneeded materials is best sold or given to another library or non-profit institution.
2. Gifts of material in specialized subject areas. The library frequently receives gift collections in specialized areas. Needed material is selected for the collections, as in Category 1 above.
The library solicits bids from specialized book dealers or expressions of interest from other libraries for the parts of these collections not needed at Yale. It may not be necessary in every case to solicit competitive bids for unneeded specialized materials if in the professional judgment of the responsible selector it is not warranted. The responsible selector or AUL for Collections will determine whether the unneeded material is best sold or given to another library. Except in unusual circumstances, Yale University Library accepts responsibility for finding a productive use for unneeded material in this category, and does not normally directly dispose of such material.
3. Duplicate copies, superseded editions, other withdrawn copies, etc. Many reference works are regularly updated (often several times a year), creating superseded editions with little market value. The library also often has multiple copies of outdated or otherwise unneeded books, usually originally purchased for reserves. These reserve books often exhibit substantial wear.
These items have little market value and are directly disposed of. School and departmental libraries will handle the disposal of their withdrawals. For further information, please see "Policies and Procedures for the Physical Withdrawal of Library Materials", Dec. 7, 1994, rev. Feb. 19, 1998.
4. Brittle, unusable books. A very large part of the library’s collections is printed on chemically self-destructive paper. This paper becomes brittle in time and incapable of sustaining further library use. Yale University Library maintains a preservation program that reformats a number of brittle books each year to new paper, microfilm, or digital formats. Reformatting sometimes damages the original brittle book, either because any handling is damaging or because cost-effective processing requires that brittle material be disbound. The originals may have plates, maps, or other features of interest that conceivably have some market value.
The library, critically short of shelf space for its collections, usually does not retain unusable, brittle books that have been reformatted. The library periodically solicits bids from book dealers for lots of brittle, reformatted materials that may have some market value and accepts the highest bid, if any is made. No staff effort is invested in an attempt to price individual items. In the likely event that no bid is made or accepted, the library disposes of the materials directly.

NOTE ON TAX-RELATED ISSUES: For fuller information, please consult the memo of January 9, 1997 to All University Staff from Cynthia Carr, Associate General Counsel and Executive Director of Planned Giving regarding " Charitable Gift Receipting Requirements". This document details the circumstances under which the library is required to hold unneeded gift material for two years before disposition in order to satisfy IRS reporting requirements.

NOTE ON BOOK SALES OR GIVE-AWAYS. In the interests of community relations or other important university values, the library may manage donations of unneeded library materials in bulk. School and Department libraries may elect to hold periodic public book sales if such programs do not require the net use of library funds for their administration. Sale proceeds return to the responsible selector to support the purchase of library materials.

April 18, 1997, rev. September 1997, May 1998

last updated: May 2000

Send comments to ann.okerson@yale.edu