A Study of Commercial Libraries: Focusing on Charging for Information

Abstract

This study examines commercial libraries as a service model that attempts to balance the professional mission of the library with the requirements of financial sustainability, with particular emphasis on charging for information and fee-based information services. The study draws on a review of relevant literature, as well as four survey-based investigations targeting users and visitors of commercial libraries, non-users, and beneficiaries of telephone enquiry services, in addition to an analysis of income-generation practices in selected public-sector libraries within an Arab context that included the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. The findings reveal a gap between recognition of the importance of the library and actual awareness of its services. They also indicate that the services most acceptable for fee payment were CD-ROM services, direct services, and telephone enquiry services. The study further shows that library income-generation programs do not necessarily produce high net returns, since many initiatives recover only direct costs rather than full operating costs. It concludes that the success of commercial-library or fee-based information-service models depends on clear pricing policies, rigorous cost analysis, effective service marketing, improved accessibility, and adequate managerial and technological support capable of balancing user satisfaction, economic viability, and institutional sustainability.