William Miller, Richard Hammill, Lucinda Hall, Leona Glidden Running, John Nevins Andrews and Roy Allen Anderson. What do these people have in common?
Their words and faces are important to modern day researchers in the fascinating field of Seventh-day Adventist Church history. Their writings and other materials are the resources for dissertations, books, articles, and much discussion. They also all have collections of documents named after them or have donated documents, photographs, artifacts, and other items to the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University. Many of these resources are now available to the faculty and students of Andrews University as well as scholars from around the world for historical research.
You, too, can join this group of distinguished individuals. Research centers within the Seventh-day Adventist Church depend on donors like you. If you are a Seventh-day Adventist layman, leader, scholar, or the relative of one, and have a collection of documents or other items of historical value to the study of the Adventist Movement, the Center for Adventist Research would like to include you among the hundreds of other names in our inventory of collection donors. You are the one who holds the recent heritage of the church in your files and libraries. What you wrote or collected throughout your career or received from earlier generations may have research value beyond your imagination.
- Correspondence (both personal and career-related), especially as it relates to biographical facts or church-related activities.
- Article and book manuscripts, papers you have written or collected.
- Notes on topics associated with the Adventist Church and your career within it.
- Sermons, syllabi, lecture notes, and classroom materials.
- Personal documentation including certificates, awards, diplomas, and licenses.
- Diaries, journals, and appointment books.
- Autobiographies, biographies, and family and genealogical information.
- Audio-Visual items such as cassette and reel to reel tapes, phonograph records, other sound recordings, video tapes, and motion pictures. It is very helpful if these are identified as to speaker, date, and title as far as possible.
- Photographs (please identify on the back who is in it and when and where the photo was taken).
- Books, pamphlets or periodicals by or about Seventh-day Adventists.
- Digital files are acceptable as long as there is information about what is on the media and what format it may be. Digital data is often not long lived, so very old formats and media may be of limited or no value.
- Objects, artifacts or three-dimensional items, which clearly relate to the mission, activities, or culture of the Adventist Church or your work for the Church.
- Collectibles such as stamps, coins, or other such objects if there is some discernible theme that relates to the mission, activities, or culture of the Adventist Church. We can accept collectibles for sale if there is no direct connection to you.
- Financial contributions are always welcome.
Contact the Center for Adventist Research and share your Adventist heritage with future generations today!
Phone: 269.471.3209
E-mail: car@andrews.edu
Please contact the Center before sending a donation. While our collection development interests are very broad we do have some limitations on what we wish to collection. Once you have word from the Center carefully pack your donation. Use sturdy boxes and tape them well. We find that UPS and FedEx Ground work very well for shipping with containers generally arriving in good shape. The Post Office is not as good in this regard though we do not recall any that have been unrecoverable.
All gifts that are accepted by the Center become the property of the Center, which reserves the right to determine the use and disposition of the gifts. We of course work closely with the donor to abide by their wishes to the extent possible. Please bear in mind that the Center does not guarantee all items donated will be a permanent part of the collection. We may already have copies of it that are in better condition or it may be something we do not wish to add to our collection as it is outside of our collection development policy. Donors should let us know if they wish unwanted items returned to them. Otherwise we will process unwanted materials to other library collections or offer them to a group of selected international Adventist institutions of higher education.
Donations may be dropped off at the Center for Adventist Research during open hours, or they may be shipped to the following address:
Center for Adventist Research
James White Library
Andrews University
4190 Administration Drive
Berrien Springs, Michigan 49104-1440 USA
Large shipments that will be on a pallet and require a forklift should be directed to the following address.
Center for Adventist Research
c/o Custodial Services
Andrews University
8545 E. Campus Circle Drive
Berrien Springs, Michigan 49104-1440 USA
Custodial Service has a full loading dock capability and space for semi-trailer trucks to maneuver. Their receiving times are Monday to Thursday 8:30 am to 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm and 8:30 am to 11:30 am on Friday. Acknowledgement The Center for Adventist Research provides written acknowledgement for all gifts. Deed of Gift For larger donations and especially collections of manuscripts or papers, we will ask the donor to complete a Deed of Gift form. This legal document certifies that the donated material is yours to donate, that you transfer all property rights to the Center, and that you give us literary rights as well, including the right to digitize and make publicly available. We may modify some aspects of this document based on the circumstances. We are also open to negotiate the provisions of this document when necessary. When you sign and return the Deed of Gift, the donated material becomes part of the collection of the Center for Adventist Research. Appraisal Policy In certain circumstances, donations may qualify as tax-deductible, entitling donors to an income tax deduction by claiming a gift as a charitable donation. The Center is not a tax expert and does not offer tax advice. Donors are encouraged to speak with their tax accountants or attorneys about this possibility.
By law, Center staff cannot give tax advice or appraise the monetary value of a collection since we are not licensed to do so. Licensed appraisers should be available in your neighborhood who can appraise the value of a prospective donation before you send it to the Center.
To qualify as acceptable for income tax use, the appraisal must be performed by an objective, qualified appraiser, unconnected with either the donor or the institution, hired for this purpose by the donor. While the Center can help facilitate access to the collection material at the Center, it is the donor’s responsibility to arrange for and bear the cost of any appraisal. As mentioned above this is best done before sending the donation to the Center. An appraisal is totally optional and up to you, the donor. From our experience most donors do not go through this process and expense. However, if you do wish to take full advantage of the applicable tax law in this matter and your tax situation allows you to do so you should consult a tax expert. You may need the services of a licensed appraiser. Appraisals of the Gift-in-kind You can use the signed Deed of Gift as an acknowledgment of your donation to the Center for Adventist Research. We will also send you a thank you letter which may be used as well. Due to conflict of interest laws, the Center may not provide an appraised value for donated artifacts. If a value is needed for tax purposes, a donor must consult an independent appraiser to obtain an appraisal of value. For your convenience, we have included below a list of local professional appraisers and the national organization of appraisers. The Center is in no way affiliated with these organizations or individuals.
You can find appraisers in your phone book. You might also look for these services under the headings of “antiques” and “estate sales.” You can also contact the American Society of Appraisers for a referral of one of their members that is located in your area. They can be contacted at 1-800-272-8258, or you can get a referral from their website at Appraisers.org. You may also get an online appraisal, usually by answering some questions, submitting a digital photo, and paying a flat fee. Two websites offering this service are:
You may also consult an antiques price guide. These are available at your local library or bookstore in the antiques and collectibles section. There is also online antiques price guides, and a listing of some of these services with links can be found at TheSpruceCrafts.com. The Internal Revenue Service publishes some general guidelines in their documentation about gifts-in-kind. You may find this online at the IRS website or through your tax accountant or attorney.
Please understand that, while we are happy to provide you with this information we cannot recommend any of these services, nor can we vouch for any information they might provide. Instructions for donors seeking IRS tax deduction: For those seeking an IRS tax deduction, a “fair market value” must be entered on the Gifts-in-Kind Record form. “Fair Market Value” is defined by IRS as “the price a willing, knowledgeable buyer would pay a willing, knowledgeable seller, when neither has to buy or sell”.
If your contribution is valued at more than $500 and you wish to take a federal income tax deduction, the Internal Revenue Service requires you to complete IRS Form 8283 If your contribution is valued at more than $5,000 and you wish to take a federal income tax deduction, the Internal Revenue Service requires a qualified appraisal. Consult IRS publication 561: “Determining the Value of Donated Property.” If you obtain a qualified appraisal, please include a copy of that appraisal with your gift.
Thank you for your kindness and generosity to the Center for Adventist Research.