Fee for Service: The Experience of the University of Toronto Business Information Centre

Abstract

From the 1994 CAIS Conference:
The Information Industry in Transition
McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. May 25 - 27, 1994.

Since 1990, the Business Information Centre at the University of Toronto Faculty of Management has operated a corporate client program which provides outsourcing and fee-based services for businesses. Its client base includes large and medium-sized corporations and professional associations. The revenues generated through this program are directed toward paying a large portion of the Business Information Centre's operating costs. This paper describes how the program was initiated, how it has attracted clientele and met their demands for information, and how the program has benefited the faculty and students at the Faculty of Management. The paper also considers the growing trend toward fee for service in public, academic, and government libraries.