Giving to Harvard Libraries
Legendary Collections
Since 1638, generous support of alumni/ae and friends has been key to building and sustaining Harvard's library collections. Nearly 375 years after John Harvard's bequest, Harvard University is the steward of one of the five great libraries of the world. Today, the Harvard collections are peerless in magnitude, global reach, and overall breadth.
Throughout history, the strength of the Harvard collections has been derived from visionary gifts that support acquisitions and collections.
Collecting for the Future
To reflect the complex world of scholarship and information in the 21st century, the Harvard Libraries must acquire, disseminate, and preserve information in all the forms in which it is created. Today's acquisitions range from traditionally published books to “born digital” objects that exist only in cyberspace. The Harvard Libraries provide the University's faculty, students, and researchers—now and in the future—with comprehensive access over time to all of these materials.
New levels of support are needed to strengthen traditional as well as digital collections and to acquire the full range of materials worldwide.
Unique Materials
Harvard's library holdings embrace thousands upon thousands of individual items that are historical, rare, or unique. These materials range from illuminated manuscripts and the earliest of printed books to photographs gathered since the dawn of photography, as well as personal papers and organizational records, cartographic holdings from around the world, and much more. The experience of working with these materials is an irreplaceable part of a Harvard education.
Increasing access to unique materials demands increased investment in preservation and digitization.
Outstanding Services
Legendary collections linked to high levels of service lead to effective learning, cutting-edge research, and vital new knowledge. To implement its many forms of service, the University must retain and cultivate an exemplary cadre of librarians, archivists, technologists, and other dedicated professionals who serve the University with tremendous skill and innovation. It is in the hands of these extraordinary individuals that the Harvard collections come alive every day.
Underwriting for strategic positions across the library system adds important value to Harvard's legendary collections.
Meaningful Opportunities
The Harvard Libraries provide every donor with the opportunity to make a unique gift that reflects personal interests and intellectual commitments. The Libraries will work with you to create a gift that is truly meaningful—to you and to Harvard's students, faculty, and reseachers.
- Endowment opportunities, which begin at $25,000, offer special rewards to donors and library patrons alike.
- Gifts of any size are vital in addressing ongoing challenges and meeting today's needs.
- If you are an alumnus/a, you will receive full class credit for your library gift or pledge.
All gifts to Harvard's libraries are tax-deductible under the full extent of the law. You may receive additional tax benefits by making a gift of securities. Please contact the Harvard Management Company at 866.845.6596 or security_gifts@hmc.harvard.edu.
Giving to Harvard Libraries
You may make your gift online by visiting the web site http://www.haa.harvard.edu and choosing "Make a Gift."
Or, you may send your gift or pledge commitment to:
- Peggy Davis Molander
Director of Development
Widener Library 110
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
Planned gifts provide an opportunity for you to make a significant gift to the Harvard Libraries while preserving income or principal for yourself or your heirs. To learn more about these opportunities, contact the University Planned Giving Office at 800.446.1277 or http://www.haa.harvard.edu/pgo.
Thank you for your generosity.
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"A great collection of books, like a museum of natural history or archaeology, is not only to be made useful to the present generation, it is also to be transmitted safely to future generations."
—Charles William Eliot, 1873
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