Giving to the Libraries
You can take an active role in helping us to fill our shelves and enhance our collections by making an annual or a one-time donation, creating an endowment, or pledging a future gift.
Make an Impact Today
One-time and annual gifts are two simple ways to have an immediate impact on the
Libraries. Designate the gift to purchase resources for a particular discipline
or to assist the Libraries in a project or initiative, or leave it unrestricted,
to be used where most needed.
GIVE NOW
Establish an Endowment
Establishing an endowment is one way to ensure funds are available annually for
a particular need. Endowments can be designated by the donor to support Library
resources for a specific program within the University or to remain unrestricted
to meet the most critical needs. When naming the endowment, a donor may choose
to create it in their own name or to honor a loved one or a favorite professor.
Leave a Legacy
Many choose to look toward the future by including a bequest in their will. There
are multiple planned giving options. A bequest could be used to create an endowment
or to direct funds to a particular area of interest. There are multiple methods
to fund a bequest. Information about planned giving is also available on the
WVU Foundation’s website.
However you choose to help the WVU Libraries, it will be greatly appreciated. To discuss making a donation, creating an endowment, or writing a bequest, please contact Paula Martinelli at (304) 293-0303 or paula.martinelli@mail.wvu.edu.
Funding Priorities
- Along with physical books, we purchase electronic journals, eBooks, databases, and other digital resources. Increasing our electronic resources gives students and faculty around-the-clock access to the latest developments in their fields.
- One area that sets us apart from other academic libraries is our Special Collections, which include the West Virginia and Regional History Center, the Rare Book Room, West Virginia History OnView, Civil War Telegram Series, and historical newspapers.
- We need funds to acquire and preserve artifacts, rare books, manuscripts, and other materials. A component of preserving items is digitization, which allows us to provide access to a facsimile of the item and the information it contains while protecting the original. Examples of our digitization efforts: West Virginia History OnView and Civil War Telegram Series.
- The Rare Book Room’s foundation was laid by a gift from alumnus Arthur S. Dayton, a booklover who amassed an impressive collection of rare volumes dating from the 15th century to the early 20th century. Among the gems are the Nuremberg Chronicle, a 15th century illustrated history of the world, and Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather’s Magnalia Christi Americana. The collection also includes first editions of many legendary authors, including John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Paradise Regain’d, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer.
For more on our needs, read our Case Statement for the University’s Capital Campaign.
Naming Opportunities
Downtown Campus Library
Access Services – $500,000
Research Services Department – $500,000
Atrium – $500,000
Second floor window bay – $250,000
Media Center – $200,000
Large Group Viewing Room – $100,000
Electronic Instruction Room – $100,000
Map Room – $100,000
Flexible study space – $100,000
Classroom – $50,000
Large Group Study Room (2) – $50,000
Small Group Study Room (9) – $25,000
Half-round study carrel (21) – $5,000
Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library
West Virginia and Regional History Center and Special Collections – $3 million
Rare Book Room – $500,000
Evansdale Library
Research/Access Services Area – $500,000
Small Group Study Room (18) – $25,000
Large Group Study Room (8) – $50,000
Classroom – $50,000
Deep Quiet Space – $50,000
Children’s Literature Collection – $25,000
Half-round study carrel (7) – $5,000
Health Sciences Library
Lobby – $250,000
Display Cases (3) – $10,000
Small Group Study Room (6) – $25,000
Large Group Study Room (2) – $50,000
History of Medicine Study Area – $25,000
Half-round study carrel (5) – $5,000
Become a Friend of the WVU Libraries
A great university requires a great library, and private giving is essential to a great library. The WVU Libraries count on friends who understand that the Libraries are central to the University’s mission.
Friends of the WVU Libraries will receive Ex Libris, our bi-annual magazine, and invitations to special events and receptions at the Libraries. You can become a Friend with an annual gift of $50. Individuals who establish an endowment or make a planned gift become lifetime members of the Friends.
You can make your gift now or by check. Please make gifts payable to WVU Foundation/WVU
Libraries and mail to:
Friends of the WVU Libraries
WVU Foundation
One Waterfront Place
P.O. Box 1650
Morgantown, WV 26507-1650
For more information about the Friends of the WVU Libraries, contact Paula Martinelli, Director of Development, at (304) 293-0303 or paula.martinelli@mail.wvu.edu.
Gifts of Books and Materials
West Virginia University Libraries welcome and encourage gifts of books and materials for the libraries that support the University’s curriculum and research objectives.
Subject Librarians review gift volumes for retention. Needs of the collection, individual subject collecting practices, and physical condition are all factors in retention decisions. Items in poor physical condition will not be retained except by prior special arrangement with one of our special collections bibliographers.
The Libraries do not accept conditions with regard to the processing, retention or housing of gift items. The library may add items to the collection, sell or dispose of items in accordance with University policy, or donate items to other libraries if more appropriate for another collection. Proceeds from the sale of donated materials which are not added to the collection will support the acquisition of new library materials.
Because the library does not accept conditions as to retention or treatment of individual items or collections, the Library encourages individuals to contact our special collections bibliographers directly in cases of unusual gifts or large collections needing individual attention. Bibliographers for these collections are listed below.
The Libraries encourage donors to consider, for their own interest, obtaining an appraisal of their gifts for income tax purposes prior to donation. The library does not create or retain a listing of donated items and will not be able to provide information other than the number of items donated.
To be accepted, all gifts must fall within the guidelines of the Libraries’ collection development policies. Some basic guidelines are listed here:
- Print journal issues are not added to the collection when access to the same content is available in an online format.
- Textbooks are not routinely added to the collection, except in response to specific faculty requests.
- Mass market paperback or trade paperback editions are not added to the collection, except in cases where it is the only edition available in print.
- In general, the Libraries do not retain duplicates or items in poor condition.
Special Collections Bibliographers: