Surplus Furniture and Equipment

It is the policy of Worthington Public Library to dispose of library materials, furniture and equipment that is no longer functional or useful. The Fiscal Officer shall be responsible for the sale or disposal in the most cost effective and efficient manner of all library furniture and equipment that is no longer of any use to the Library. Department Managers will be responsible for reporting to the Fiscal Officer any items needing to be disposed of and for filling out the appropriate forms.

When an item no longer has value to the Library, it will be removed from inventory and disposed of:

1. The Worthington Libraries Board of Trustees and the Friends Foundation Board sign an annual agreement outlining their distinct relationship and mutual obligations concerning discarded and donated materials. Pursuant to this agreement, the majority of books and other library materials, no longer deemed appropriate for the collection, will be sold to the Friends Foundation of Worthington Libraries. The Friends Foundation resell these items or donate them directly to schools and community groups. The library director also has the authority to donate items discarded from the library's collection directly to schools and community groups. Books and other items donated by community members will be evaluated for addition to the collection. If deemed inappropriate, these items will be donated to the Friends Foundation of Worthington Libraries.
2. Computer equipment, no longer of use to the Library, may be donated directly to a school district for use in their educational program, to non-profit charitable organizations that repurpose computer equipment, or to the Friends Foundation of Worthington Libraries. Computer equipment may be sold to a technology recycling company or processed by a technology equipment disposal firm if school districts, non-profit charitable organizations, and the Friends Foundation do not accept donations.*
3. Furniture and equipment, no longer of use to the Library, the value of which is less than $300.00, may be donated by the Library to a non-profit, charitable organization or to another library system.*
4. Items not covered by the above will be sold through auction (including on-line auction) or publicly advertised sale with any proceeds from such sale being deposited to the General Fund of the Library. Prior to such sale, the Fiscal Officer will prepare a list of those items to be included in the sale for approval by the Board of Trustees.*
5. If an item is determined by the Fiscal Officer to have marginal or no resale value, or it does not sell through auction or publicly advertised sale, it may be sold or discarded in the best interest of the Library.
6. The Fiscal Officer is authorized to accept trade-in allowances on any item of equipment being replaced or upgraded for which a trade-in allowance is offered.

In an instance where an item of surplus inventory is determined by the Director or Fiscal Officer to have unusual, historic or artistic value such items may be referred to the Board for determination of value which determination may include the services of a professional appraiser or outside expert opinion.

*The Department Manager and Library Manager who declare an item to be surplus, Executive Team staff, Finance staff, members of the Board of Trustees and immediate family members of the above, are not permitted to purchase or otherwise acquire that item(s)