Over the years, the holdings of the Virginia Room have grown as the result of generous donations of rare and unique materials. The Virginia Room continues to welcome such gifts in order to enhance the research value of its collections. This can be best accomplished by ensuring that materials offered to the
Virginia Room are a good match with its collecting interests.
Prior to donating materials to the Virginia Room, please see the list below regarding acceptable and unacceptable materials.
For questions or to discuss a donation, please email or call the Virginia Room (virginiaroom@gmail.com, 540.853.2073).
Items we accept:
- Books not currently in the Virginia Room collection. This includes compilations of records,family histories, yearbooks for area schools, published works of local and state historicalinterest, Virginia county and city histories, and military histories.
- Photographs – identified and unframed.
- Genealogical research manuscript collections related to families with ties to the Roanoke Valley.
- Historical research manuscript collections regarding subjects related to the Roanoke Valley.
- Business and Organizational records related to local businesses and organizations.
Items accepted on a limited basis:
- Scrapbooks
- Architectural drawings
- Maps
- Serials
- Audio-visual materials
- Microfilm and microfiche
Items we do not accept:
- Duplicate copies of materials already in the collection
- Original newspapers
- Unidentified and/or framed photographs
- Art
- Artifacts, including trophies, awards, diplomas.
- Textiles
- National or widely available publications
- Records that include sensitive information, such as account numbers, social security numbers, medical information, etc.
- Ephemera, such as greeting cards, stamps, brochures, etc.
- Moldy or damaged items
- Works of fiction, including novels and poetry
How to Donate:
- Tell us about your donation – Please email or call the Virginia Room (virginiaroom@gmail.com,540.853.2073) to discuss your donation. When donating books, please provide a list of titles/authors for staff to determine whether or not the books are good match with Virginia Room collecting interests and
are not duplicate copies already included in the collection. Unsolicited drop-offs are not accepted. - Transfer – Once materials are accepted, we will arrange a time to transfer the materials to the library either by donor drop-off, mail, or staff pick-up.
- Deed of Gift Form – During the transfer process, donors fill out a Deed of Gift Form. The Deed of Gift transfers legal ownership of the collection to the library. The donor has the option to indicate if they would like items not retained by the library to either be returned to donor or disposed of as the library sees fit.
- Appraisals or Storage – Virginia Room staff will not appraise collections for monetary value for tax purposes. We do not accept collections for the purpose of temporary or long-term storage. All collections must be formally donated to the Virginia Room via a signed Deed of Gift.
- Access – After materials have been processed or cataloged, they will be made available to the public without restriction.
Monetary Donations:
Monetary donations are gratefully accepted on the Roanoke Public Library Foundation page. Donations to the Roanoke Public Library Foundation enables the Virginia Room to purchase materials, equipment, and supplies to continue the mission of preservation and access.