7. Rightsholder and User Issues
B. User Issues (continued)
User Fees and Costs
The primary fee that a user pays to the service provider is the contract fee (e.g., license fee, subscription fee). However, a user may incur other fees and costs when obtaining permission to use intellectual properties. Some providers charge service fees in addition to a license or subscription fee, or they may charge for content delivery or transfer of content to a user-preferred medium. Special features such as high-resolution viewing may incur a charge, and rental and late fees are common for content that is distributed in physical form (e.g., transparencies). Providers that advertise their repertoire in catalogs or on CD-ROMs (usually image providers) may charge the user for these products. If a user receives assistance from a service provider’s research staff, he or she may be charged a fee for their time as well. Unknown but significant costs are also incurred by users who are required to keep detailed usage records.
The greatest costs are likely to be assumed by consortium members. When participating in a consortium project or program, an institution agrees to assume a number of administrative or overhead costs. These costs arise most frequently in the development of local site implementations, or in staff time and/or travel to participate in consortium meetings. Administrative costs of these kinds are significant even though they may be "hidden" or difficult to quantify.