Haddon Library Donations Policy

Donations overview

A large part of the Haddon Library's stock has been acquired by way of donations and bequests which has, in turn, greatly enriched the Library as a working collection. Our current donations policy is adapted from Cambridge University Library’s 2024 Donations Policy.

Once a donation has been accepted, it is important that the Library is able to process and catalogue the material so that it can be incorporated into our collections and made available to readers.

Due to limitations on staff resources and space, the Library must be selective in accepting donations of books and other material. This policy relates to modern (post-1899) collections and donors wishing to give rare or unique material to the Library are encouraged to contact the relevant Special Collections department at the main University Library (Rare Books and Early Manuscripts or Archives and Modern Manuscripts) directly to discuss it, providing as much detail as possible on the extent and type of material being offered.

Offers of donations

Offers to donate individual books or fewer than 10 items to the Library should be made by emailing us. Offers will be acknowledged at this stage. Please note that unsolicited donations arriving in the Library will not normally be acknowledged.

Potential donors of collections (more than 10 items) should contact the Library for a more detailed discussion, also by emailing us.  We should be grateful if you would provide us with a list in advance giving a brief description of each item (author, title, publisher and date of publication) and a sense of the physical condition of the collection.

Providing details in advance assists us by allowing specialist staff to check the Library’s online and hard-copy catalogues for duplicate items and to assess whether the material is suitable for addition to the collections.

Please note that we are unable to send a member of staff to document a collection in person.

The Library reserves the right to decline offers of material. We receive many offers of material but have finite resources for processing donations.

Collecting principles for donations

Donations are welcomed that have academic value and support research and teaching in the university.

The Library does not normally accept:

  • Material that duplicates existing holdings
  • Popular fiction and trade publications
  • Textbooks (unless recent or of particular significance)
  • Issues of periodicals or magazines (exceptions may be made for important academic titles not held by the Library or elsewhere in the University or for issues that fill gaps in our existing holdings)
  • Offprints
  • Unpublished theses
  • Items in poor physical condition or that would impose substantial conservation costs (exceptions may be made for rare or unique material)
  • Electronic publications on handheld media (e.g. DVD, CD-Rom, tape) unless it is unique material and deposit has been discussed with specialist staff
  • Ebooks or digital film that require hosting (the University’s repository is for publications by University of Cambridge researchers only)

Foreign-language material

Publications in non-European languages will not typically be accepted by the Haddon Library due to the specialist knowledge required to fully catalogue these resources.

Offers of material in East Asian languages should be forwarded to the relevant language specialist at the University Library where they will be able to be cared for more appropriately.

Conditions of acceptance

Donations are accepted on the understanding that they become the property of Cambridge University Libraries on receipt and that the Haddon Library may make all necessary decisions as to their retention, local cataloguing, access and use.

Unwanted or duplicate items may be disposed of ethically in line with Library policy. Due to space and other constraints, we are unable to guarantee that donated items will be kept together or added to a particular part of the Library’s collections. Donated items may be housed offsite at the Library Storage Facility.

Bookplates with brief details of the donor will occasionally be inserted at the discretion of the Library, especially where the material constitutes a substantial donation of exceptional academic relevance. Provenance is more standardly noted in our online catalogue records where the donation has been agreed in advance.

Intended bequests

If you intend to leave books or other modern materials to the Library in your will, we kindly ask that you contact the Librarian in advance. This will allow us to discuss the materials and confirm that they meet the Library’s selection criteria, as listed above.

Bequests

If you are an executor of a will that includes either modern materials for donation or a financial contribution to purchase modern materials, please contact the Legacies Specialist at Cambridge University Development and Alumni Relations office (legacies@philanthropy.cam.ac.uk), who will liaise with the Haddon Library team regarding the bequest.

Financial donations

If you would like to support the purchase of modern materials or the work that the Haddon Library does, please visit our dedicated Philanthropy page.

Last reviewed May 2025