Monetizing Value-Add  Page 1 of 3        Bookmark and Share
It's a given with information professionals: They pay for
information if there is sufficient value-add attached to it.
That's the rationale they give to management when asked, "Why
are we spending money for online information services when it's
all available for free on the Internet?" The first answer to
that question should be, "But it's not all available for free on
the Internet. Some of it is on the hidden Web; some of it is on
proprietary, subscription-based sites; and some of it isn't in
electronic form at all." As more and more previously free sites
move to a pay per view model, the case for paying for
information will inevitably strengthen.  The second part of the
answer is more subtle and involves a contrast between surfing
the Web and searching structured, fielded, indexed, and
abstracted subscription-based information services. The value-
added by database producers and information creators enables
users to quickly and accurately pinpoint