About
Gifts & Donations to the Library
The Maxwell Library is grateful for the support of alumnae/i and friends. Your monetary and in-kind gifts help the Library meet the needs of our students, faculty, and community.
Your unrestricted, current-use gifts to the Maxwell Library enable the Dean of the Library to focus your generosity where it can have the greatest impact. For more information about making a gift, please contact the BSU Alumni & Development Office. Advancement staff can answer your questions and explain the powerful impact your gifts can have.
If you already have the information you need, you can easily make your gift online now by going to https://www.bridgew.edu/give. Please select “Library Development Fund” for your fund designation.
We appreciate your gifts of books and other materials that are appropriate for the library’s collection and curricular support needs.
In most cases, the library will accept gifts of books only if they fill gaps in already existing collections. Upon receipt, all gift materials become the property of Bridgewater State University and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Those items added to the collection will be processed according to the library’s standard practices.
- The donations must not be highlighted, extensively written in, moldy or water damaged.
- The library will accept gift books, journals (selectively), and non-print items if judged to be potentially significant additions to our collections. We seek gifts that can support the University's curriculum, faculty research and newly developed programs.
- The library will determine the classification, housing and circulation policies of all gift items. Gift collections will not be kept "intact" but will be integrated into the library's existing collections.
- The library retains the right to dispose of duplicates and unneeded materials.
- The library reserves the right to determine the retention, location, cataloging treatment, and other considerations related to the use or disposition of all gifts.
- The library assumes no responsibility for appraisal of gift items, nor can the library accept items under restricted conditions.
Examples of material we do not accept:
Audio cassettes, Cookbooks, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, Journals, Magazines, Maps, Mass-Market Paperbacks, Pamphlets, Punch-Hole Books in Binders, Textbooks published more than 5 years ago, Technical or Healthcare books published more than 10 years ago, or VHS Tapes.
You may also consider places like Savers to donate items or using websites like Bookmooch and ThriftBooks which allow individuals to donate or swap books with ease.
We ask all donors to read over and sign the Donor Agreement Form prior to the delivery of the donation. We cannot afford to have large amounts of unsolicited, dated, moldy, highlighted materials left on our doorsteps. For these reasons we created our Donor Agreement Form.
Please contact our library's Technical Services to make arrangements before bringing donations to the library. You can contact us at 508-531-2058.
Donations to the BSU Archives & Special Collections are welcome and considered on a case-by-case basis. Of special interest are materials related to the history of Bridgewater State University, the Town of Bridgewater, the state of Massachusetts, and the New England region. Gifts of documents, personal papers, photographs, books, manuscripts, and more are often valuable contributions to Archives & Special Collections.
For more information, or to discuss donating rare or unique materials, please contact Orson Kingsley, Head of Archives & Special Collections, at 508-531-1389 or okingsley@bridgew.edu.
Policy Adopted: August 2022
The ERC welcomes donations that support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the university’s K-12 education programs. Our collections include juvenile literature (fiction, non-fiction, and picture books), educational kits and games, test preparation materials, and general educator/teaching books. To ensure donated materials are useful and relevant, all donations are reviewed based on the following criteria:
- Timeliness & Currency: Materials should generally be no older than five (5) years, unless they are considered seminal or classic works in the field of education, and should align with current curriculum, practice, or research in education.
- Condition: Items must be in good physical condition, free from mold, excessive wear, markings, damage, or missing parts or pieces.
- Relevance: Donations must support the university’s teacher, school counselor, or school administrator education curriculum and be appropriate for use in K–12 educational settings.
- Format: Only print and media formats currently used in classrooms or teacher preparation will be accepted.
- Duplicates: We cannot accept duplicates of items that are already owned.
- Textbooks: Standard classroom textbooks are not accepted.
- Self-published Works: Self-published works are not accepted.
Please note that due to space and collection priorities, the ERC reserves the right to decline any donation or to dispose of donated materials at its discretion. All accepted donations become the property of Library Services (Maxwell Library).
For questions or to arrange a donation, please contact Christine Brown, Senior Librarian and Head of ERC, at c4brown@bridgew.edu.
Policy Adopted: October 2025