diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 111de2a472..988cf30602 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -45,12 +45,14 @@ export(filter_list)
 export(fromDataFrame)
 export(fromMatrix)
 export(fromSparseMatrix)
+export(get_allocation_size_preference)
 export(get_return_as_preference)
 export(has_attribute)
 export(is.anonymous)
 export(is.integral)
 export(is.sparse)
 export(limitTileDBCores)
+export(load_allocation_size_preference)
 export(load_return_as_preference)
 export(max_chunk_size)
 export(name)
@@ -64,9 +66,11 @@ export(return.array)
 export(return.data.frame)
 export(return.matrix)
 export(return_as)
+export(save_allocation_size_preference)
 export(save_return_as_preference)
 export(schema)
 export(selected_ranges)
+export(set_allocation_size_preference)
 export(set_max_chunk_size)
 export(set_return_as_preference)
 export(tdb_collect)
diff --git a/R/ArraySchema.R b/R/ArraySchema.R
index a5f0045b8a..17e0e9e023 100644
--- a/R/ArraySchema.R
+++ b/R/ArraySchema.R
@@ -783,7 +783,7 @@ tiledb_schema_object <- function(array) {
 
 #' Describe a TileDB array schema via code to create it
 #'
-#' @param array A TileDB Array object
+#' @param arr A TileDB Array object
 #' @return Nothing is returned as the function is invoked for the side effect
 #' of printing the schema via a sequence of R instructions to re-create it.
 #' @export
diff --git a/R/TileDBArray.R b/R/TileDBArray.R
index 52ea3d44a5..05c9bd28cb 100644
--- a/R/TileDBArray.R
+++ b/R/TileDBArray.R
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #  MIT License
 #
-#  Copyright (c) 2017-2021 TileDB Inc.
+#  Copyright (c) 2017-2022 TileDB Inc.
 #
 #  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
 #  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
@@ -517,6 +517,11 @@ setMethod("[", "tiledb_array",
       allnullable <- attrnullable
   }
 
+  ## A preference can be set in a local per-user configuration file; if no value
+  ## is set a fallback from the TileDB config object is used. Note that this memory
+  ## budget (currently, at least) applies only to character columns.
+  memory_budget <- get_allocation_size_preference()
+
   if (length(enckey) > 0) {
     if (length(tstamp) > 0) {
       arrptr <- libtiledb_array_open_at_with_key(ctx@ptr, uri, "READ", enckey, tstamp)
@@ -647,7 +652,6 @@ setMethod("[", "tiledb_array",
       ## get results (shmem variant)
       getResultShmem <- function(buf, name, varnum) { #, resrv, qryptr) {
           if (is.na(varnum)) {
-              ##vec <- libtiledb_query_result_buffer_elements_vec(qryptr, name)
               vec <- length_from_vlcbuf(buf)
               libtiledb_query_get_buffer_var_char(buf, vec[1], vec[2])[,1]
           } else {
@@ -684,7 +688,7 @@ setMethod("[", "tiledb_array",
       getBuffer <- function(name, type, varnum, nullable, resrv, qryptr, arrptr) {
           if (is.na(varnum)) {
               if (type %in% c("CHAR", "ASCII", "UTF8")) {
-                  buf <- libtiledb_query_buffer_var_char_alloc_direct(resrv, resrv*8, nullable)
+                  buf <- libtiledb_query_buffer_var_char_alloc_direct(resrv, memory_budget, nullable)
                   qryptr <- libtiledb_query_set_buffer_var_char(qryptr, name, buf)
                   buf
               } else {
diff --git a/R/Utils.R b/R/Utils.R
index 94d5da9484..efd2fd3fec 100644
--- a/R/Utils.R
+++ b/R/Utils.R
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #  MIT License
 #
-#  Copyright (c) 2017-2021 TileDB Inc.
+#  Copyright (c) 2017-2022 TileDB Inc.
 #
 #  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
 #  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
@@ -79,11 +79,86 @@ get_return_as_preference <- function() .pkgenv[["return_as"]]
 ##' @rdname save_return_as_preference
 ##' @export
 set_return_as_preference <- function(value = c("asis", "array", "matrix", "data.frame",
-                                                          "data.table", "tibble")) {
+                                               "data.table", "tibble")) {
     value <- match.arg(value)
     .pkgenv[["return_as"]] <- value
 }
 
