Donations

How To Donate

Central to the mission of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives is the collection and preservation of unique and historical materials for learning and research. Over the past century, hundreds of individuals and organizations have generously donated materials to our collections. If you have or know of appropriate materials, we encourage you to contact us to discuss the possibility of a donation. You can get a general sense of what we collect by referring to our Collecting Areas Page. Or, you can also refer to the Society of American Archivists website to consult a number of online brochures on donating personal papers and organizational records.

We encourage you to contact our staff directly, who can speak to you about the historic value of your books and papers. We can also advise you on which repository would be best suited for your items. If you choose to donate materials to UNCG, we will work with you both in preparing the materials to be transferred and also in completing a Deed of Gift. If you have additional materials for a collection, please fill out a Deed of Gift Addendum. Your materials will be placed in a secure and climate-controlled storage space. Professional staff will oversee their handling and use.

Handling of the Donated Items

Once the materials are transferred to the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, staff will organize the items, and, if appropriate, a bibliographical record and/or finding aid will be created to describe the content and the arrangement. The donation will be available to researchers after it is organized, physically stabilized, and prepared for use. In addition, the department will provide reference services for the donation and, if appropriate, will have the materials listed in national and international bibliographic sources.

Monetary Donations and Endowments

The preparing of papers for use by researchers is a very expensive operation. Thus, we welcome monetary donations to support the cataloging, conservation, digitization, and use of Special Collections and University Archives collections. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives does a number of endowed funds that support collection growth, special projects, conservation of items, or public programming. Donors can give to these established funds or choose to create a new fund with a specific purpose. All contributions are tax deductible.

If you wish to make a donation of materials, we encourage you to make an appointment in advance. Please direct all calls, emails, and letters to:

Kathelene McCarty Smith
Department Head
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives
UNCG University Libraries
318 Jackson Library
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402

Phone: 336.334.5246
Email: [email protected]