Fee assessment in a medical library : an application of the club principle

Abstract EN

This paper explores the implications of a fee assessment policy for a library system where the annual joint fixed support costs of library operation are shared among the different institutional members of the system according to a club principle.

Linear programming and game theoretic techniques are used to address questions of the optimal size of the library system and optimal pattern of membership, and to characterize the set of fair and efficient institutional fees.

Two alternative rules for selecting particular fee schedules based on the Shapley value and nucleolus solution concepts in game theory are also presented.

The present development extends in two directions an earlier study in cost recovery conducted at the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, providing additional insights and an improved basis for policy analysis.

For purposes of illustration and comparison the model is applied to this library to evaluate its assessment policy using data from that study, which reflect operating conditions in 1976.

Our results represent a superior assessment policy as measured by our criteria of fairness and efficiency, and offer support for the use of the club principle not only in libraries, but for transactions pricing and cost recovery in the general context of information services.