Regarding rare titles, we're fortunate the Internet provides so many opportunities to obtain the texts.
What's unfortunate is that, in private hands, rare books are always offered for sale at exorbitant prices due to their scarcity.
People should get a good price they for what they own. But religious books aren't meant to be museum pieces. When these are works are hoarded as investments, their spiritual value is lost. The true value is only available when the book is published and distributed. They aren't the kind of gold to be hoarded away from the people.
Often we find no other way to acquire certain titles than to just pay the asking price. Once acquired, we digitize the book through our regular process, and return the text to the public in print, and make it available as a freely downloadable text through our Scholarly repositories, so that anyone and everyone has access to it.
This important purpose therefore, is one of the rare occasions we ask for donations. This fund is solely for the acquisition of books.
Also, If you're in possession of a rare book or manuscript, the please consider donating it to the Rare Adventist Book Project. You can optionally have it returned to you, unharmed.
Thank you, and please-- consider us in your giving!