The DC History Center is committed to collecting a variety of voices and records. In collecting historic material and contemporary documentation, we seek to deepen existing relationships, and forge new ones with local Black communities and other communities of color to ensure their records are maintained for posterity.
When assessing your donation for inclusion in our collections please consider the following:
Does your donation fit within the scope of collections?
How does the content reflect communities and histories within Washington, DC?
Is this material or book already available in our collections?
What is the condition of the materials?
For donation inquiries, please email collections@dchistory.org describing the material you wish to donate, date, record creator, size and condition, and explicit connection to DC history. Please try to be as detailed as possible and include a photograph and measurements of the materials.
For book donations, please check our catalog for duplicates prior to submitting your request, and include the title, author, and publication year.
Please note:
An offer to donate does not guarantee or confirm acceptance. Unsolicited donations and unscheduled drop-offs will not be acknowledged. The DC History Center reserves the right to transfer or dispose of all unsolicited donations as it sees fit.
The DC History Center does not accept donations through the mail or in person unless prior arrangements have been made with the collections staff.
A member of the collections staff will assess your donation for suitability for the collections, determining whether there are duplicates, if there is sufficient documentation, the material’s condition, and connection to DC history.
Evaluating collections is a careful process that takes time. The collections staff may take up to three months to reach a decision. The collections manager will be in touch with any questions and may wish to see the materials in person before making a final decision. Donations of a substantial size or monetary value may require additional assessment time.
Following acceptance, you will be issued a deed of gift to document your transfer of materials to the DC History Center.
The DC History Center does not guarantee the exhibition of any materials within its collection. Materials may be loaned to other institutions for exhibitions, and collections are made available for research purposes.
The DC History Center retains legal title of all donated materials and cannot return accessioned collections to the donor. Once your donation is accepted into the collection, you will be asked to sign a deed of gift, which legally transfers ownership of the materials to the History Center.
“Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large institutions a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their creative work under copyright law. From the reuser’s perspective, the presence of a Creative Commons license on a copyrighted work answers the questions, ‘What can I do with this work?'” – From Creativecommons.org
Visit the Creative Commons website to learn more about the different types of CC licenses. Before preparing the Deed of Gift, the Collections Manager will explain how Creative Commons would apply to your donation and discuss any related terms.
Deaccessioning, the process of removing accessioned materials from the collection, is done only under certain limited conditions. Deaccessioning may be considered for items that are no longer relevant to the DC History Center’s mission, cannot be properly stored, preserved or used; no longer retain their physical integrity, identity or authenticity; or are unnecessarily duplicated in the collections.
The DC History Center does not accept long term loans, although it does accept loan items on a short-term basis in conjunction with exhibitions and other programs.
The donation of historical materials to the DC History Center is generally tax deductible. The donor is responsible for filing the requisite tax forms for this deduction. It is recommended that you consult an accountant or the Internal Revenue Service to ensure that you receive maximum tax benefit. The donor is responsible for determining and documenting the value of the donation. The DC History Center does not provide appraisals, but a list of professional appraisers is available through the American Society of Appraisers.
Any member of the public can make an appointment at the Kiplinger Research Library to view collections during regular hours. Please see the Research Page for further information on accessing materials.
To request materials, email library@dchistory.org to schedule a research appointment. Please see the Research page for further information on accessing materials.