Collections Items
Hagley actively collects personal and organizational records and materials documenting the history of American business, technology, and industrial design. We also preserve corporate and organizational archives as deposits for companies and member organizations seeking to preserve their histories and make them available for research.
Hagley collects manuscripts, publications, audiovisual, and digital materials for research, as well as artifacts that support interpretation of the site or provide context for the documentary collections.
As an interested party in donations, Hagley is unable to provide an appraisal of a collection's financial value. We are glad to provide information about contacting professionals able to appraise the financial value of prospective donations to Hagley. As a non-profit institution, donors can claim a tax deduction on gifts to its collections. While the donor bears the cost of obtaining an outside appraisal, the cost of the appraisal is also tax-deductible. Hagley recommends that donors check with an attorney or financial advisor about any and all tax implications. For more information on contributions to the collections, please contact Erik Rau, Director of Library Services at (302) 658-2400, ext. 344 or erau@hagley.org.
Adopt-A-Book
If you would like to honor a loved one, colleague, or friend, please consider doing so while supporting Hagley’s mission to collect, preserve, and interpret the unfolding history of American enterprise. Your gift will enable us to build upon our world-class library collections as well as conserve these treasures for generations to come.
Donation Levels:
$50 - Reference and general collection acquisitions
$250 – Rare books and printed material acquisitions
$10,000 – Named endowment for continuous acquisition of current and rare books
An attractive bookplate will be placed inside the front cover of each adopted book underwritten by an endowment fund, indicating the donor and the person honored. In addition, the Library will send an acknowledgment letter and a copy of the bookplate to the donor and honoree. For more information on Hagley’s Adopt-a-Book program, please contact Erik Rau, Director of Library Services at (302) 658-2400, ext. 344 or erau@hagley.org.
Friends of Innovation
You can play an important role in helping Hagley preserve our extraordinary collection of American patent models by becoming a “Friend of Innovation.” The depth and breadth of this collection is impressive, drawing from a variety of subject areas and telling multiple stories of American innovation. You can play a crucial role in helping Hagley to share these stories by sponsoring a patent model.
All Friends of Innovation will be able to select a model to sponsor from a provided list and will be honored with unique recognition panels in model exhibition spaces. For more information, please contact the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
See our current Friends of Innovation and their patent models here.