Besides the issue of limited space, we cannot assume liability for property that is not ours. Under some circumstances we will accept temporary loans, especially of specific articles to be used in exhibits. We try to avoid collecting duplicate material. If a collection largely overlaps material that we already have, or that is collected by a different institution such as another archive or a library, we might decline it. In the latter case, we might also suggest donating the material to the institution whose focus more closely matches that material.
Material is more likely to be duplicate if it is published matter rather than personal papers.
Clippings from major newspapers and magazines are usually considered duplicate material, because these publications are collected and available for viewing at libraries. On the other hand, material from publications that a public library is not likely to collect is definitely of interest to us. Two distinct ownership rights are involved in donating unpublished material. Legal title refers to the physical ownership of property. Copyright refers to ownership of the intellectual and creative content of the material.