Art Acceptance Policy

Town of Acton Libraries

The Acton Libraries – Acton Memorial Library and Citizens’ Library – appreciate offers to donate art or artifacts. As space for display and storage is limited and the acquisition of art and artifacts are not primary purposes of the library, this policy outlines conditions and considerations under which art or artifacts will be accepted by the library.

Acceptance of art and artifact donations is at the discretion of the library’s Board of Trustees.

The following conditions, among others, will be considered in the decision to accept works of art and artifacts:

For Art:

1. Relation of the subject or the artist to the library, Acton, or its environs
2. Size, condition and media of the work
3. Reputation of the artist
4. Inclusion of copyright permission for the artwork
5. Restrictions or stipulations on the disposition of the art
6. Provenance or other documentation of the work

For Artifacts:

1. Relation of the artifact to the library, Acton, or its environs
2. Size and condition of the artifact and what it’s made of
3. Restrictions or stipulations on the disposition of the artifact
4. Provenance or other documentation of the artifact.

The donor or their lawful agent must complete a Deed of Gift form before a gift can be accepted.

Acton Memorial Library legally cannot provide an appraisal or estimate of value on any tangible property for tax purposes. The Trustees will provide a letter acknowledging the gift and, upon request, describing the object donated for the donor’s records.

Any object accepted may be kept, displayed, sold, donated, returned or discarded at the discretion of the Library Trustees.

Donors should be aware that the library does not maintain separate insurance on donated works, and that library staff are not trained in the conservation of art works or artifacts.

Any art work or artifact donated for the purpose of sale to support the library will be returned to the donor if it is not sold as planned.

The library will maintain an inventory of donated art works and artifacts, including any works that have been discarded, sold, returned or donated.

Approved by the Board of Trustees of Acton Memorial Library this 28^th day of March, 2024.