Donation and Gift Policy

Introduction

The Palm Springs Public Library acknowledges the great importance of private gifts and donations to the Library's future development and growth. Gifts can help to assure the continued excellence of our Library.

Gifts to the Library can be made in many ways. Gifts can be made in memory of friends and relatives, in honor of the living, in wills or bequests, to commemorate special occasions or anniversaries, and by individuals or groups. Donations can be made to the Palm Springs Public Library Trust Fund and/or the Friends of the Palm Springs Library (FOPSL). All gifts and donations to both the Library and the FOPSL are tax deductible.

Donors can specify how they wish their gifts be used, within the guidelines of the library's donation policy. A copy of this policy is available online or from the Library Director's office at the library 300 S. Sunrise Way.

The Friends of the Library accept gift books for their book sale at the Library. Donations may be brought directly to the library and dropped off at the Library’s check-out desk. Receipts are available for tax purposes. Please call 760- for more information about donating to the Friends of the Library.  

General Statement of Purpose

The Palm Springs Public Library acknowledges the great importance of private gifts and donations to the library's future development and growth. Such gifts take many forms, come from various sources, and are made for a variety of purposes.

This policy is established in order to make certain that the decisions on the acceptance of gift and donation offers are made in a timely, consistent manner, and are appropriate in terms of both the nature of the facilities and purposes of the library.

The City of Palm Springs owns and operates the Palm Springs Public Library building and collection. The regulations, policies, and procedures of the City shall apply in decisions on the acceptance of gifts and donations. Offers of gifts and donations may be made directly to the library or the Friends of the Library.

The Friends of the Library is a membership organization which raises funds through memberships, book and merchandise sales, and advocates for library services. Although they work closely with library staff, the Friends of the Library are a separate organization with their own policies and procedures and are not governed by this policy.

Policies and Criteria for Receipt of Donations

All donations become the property of the Palm Springs Public Library, which is an agency of the City of Palm Springs. Gifts and donations may be designated for a specific library use. The library can accept anonymous donations only if the identity of the donor is not known; as a public agency, the records of all donations are public records. The library reserves the right to not accept donations if, in the judgment of the library staff, the gift has too many restrictions, is not needed by the library, or has an adverse fiscal or service impact on the library. Specific criteria for various types of donations are described below.

Books and Materials

a. The Palm Springs Public Library will accept gifts of books and other materials with the understanding that such gifts will be added to the collection only if they meet the same standards required of purchased materials. Gift materials not meeting those standards, those that are out-of-date, unneeded duplicates of items already owned, those in a format unsuitable for library use or unsuitable for some other reason will be returned to the donor, given to other organizations, sold, exchanged or recycled. Library staff shall determine whether such gifts will be added to the collection.

b. Library staff will determine how gift materials are integrated into the collection. Generally gift materials will be handled as any other material belonging to the library.

Donations of Money, Real Estate, Securities, or Personal Property

Persons desiring to make a gift of money, real estate, securities, or personal property to the Palm Springs Public Library either during their lifetime or in their will may do so by making the gift in the name of the Palm Springs Public Library with the expressed condition that the funds or property be used exclusively for the benefit of the Palm Springs Public Library.

Equipment

The decision as to the acceptance of equipment shall be made by the Library Director. Major equipment donations may also be reviewed by the Library Board. Among the criteria on which the decision shall be based are need, space, impact on staff, eventual replacement, and expense and frequency of maintenance.

Art and Displays

a. The decision as to the acceptance of an art object shall be made by the City’s Public Art Selection Commission in accordance with the City’s Public Art guidelines and with the coordination of library staff.

b. Donations for other types of displays shall be evaluated for appropriateness by the Library Director. The Library Board may review such evaluation as needed.

Naming Facilities

Naming of Public Facilities and Land is interpreted to include rooms in the library.

Policy for the Disposition of Gifts

All non-monetary gifts may be subject to disposition at some point. For example, whenever books and materials donated to the library are no longer needed or have become so worn or damaged as to be beyond repair, they will be disposed of in the same manner as purchased books and other material.

This disposition policy also shall be applied in an appropriate manner to other gifts such as equipment and art objects. Since all gifts to the Palm Springs Public Library become the property of the City, appropriate City disposition procedures shall be followed.

Gift Recognition Policies and Procedures

a. The Palm Springs Public Library acknowledges the great importance of private gifts and donations to the library's development and growth. Many donations are made by individuals and groups in the memory of a deceased loved one, to honor a living person, or in celebration of an event. It is desirable and essential to publicly recognize these contributions and to do so in a timely fashion.

These policies and procedures shall be applied to recognize gifts from individuals and organizations that have been given directly to the library. In order to implement recognition procedures in a consistent manner, donors and potential donors should be directed to the Library Director. Generally the library’s donor recognition procedures are as follows:

1. All donations to the library will be acknowledged by a letter from the Library Director. Donors will also be listed online on a special Donors page on the library’s web site.

2. Additional special recognition may take place for significant contributions. Such recognition may include a donor board, placement of plaques or bookplates on items purchased, special events, publicity, naming collections, or other means. Any collections named after significant donors will not be displayed or shelved separately.

3. If a donor does not wish to be publicly recognized, that wish will be honored.

4. Recognition based on various levels of giving are as follows:

SUPPORTER: Gifts less than $200

SPONSOR: Gifts of $200-499

DONOR: Gifts of $500-999

PATRON: Gifts of $1,000-4,999

SUSTAINER: Gifts of $5,000-9,999

BENEFACTOR: Gifts of $10,000 and above