The Boston Globe reports that Gordon College‘s planned sale of a number of rare books in order to finance the preservation of the rest of the collection has run into a buzz saw of criticism, in part because it appears the original donor conditioned the gift on the collection remaining together. While the original gift bequest has apparently been lost, later documents indicate and the recollection of the donor’s descendants confirm this condition on the gift. On its website, the College provides more details about the controversy and indicates it is still planning to go ahead with the sale. Given that the donor’s heirs likely lack standing to challenge the planned sale, it remains to be seen whether the Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office chooses to get involved.
Lloyd Mayer
