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Just a short word on the subject of Appraisal of Gifts.  As the recepient
of a gift of library material (not cash or its equivalent), you cannot
participate in making an evaluation of the gift that the patron would use
before the IRS.  The most you should do is offer (as you imply that you
have) catalogs with prices of dealers, or the names of at least three
dealers that are qualified to appraise the subject material.
 
I have had no problem indicating to the donor which one(s) of the three
had experience with the type of material -- strictly a factual statement
-- not an opinion as to which would give the best appraisal.
 
The donor must make the choice of appraisers, but certainly cooperation
between the donor and the recepient is o.k.; e.g., making available to the
appraiser the material in a convenient and timely manner, etc.
 
These matters are best handled at arm's length.  The IRS may require proof
of value from a qualified appraiser (the qualifications of which the IRS
is unwilling to specify; except to maintain that the appraiser must be
someone "recognized" by others in the profession as "qualified and
knowledgeable" about the fair-market-value of the material.)
 
In the case of National Geograpic maps, I would think a used book store
might be the best evaluator.  They probably get dozens of offers for NGS
magazines and maps every year.
 
For rare or antique maps, David Jolly's work on prices is the best tool.
In the case of Jolly, the prices he quotes are the "asking" price by
dealers in antique maps.  Certainly the compilation of information from
his annual list would not be an expression of opinion by you, rather a
compilation of fact -- one which the donor may find useable.  But then, if
you have a donor that can compile his/her own information from Jolly - so
much the better.
 
Stan Stevens  UC/Santa Cruz   [log in to unmask]
 
 
On Fri, 24 Sep 1993, Eric Schmidt wrote:
 
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>         We have received a number of gift maps this week from a patron who
>     is now interested in placing a value on her donation in order to
>     reflect it on her tax returns. This would not ordinarily pose a problem
>     as we have a large collection of catalogs and price lists. But, a large
>     number of these maps are National Geographic Maps - some quite old,
>     some not quite so old. My question to the list is if anyone may know
>     of, or have a price-list from any company or sales agent who resells
>     these types of maps? Or if none of the above are available, does any
>     one know of a way to effectivly place a value on these materials. I
>     know it's difficult sight unseen.
>         Thanks in advance.
>
>     Eric Schmidt
>     University of Tennessee
>     Cartographic Information Center
>     [log in to unmask]