Donations of university archives and ODU-related materials
If you would like to donate materials related to ODU history or records created by ODU for permanent retention, contact the University Archivist Steven Bookman:
Donations of rare books and materials documenting local, regional, and national history
For donations of all other donations, please contact Jessica Ritchie, Head of Special Collections and University Archives
Donations of books, manuscripts, archival materials and other items significantly contribute to teaching, learning, and research excellence of ODU. Many collections were established as gifts from generous alumni, faculty members and donors. A determination of whether a prospective gift enhances the value of our holdings for research, teaching and creative expression requires careful review. Staff members consider a variety of factors including, collection history, condition and existing collections strength and priorities. Our collections development strategy is also guided by our Diversity Statement.
Some helpful, general sources of information about rare books, archives and manuscript collections can be found in the Society of American Archivists’ brochures: "A Guide to Donating Your Personal or Family Papers to a Repository" and "A Guide to Donating Your Organizational Records to a Repository" and the Association of Collection Research Libraries’ “Your Old Books.”
