Donate to the library
The Rodney Seaborn Library accepts donated materials that are relevant to our existing collections. We welcome the opportunity to discuss potential donations to our collection; however, we are limited in the quantity of donations we can accept.
To learn more about the kinds of materials we are interested in and how to donate to the library, select the drop-down boxes for more information.
What are we looking for?
We can only accept donations which are relevant to the needs and requirements of NIDA's current teaching programs.
We accept:
- classic play scripts, unmarked, in excellent or near-new condition (to replace existing shelf-copies)
- recent play scripts, unmarked and in excellent condition
- DVDs of arthouse and feature films
- photographic books often illustrating specific time-periods
- sound recordings illustrating the history of music, with particular emphasis on music theatre materials (CD format, not LPs or cassettes)
- sound recordings of dialects (CD format, not LPs or cassettes), preferably recordings of native speakers.
We are less likely to accept:
- books on theatre and drama (we are well-covered in this area)
- books about film, television, opera or ballet
- encyclopaedias or dictionaries
- video and sound recordings in outdated formats, such as VHS and cassette
- novels
- books of a general nature, that is, not related to the performing arts
- outdated textbooks, newspapers, popular magazines and incomplete runs of serials.
Financial donations
We welcome financial donations to support our purchases, and subscriptions of theatre and drama-related online databases. Donations over $2 are tax deductible. For more information on how to make a financial donation to the library please visit Supporters.
Donating to the library
To offer a donation to the library, please complete the Donations Form and either email it to us or post it to:
Library Manager
Rodney Seaborn Library
NIDA
215 Anzac Parade
Kensington NSW 2033
Hardcopies of the donation form are also available from the library for NIDA staff, students and graduates.
Under what conditions will NIDA accept your donation?
Financial and material donations:
- become the property of the Rodney Seaborn Library and cannot be claimed back at a later date
- are not accepted as a long-term loan.
Material donations:
- will be integrated into the existing collection and are subject to the same conditions of use as the rest of the collection
- must be in excellent condition, unmarked, and not require any kind of repair
- must be relevant to the teaching and research programs of NIDA, ideally falling into at least one of our nine disciplines: Acting, Design for Performance, Directing, Costume, Musical Theatre, Technical Theatre and Stage Management, Properties and Objects, Staging and Writing for Performance.
- that incur freight costs are to be paid for by the donor
- can be disposed of by the library if they are not accepted for inclusion. Such items are usually sold to raise money for further acquisitions, or are donated to an appropriate institution.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge donations in a number of ways, including:
- by letter – for collections of items where the donor is known
- inserting a bookplate* into donated books, on request.
*a small print or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner.