Values Statement
In furtherance of its mission, the American Antiquarian Society actively solicits and accepts gifts of collection material and financial support. Donations in both categories have, from the Society’s inception, served as essential to the institution’s growth and development.
The purpose of this gift acceptance policy is to guide designated staff members in meeting their obligations when accepting gifts on behalf of AAS and to provide guidance to donors and their professional advisors in making gifts to AAS.
Authorization to Accept Gifts
Gifts of cash, securities, property, and other assets not intended for the collection should be directed to the Vice President for Advancement.
Gifts intended to be added to the AAS library collections, a.k.a. in-kind gifts, will be evaluated for relevance to collecting scope and collection development policy priorities, as well as for physical condition and stewardship requirements, by the relevant curator(s).
All gifts are subject to review by the Council and/or senior leadership, as appropriate, before acceptance is final. The Council reserves the right to review all gifts, particularly gifts that may expose the Society to undue risk or involve special programming, facilities, naming or other restrictions.
Limitations on Gift Acceptance
AAS leadership reserves the right to decline, for any reason, any financial commitment, gift, offer, or bequest, as well as the right to determine how a gift will be credited and/or recognized. A gift may be declined if there are donor restrictions that AAS cannot honor.
AAS does not accept personal research libraries, personal research notes, or local archives for institutions that were founded after 1877. For details see the Gift Acceptance Policy Addendum.
After a gift is accepted it becomes the property of AAS. AAS may add it to the collection or use it for sale or exchange, unless otherwise stated in a formal agreement with the donor. A completed Deed of Gift will be sent to the donor. AAS reserves the right to dispose of any gift after a period of three years. AAS reserves the right to dispose of collection materials in accordance with its deaccession policy.
AAS retains the right to obtain its own qualified appraisals, including environmental assessments of real property or tangible or intangible property being offered as a gift, at its own expense. AAS will not, however, provide appraisals to donors, as that is their responsibility. AAS retains the right to seek appropriate legal counsel to review any aspect of a gift or gift agreement.
An “over the transom” gift is one that has arrived at AAS unexpectedly, through the mail, or dropped off anonymously. AAS is under no obligation to return this kind of gift. Such gifts will be subject to the same evaluation and acceptance policy as all other gifts. Such gifts may be discarded if they are not appropriate to add to the collections.
AAS will not accept long term loans of collections material of any kind from either individuals or institutions. AAS will not accept collections material as “on deposit,” where ownership (or title) for the material remains with the donor or the donor’s heirs.
Donor Responsibility
Terms or conditions must be disclosed by the donor prior to final acceptance of the gift and are subject to review by AAS representatives before an acceptance becomes final.
Donors are responsible for obtaining, for tax or any other purposes, their own appraisals of real property or tangible or intangible personal property given to AAS and for any fees or other expenses related to such appraisals. Donors are advised to seek their own independent legal or tax counsel before making a gift to AAS. No AAS representative will provide legal or tax advice to any donor or prospective donor.
Donors are responsible for supplying AAS with an IRS form 8283, if they wish to submit one, but only after the form has been signed by the appraiser.
AAS Commitment/Responsibility
AAS will acknowledge the receipt of gifts of tangible personal or real property in accordance with IRS requirements and will provide or sign any IRS form or other documents necessary for the donor to obtain a tax deduction for such gifts, so long as such acknowledgment does not entail assigning a value to the gift.
AAS will sign IRS form 8283 after the form is signed by the appraiser, provided the form has been properly filled out and supplied by the donor.
Upon request, the Vice President for Advancement may provide to the donor sample bequest language for restricted and unrestricted gifts, to ensure that a bequest is properly designated. In return, AAS may request a copy of the relevant pages of the will or trust document. AAS may also provide, upon request, IRS approved specimen trust agreements for review and consideration by the donor and their advisors; however, donors are advised to consult with their own legal and financial advisors when drafting such documents. AAS will only provide examples, not drafted documents.
All requests for anonymity will be honored, except to the extent that AAS is legally required to disclose the identity of donors.
Gift Acceptance Policy Addendum
Personal Research Libraries and Notes
The curators and acquisition staff of the Society hereby propose an addendum to the Gift Acceptance Policy regarding personal research libraries and personal research notes. This addendum will make clear the reasons for declining such offers and will keep the Society’s practice consistent and equitable.
AAS is unable to accept personal research libraries and research notes for the following reasons:
- The costs of coordinating the transfer, packing, shipping, sorting, shelving, checking, cataloging and preserving such materials are substantial.
- AAS is unable to recoup any significant costs from the sale of duplicates.
- The time and resources required to process such materials, to place unwanted material elsewhere, and to clear space for long-term preservation is not borne out by scholarly or other use.
Personal Research Libraries
For the purpose of this document, personal research libraries are defined as libraries that consist primarily of 20th and 21st-century secondary scholarship, although they may also contain some 19th-century volumes. Based on past experience, at least 70 percent of the contents of such collections typically duplicate AAS’s holdings.
The market for non-antiquarian books is depressed and therefore 20th and 21st century volumes have little resale value and AAS is unable to recoup processing costs by selling duplicates. Few researchers consult this material when retained by the Society. It is more cost effective to purchase the few relevant secondary works AAS does not have rather than process large research libraries with many duplicates.
Beginning in April 2023, AAS will no longer accept or promise to accept personal research libraries. Individual titles from a personal research library may be accepted if they can be checked and selected by AAS staff in advance of the donation.
Research Notes
For the purpose of this policy, research notes are defined as 20th or 21st-century written drafts for published articles and books; 20th or 21st-century notes taken while researching articles, books, or bibliographies; newspaper clippings; photocopies or microfilm of original materials at other institutions; business cards; reference notes and files for creating bookdealer catalogs; drafts and proofs of articles and books. These materials will no longer be accepted. AAS will continue to accept from donors copies of materials within AAS’s chronological collecting period used in their research that are no longer extant or cannot be located in any institution or private collection.
Beginning April 2023, AAS will no longer accept or promise to accept research notes in paper form. The Society will consider accepting research notes from AAS members who are willing to scan their research notes in a stable format, preferably PDF, and provide said file to AAS on a thumb drive. AAS will not provide scanning services for this material.
AAS will continue to suggest that donors and members with research collections and papers that do not directly relate to AAS collections contact their alma maters, local historical societies and institutes, and university libraries with specific focuses. AAS will not be held responsible for assisting in the placement of research collections and papers.
In the past, AAS has accepted archives from local organizations and institutions in which AAS members were/are active and which are still producing records (e.g., Worcester Fire Society, Worcester Bohemian Society, Worcester Thursday Club, Worcester Shakespeare Club). Beginning April 2023, AAS will no longer accept the archives of any new local organization with archives that begin after 1876. AAS will direct such local organizations to other institutions like the Worcester Historical Museum or Worcester Public Library, or to a local college or university.
-Approved by the Council, April 21, 2023