| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 圖書資訊學研究所 === 102 === Libraries are well-known for free and fair services and resources. Recently many libraries began to charge users for some services to reduce the financial pressure caused by increasing resources cost, users’ demands, and technological updates. Although charging users fees alleviates financial pressure to some extent, a few users regard fee-based operation controversial because universities, national ones in particular, receive high amount of governmental subsidy who seem to hold weaker grounds on charging unaffiliated users for service fee.
Basing on a consumer decision-making model, this study uses content analysis, payment card and interview to study activities and behaviors of unaffiliated users before and after experiencing fee-based services in academic libraries. It also analyzes current situation of unaffiliated user fee-based services provided by academic libraries.
The results first categorize unaffiliated user fee-based services into reading, reader services, inter library loan services, intra-system loan services and document delivery services, microforms services, multimedia services, photocopying services, and on-campus e-resources. All detailed rules and service contents can be found on the library websites. Academic libraries divide unaffiliated users into alumnus and common unaffiliated users; the former usually receives better service along with lower fee.
Study results show that unaffiliated users’ decision making toward and behavior of using fee-based services are influenced by objective factors and subjective opinions, and also highly related to their motivations and career backgrounds. Subjects’ opinions on unaffiliated user rules and fee-based services were not unidirectional: positive and negative ones coexist. The different treatments between alumni and common unaffiliated users privilege generates sense of inequality. The user-estimated value of unaffiliated user fee-based services is lower than the actual fee currently charged. The interviews show that perceived value depends on demand; a user with stronger demand on resources tends to accept higher service fee.
The researcher suggests that academic libraries who provide the unaffiliated user fee-based services ought to update rules on the websites as needed, apply appropriate technology to manage unaffiliated users’ access, and promote the services through various approaches. Most importantly, the management and research issues about unaffiliated users deserve more attention. Moreover, in order to meet users'' needs and expectations better, the price and contents of unaffiliated user fee-based services ought to frequently being reviewed and adjusted as necessary.
|
|---|
