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