--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2001 11:09:39 -0600
From: Emily Troxell Jaycox <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: map appraisers <fwd>
Sender: Emily Troxell Jaycox <[log in to unmask]>



At my institution, a historical society, much of our collection is built by
donation, and my colleagues and I (archivists, curators, etc.) deal frequently
with donors.  Our institutional policy is that we do not do appraisals for
donors.  It is our understanding that the IRS frowns on the recipient of a
donation also performing the appraisal - it is a conflict of interest.
We do send donors a document called a Contract of Gift, which we ask them to
sign. This indicates that the item is theirs to give and we may use it in
accordance with ethical procedures (this allows us to store it as we see fit,
exhibit it, reproduce it in conformity with copyright guidelines, etc.). We also
send a thank you letter, and their name appears in our annual report under
"Donors to the Collections."
Many times, this is all far more than the donor thought they were getting into
when they offered us the item, but as a historical society/museum we feel we
must have clear title to and accountability for our collections.  The gift
interaction often becomes an educational experience for the donor. It can be
time consuming, but if handled well, it makes a new friend for our institution -
a person with a better understanding of how our collections are built and used.
We do supply a list of local (in St. Louis) dealers and appraisers of books and
manuscripts; one of them  - Phyllis Brown - concentrates exclusively on prints
and maps.
Occasionally, a donor of a desirable item is adamant about getting something
from us about valuation, and can't be talked out of it.  In one or two cases, I
have researched the auction history of the item (these were books, not maps)
and written a letter, which I stated was NOT an appraisal, but a summary of
information obtained from published sources such as Bookman's Price Index. I
added caveats that condition and demand are very important in determining value,
and the items sold at auction in X year at X price may not reflect current
market demand or the condition of the donated item. The donors were satisfied
with this.

Emily Troxell Jaycox, Librarian
Missouri Historical Society

Johnnie Sutherland wrote:

> --- Begin Forwarded Message ---
> Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 11:48:47 -0700
> From: "FilarZ, Beth" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: map appraisers
> Sender: "FilarZ, Beth" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Hi -
>
> Recently, I was asked to appraise an historical map for a library donor. I
> personally do not feel qualified to do so but was wondering if there are
> other map librarians that do this?
>
> And I was also wondering if there were map appraisers (possibly in Colorado)
> that other  librarians might recommend? I would like to have some names to
> pass this on to people that inquiry about map appraisal.
>
> Thanks!
> Beth
>
> ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
> Elisabeth Filar Williams
> Assistant Professor/ GIS&Map Librarian
> University of Colorado at Boulder
> University Libraries * Campus Box 184
> Boulder, Colorado 80309-0184
> phone: 303-735-4917 * fax:303-735-4879
> http://www-libraries.colorado.edu/ps/map/frontpage.htm
> ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
> --- End Forwarded Message ---
--- End Forwarded Message ---