Guide for donating material

The GSV aims to hold a major collection of family histories. Donations have been essential
to the development of the current collection. Please note: printed family histories
donated to the GSV may be transferred to the RHSV after two years.
GSV generally accepts the following material:

Compiled family histories in typed or manuscript form, including good drafts of incomplete work, and relevant supporting documents such as immigration records and military service records, research notes and correspondence. Please note, GSV prefers family histories in digital format.
Family tree charts
Birth, death and marriage certificates (originals, good copies or transcriptions)
Photographs of people – preferably identified or grouped in families.
You do not have to wait until you finish your research to donate items to us. We are happy to receive good quality copies of works in progress, certificates and photographs.
We do accept donations in digital format, such as GEDCOM files from a family history software program and good quality digital images. However, it is important to discuss this with us prior to donation to ensure that the files meet our technical standards.

Donations not accepted

Family history information resources are not acquired when that information is readily available elsewhere, online for free or from a pay-to-view website to which GSV subscribes.
Material that may be deemed to include personal information of individuals who may still be alive and which is sensitive or which may contravene the GSV Ethics Policy is not collected.
We do not accept material for which the donor is not the owner or does not have appropriate rights.
The GSV may decline material to which conditions are attached that preclude or restrain the ways in which the GSV may make it accessible to its members.
Objects such as family bibles, wedding dresses or other family heirlooms generally will not be collected, as storage constraints apply and there are other more suitable collecting institutions.
Images of Victorian buildings and scenery may be more appropriate for the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

Preparing material to give to us

Guidance should be sought from us for the preparation of donated material, especially for digital formats and for copyright issues. Please contact our library at gsvlib2@gsv.org.au.
Once material has been lodged with us it cannot be returned to you or any other person, including your beneficiaries or descendants. Should family members wish to view it in the future they will need to either be a member of the Society or pay the standard research fee.
We may choose to digitise items for permanent storage and in such circumstances may not retain the original.
The volunteers and staff who process your donation are unlikely to be familiar with the donated materials or the history of your family. It is helpful if you organise the material in a logical structure and provide a summary document. For example, you could organise your material in family groups and include a simple family tree chart to show how people are related.
If any of the material is background to a published work or a website please let us know this so we can refer to them as we process the donation.
If the material is in boxes or folders it is helpful if they are numbered and identified. If you have papers stored in plastic sleeves in folders you can leave these ‘as is’ (we will remove items from these sleeves for long-term storage once they come to us). Sticky tape, staples pins and rubber bands can cause long term damage and are best removed prior to lodgement if feasible. Sometimes items have been stored before they reach us (such as in a garage while an estate is being sorted). Please try to ensure that anything given to us is free of insect infestation such as silverfish and mould, as this can quickly spread to other areas of our collection To donate material it is preferred that the Donation to Library Collection form is filled out. All donations will be acknowledged.

Please read and complete the GSV donation form (PDF) to accompany any donated material.