Implementation of a fee-based service model to university-affiliated researchers at the University of Alberta

BACKGROUND: There is growing demand for specialized services in academic libraries, including supporting systematic reviews and measuring research impact. STUDY PURPOSE: The John W. Scott Health Sciences Library implemented a fee-based pilot project for the Faculty of Nursing for one year to test a fee-based model for specialized services, to evaluate its sustainability and scalability for the longer term, and to assess the feasibility of extending this service model to other health sciences faculties. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the development and delivery of the fee-based service model. Through a team-based approach, we successfully provided specialized services including mediated literature searching, research support, and research impact analyses to the Faculty of Nursing. DISCUSSION: Despite some challenges in developing and implementing the fee-based service model, our pilot project demonstrated demand for fee-based specialized services in the health sciences and suggests potential for this unique service model to continue and expand.