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Help wanted - fees for services



Greetings to all!

A new twist on an old theme: The issue of fees for archives services is
being discussed again. A couple of ideas for which I need advice and
suggestions are being considered.

First, it's been suggested that we charge for all research and reference
services, regardless of how little time and work is involved. Do any of you
do this? If so, how do you make it worthwhile to do it without having fees
so high that you drive away researchers? Do you have a minimum fee that
applies to all researchers, regardless of time and work done? My concern is
that I'll end up spending more time doing paperwork to account for the fees
than I will doing the reference work.

Second, it's being said that researchers should be charged for all
photocopies, even if it's just one or two. Again, how to make this
worthwhile without losing business and tying the office manager and me up
with paperwork for $1.00 invoices to account for them? (It should be
mentioned that almost all requests for copies are from off-site and are paid
by credit card.)

Third, I have a lot of inquiries that I cannot answer. Obviously, there
would be no grounds to charge people if the information is entirely beyond
the scope of our collections, but in many cases I have to spend time looking
(due to lack of cataloging) for information that we might have but don't.
It's being said that we should charge for time spent doing this as well. Any
comments?

Finally, once in a while I get a dear soul who has me pull all sorts of
records and then decides not to have them copied. Can fees be charged in
these cases? I know that auto shops and other repair services charge just to
do diagnostics; can that be extended to us charging just to look for
information, whether or not - due to either our not having anything or the
researcher changing his/her mind - we actually provide it?

As always, many thanks for all advice and guidance.

And, for those who've been following my saga, things have improved
dramatically. Scars remain, but the new management has shown a real interest
in working with me; and while they are going to have me working less on the
collections and more on a limited group of other activities, they have been
extremely supportive and appreciative. I can honestly say I feel better
about the situation here than I have in a couple of years. Thanks to all for
your support, encouragement and understanding.

Best wishes,

Thomas Berry, Archivist
Historical Construction Equipment Association
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
Phone 419-352-5616
Fax 419-352-6086
tberry@hcea.net
http://www.hcea.net

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