United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

FAQ: Donating Materials to the Library

Question: How can I donate books or journals to the Library?
Answer: To donate books or journals to the NLM, follow these steps:

Books for NLM's Current Collection (1914-present)
  1. Confirm that the NLM does not already own the book(s) you want to donate. To do this, search the NLM catalog, LocatorPlus at http://locatorplus.gov

  2. If the Library does not own the item(s), write a "gift offer" which should include:

    • A statement confirming that you checked the NLM catalog and NLM does not own the item(s).
    • Book author(s), title(s), place(s) and date(s) of publication, publisher(s), and edition statement(s)

  3. Send written offer(s) to:
    National Library of Medicine
    Selection & Acquisition Section
    Bethesda, MD 20894
    Attn: Lorretta Turnage
    (301) 496-3829
    turnagel@mail.nlm.nih.gov


Journals (all years) Donating volumes to fill gaps in the Library's collection of journals, indexes and other serials:

Books and Journals for NLM's Historical Collection (Books before 1914 and journals before 1871):

For information about donating books before 1914 and journals before 1871, go to http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/about/donate.html .

NOTE: If NLM does not need your materials, another source is the University of Buffalo Health Sciences Library's book donations Web page at http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/dokuwiki/hslwiki/doku.php?id=book_donations. This resource contains contact information for U.S. and international organizations that seek donations of books and journals.

The NLM does not do appraisals. A local public library or bookstore may be able to help.

Last reviewed: 02 March 2009
Last updated: 02 March 2009
First published: 01 January 1998
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed