We continue to build our collections to support research and instruction, and appreciate donor contributions that allow for the acquisition of special items on our wish list.

To help us acquire an item from the list below, contact us at librarydevelopment@umich.edu.

$80,000 and above

Deanship of the University of Michigan Library endowment

The U-M Library is in a period of rapid growth as it adapts to the changing needs of users. Endowing the deanship helps us continue to explore new ways of providing the finest content, access, and expertise.

Head, Special Collections Research Center endowment

Endowing this position is a crucial step to ensure that the Special Collections Research Center has the leadership and expertise necessary to maintain its prominence and relevance for students and researchers.

Curator, Labadie Collection

A gift to endow the curatorship of the Labadie Collection will support the oldest publicly accessible archive of materials from social protest movements and marginalized political communities in the U.S. The Labadie Collection is the most used of all the library's special collections and is a unique and important resource for students and researchers at U-M and around the world. This endowment would ensure the dedicated curation and leadership necessary to steward and grow the collection.

Named and renovated spaces

$100,000 and up

Spaces throughout the library that support a range of disciplines and activities are awaiting renovation. Choose a space that supports and enhances scholarship in any area of interest to you. Your support will help students and faculty advance the university's mission.

$5,000 to $80,000

Make a U-M Press disciplinary book series fully open access

$20,000 – $30,000

The U-M Press publishes series in many areas of interest, especially political science, disability studies, poets and poetry, classical studies, and performing arts. Most series publish two to three books each year. This gift would enable a U-M Press editor to publish a book series open access for one year. When you enable the open-access publishing of a disciplinary book series, you'll be acknowledged in every book within the series that the gift enabled and in publicity about those books. Additional opportunities exist to endow a named book series or disciplinary theme area.

Study carrel project

$10,000 – $15,000 per carrel

Your gift will make it possible for us to outfit one study carrel in the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library with new carpeting, fresh paint, a reading lamp, and a comfortable chair. These special carrels are highly sought after by students, who can reserve them for a week or more at a time. In appreciation of your generosity, we’ll install a plaque featuring your name on the wall outside the carrel.

Enable a U-M Press author to publish their book open access

$5,000 – $10,000

When an e-book is made available free of charge, it relieves students of the burden of textbook costs, enables access for scholars, and dramatically expands global readership. In appreciation of your funding an open-access title, you'll be acknowledged within the book and in publicity about the book.

$1,000 to $5,000

The Illuminated Fightbook: Royal Armouries Manuscript I.33

$1,200 (Royal Armouries edition)

Richly illustrated, depicting a priest instructing a scholar in a system of combat with sword and shield, and with text and verse in Latin and German, this title would complement the library's strength in collecting early modern military history. Published in London by Extraordinary Editions, 2011, it includes 2 volumes, a 68 page facsimile, and a 128 page companion. 

$100 to $1,000

Computer and video games and equipment

The Shapiro Library seeks any games, and the equipment on which they were played, for our Computer and Video Game Archive.