To all who have responded to my questions about user fees--thank you.  I
appreciate this lively and informed discussion, at the same time I am
awestruck by this form of communication!  I'll post any conclusions or
further concerns or questions that I have after consideration.
 
To Peter at Museum Informatics, thank you also.  Perhaps you think me
codependent to attempt to follow the herd!?  In fact, I believe my motive
for planning a proposal that corresponds with the practices of other
institutions falls into the category of standardization.  In other areas
of policy development, creation of finding aids, library cataloging,
security, collections documentation, preservation, access, etc. we, as
museum professionals, frequently consult our colleagues at other
institutions.
 
Certainly, as you suggest, any fee structure will be based on the needs of this
institution and this collection.  The Library at this Museum is only
minimally funded by grants at this time.  We charge for photocopies and
encourage donations for research time and reference, but this amounts to
only a few hundred dollars per year.  My thinking tends toward a small
daily fee in the range of $2 to $5 which would amount to up to $5,000 per
year.  My recommendation might be to spend this money on preservation
projects that we are currently unable to afford.  But this is very early
in the process to commit to any details.  Again thanks for your input.
 
Paige Lilly
Stephen Phillips Memorial Library
Penobscot Marine Museum
Searsport, Maine