Hi Simon
not sure if these are THE answers, but possibilities are:
1) bit of both - cost recovery - as the information is only available
from an HER by the investment of resources by the host; Revenue
generation - if there is a money to be made from this source, then why
not make it (see below)? the latter is especially true with tightening
Local Authority budgets.
2) don't really know - but time spent on collating the information (for
the particular search) and more generally (for the compilation of the
HER) is one possibility
3) Again not sure, but I think it could be that if a consultant is
using the information provided to help his financial ends (ie the fees
he charges a client) what is wrong with the HER tapping into that source
of cash, to cover costs for compiling the data? Also depends what you
mean by consultant - by that I would mean anyone consulting the HER for
commercial reasons. The people who don't get charged are students,
members of the public, researchers etc
As for claiming it was for private research, well you might get away
with it for a while, but as you would be lying to the data suppliers, it
wouldn't be ethical, and as we ask people to sign a data licence, it
would be in writing that you lied, so my response would be to refuse to
give you any more data until you paid up front (though I would have to
check if we could do this!)
ALGAO published ages ago a document on charging, its probably out of
date, but I think that is the (historical) basis for most charging
policies.
best wishes
Nick Boldrini
Historic Environment Record Officer
Heritage Section
Countryside Service
North Yorkshire County Council
County Hall
Northallerton
DL7 8AH
Direct Dial (01609) 532331
Conserving North Yorkshire's heritage - encouraging sustainable access
www.northyorks.gov.uk/archaeology
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>>> [log in to unmask] 08/03/2006 13:13:57 >>>
All,
Interesting debate. From a once involved archaeologist the policies
seem rather diverse and puzzling. I think several questions need to be
asked about charging / charging policies.
1) What is the aim of charging ie. is it cost-recovery OR revenue
earning.
2) How is the charge calculated ie. from a physical resource and/or
intelectual price for the information.
3) What is the argument for differential charging -
I don't see the reason behind charging 'consultant' and not charging
others - surely time and effort is the same no matter where the
enquiry
is from? What would stop me as a 'consultant' simply claiming that I
am doing it for private research?
cheers
Simon Walton
Systems Architect,
Project Jupiter, ext 3316
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