Policy Name:

Monetary Appraisal Policy

Responsible Department:

Office of the University Librarian

Date of Original Policy:

3 February 2020

Last Updated:

N/A

Mandatory Revision Date:

3 February 2023

Contact:

Associate University Librarian – Academic Services

Policy:

This policy outlines the process of carrying out monetary appraisals for any book donations or archival acquisitions that are accepted into the holdings of MacOdrum Library “Library”. Any items that do not fall into either of these categories will be taken into consideration for monetary appraisal on a case-by-case basis.

The policy is broken down into two parts: (1) book donations, and (2) archival donations. Each type of donation have their own separate guidance.

Purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to establish and communicate the process for how monetary appraisals will be carried out by the Library. This policy will provide information to potential donors and Library employees to aid in determining whether or not a monetary appraisal is applicable, financial considerations for conducting a monetary appraisal, and the detailed appraisal process required for particular donations/acquisitions.

Scope:

This policy applies to any and all archival donations and book donations.

Archival donations: comprised of manuscript, private, unpublished and/or personal records accepted by the Library through an official donor agreement or deed of gift. Not all archival collections will meet the standards for monetary appraisal, but all will be assessed based on the criteria contained in this policy.

Book donations: generally comprised of monographs, maps, or other published material accepted by the Library through an official donation process or deed of gift. Not all book donations will meet the standards for monetary appraisal, but all will be assessed based on the criteria contained in this policy.

Procedures:

Archival Donations
Acquisition/Donation:

When a donor is seeking to donate archival records to the Library, if there is a desire to seek a tax certificate for the donated records/material, this information must be requested at the outset. Typically, this can be done when a donor agreement or deed of gift is drafted and signed by representative(s) for the donor and representative(s) for Library.

Tax certificates will only be considered for gifts in kind, which are defined in the archival context as personal property (i.e. private correspondence, research notes, etc).

For more information on Archives & Special Collection’s “ASC” acquisition and donation processes and procedures please contact us.

Financial Assessment:

After a donor agreement has been agreed upon, the potential fair market value of the records/material needs to be determined. There are three categories that all donations/acquisitions that have been identified for tax certification will fall under. They are as follows:

Gifts with a value less than $1,000:

The Library may provide valuations of less than $1,000 if they have expertise and/or knowledge in the field and are qualified to appraise a gift at its fair market value and/or research and historical value. Donations valued at under $1,000 will be appraised by the Head, Archives & Special Collections or a designate. In accordance with the MacOdrum Library’s Gifts in Kind Policy, no tax certificates will be issued for any gift valued at less than $500.

Gifts with a value of $1,000 to $9,999:

Any donations that are valued at $1,000 or over must be appraised by an external appraiser. This requires the appraisal to be conducted by a qualified third party (i.e. a rare book dealer, an antiquarian auctioneer, etc.) acting at arm’s length from the Library. Only one (1) appraiser is required for a fair market valuation between $1,000 and $9,999.

Gifts with a value of $10,000 and more:

Any donations that are valued at $10,000 or more must be appraised by one or more external appraisers acting at arm’s length from the Library. The Library does not conduct appraisals in relation to certifying cultural property through the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB).

Book Donations
Donation

When a donor is seeking to donate books to the Library, if there is a desire to seek a tax certificate for the donated material, this information must be requested at the outset. Typically, this can be done when a deed of gift, and donor declaration form are drafted and signed by representative(s) for the donor and representative(s) for the Library.

When a gift is accepted by the Library, it is without conditions, restrictions, or commitment on the part of the Library about how, when, or whether it will be processed for the collection. We reserve the right to decide the retention, location, cataloguing, use, and disposition of gifts. The library does not provided transportation for gifts and does not return gifts or portions of gifts that are not accepted.

Financial Assessment

After a deed of gift has been agreed upon, the potential fair market value of the material needs to be determined. The following criteria guide our appraisal of items for tax certification:

Gift items with a value less than $1,000:

The Library may provide valuations of an item valued at less than $1,000 if they have expertise and/or knowledge in the field and are qualified to appraise a gift at its fair market value. Donations valued at under $1,000 will be appraised by the Gifts & Collections Coordinator or a designate. In accordance with the MacOdrum Library’s Gifts Policy, no tax certificates will be issued for any item valued at less than $500.

Gift items with a value of $1,000 and more:

Any item that is valued at $1,000 or over must be appraised by an external appraiser. This requires the appraisal to be conducted by a qualified third party (i.e. a rare book dealer, an antiquarian auctioneer, etc.) acting at arm’s length from the Library.

Note: The above financial assessment guideline for book donations does not preclude the Gifts & Collections Coordinator, or designate from carrying out monetary appraisals for donations of multiple items, where each individual item in that donation do not exceed a $1,000 valuation. As an example, a donor can donate 30 books, where each book is valued at $500. In this case no individual book exceeds the $1,000 value limit, which would trigger the need for an external appraiser.

Procedural Notes

Please note that best efforts will be made to process donations in the original year of acquisition/donation. However, if a receipt is not issued within the year that a donation was made, it will be dated for that year.

To ensure appraisal integrity, the Library will arrange for any and all external appraisals to be conducted on archival donations and book donations.

Payment for external appraiser’s fees are subject to negotiation between the prospective donor and the Library.

Any items for appraisal that do not fall into the category of Archival Donations or Book Donations will be reviewed and considered for appraisal at the discretion of the Associate University Librarian – Academic Services.

Contacts:

Head, Archives & Special Collections

Associate University Librarian – Academic Services

Links to Related Policies:

Secretariat Policies – https://carleton.ca/secretariat/policies

  • Gifts in Kind Policy

  • Gift Acceptance Policy

  • Signing Authorities Policy

MacOdrum Library Policies - https://library.carleton.ca/about/policies

  • Gifts in Kind Policy

Federal Legislation - https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/

  • Income Tax Act