+
+##' Save (or load) allocation size default preference in an optional
+##' config file
+##'
+##' When retrieving data from sparse arrays, allocation sizes cannot
+##' be determined \emph{ex ante} as the degree of sparsity is unknown.
+##' A configuration value can aide in providing an allocation size
+##' value. These functions let the user store such a value for
+##' retrieval by the package code.  The preference will be enconded in
+##' a configuration file as R (version 4.0.0 or later) allows a user-
+##' and package specific configuration files.  These helper functions
+##' sets and retrieve the value, respectively, or retrieve the cached
+##' value from the package environment where is it set at package
+##' load.
+##'
+##' The value will be stored as a character value and reparsed so
+##' \sQuote{1e6} and \sQuote{1000000} are equivalent, and the fixed
+##' (but adjustable) number of digits for numerical precision
+##' \emph{use for formatting} will impact the writing. This should
+##' have no effect on standard allocation sizes.
+##'
+##' Note that this memory budget (currently, at least) applies only to
+##' character columns.  A fallback value of 50mb is used if no user
+##' value is set.
+##'
+##' @note This function requires R version 4.0.0 or later to utilise the per-user
+##' config directory accessor function. For older R versions, a fallback from the
+##' TileDB configuration object is used.
+##' @title Store allocation size preference
+##' @param value A numeric value with the desired allocation size (in bytes).
+##' @return For the setter, \code{TRUE} is returned invisibly but the function is invoked for the
+##' side effect of storing the value. For the getters, the value as a numeric.
+##' @export
+save_allocation_size_preference <- function(value) {
+    stopifnot(`This function relies on R version 4.0.0 or later.` = R.version.string >= "4.0.0",
+              `The 'value' has to be numeric` = is.numeric(value))
+
+    cfgdir <- tools::R_user_dir(packageName())
+    if (!dir.exists(cfgdir)) dir.create(cfgdir)
+    fname <- file.path(cfgdir, "config.dcf")
+    con <- file(fname, "w+")
+    cat("allocation_size:", value, "\n", file=con)
+    close(con)
+    set_allocation_size_preference(value)
+    invisible(TRUE)
+}
+
+##' @rdname save_allocation_size_preference
+##' @export
+load_allocation_size_preference <- function() {
+    value <- 50 * 1024 * 1024           # fallback value is 50mb
+    cfgfile <- .defaultConfigFile()     # but check config file
+    if (cfgfile != "" && file.exists(cfgfile)) {
+        cfg <- read.dcf(cfgfile)
+        if ("allocation_size" %in% colnames(cfg))
+            value <- as.numeric(cfg[[1, "allocation_size"]])
+    }
+    set_allocation_size_preference(value)
+    value
+}
+
+##' @rdname save_allocation_size_preference
+##' @export
+get_allocation_size_preference <- function() .pkgenv[["allocation_size"]]
+
+##' @rdname save_allocation_size_preference
+##' @export
+set_allocation_size_preference <- function(value) {
+    stopifnot(`The 'value' has to be numeric` = is.numeric(value))
+    .pkgenv[["allocation_size"]] <- value
+}
+
+
+
+
 is.scalar <- function(x, typestr) {
     (typeof(x) == typestr) && is.atomic(x) && length(x) == 1L
 }
diff --git a/R/zzz.R b/R/zzz.R
index be005bd646..3352ed8748 100644
--- a/R/zzz.R
+++ b/R/zzz.R
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #  MIT License
 #
-#  Copyright (c) 2017-2021 TileDB Inc.
+#  Copyright (c) 2017-2022 TileDB Inc.
 #
 #  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
 #  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@
 
     ## set a preference for data.frame conversion for tiledb_array and [] access
     .pkgenv[["return_as"]] <- load_return_as_preference()
+
+    ## set a preference for allocation size defaults
+    .pkgenv[["allocation_size"]] <- load_allocation_size_preference()
 }
 
 .onAttach <- function(libname, pkgName) {
diff --git a/inst/tinytest/test_dimsubset.R b/inst/tinytest/test_dimsubset.R
index 7155800f1e..49502fed57 100644
--- a/inst/tinytest/test_dimsubset.R
+++ b/inst/tinytest/test_dimsubset.R
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ dir.create(tmp <- tempfile())
 
 library(nycflights13)
 
+set_allocation_size_preference(1e8)
 dom <- tiledb_domain(dims = c(tiledb_dim("carrier", NULL, NULL, "ASCII"),
                               tiledb_dim("origin", NULL, NULL, "ASCII"),
                               tiledb_dim("dest", NULL, NULL, "ASCII"),
diff --git a/man/describe.Rd b/man/describe.Rd
index 4e5a01c2a0..6454b81a65 100644
--- a/man/describe.Rd
+++ b/man/describe.Rd
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 describe(arr)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{array}{A TileDB Array object}
+\item{arr}{A TileDB Array object}
 }
 \value{
 Nothing is returned as the function is invoked for the side effect
diff --git a/man/save_allocation_size_preference.Rd b/man/save_allocation_size_preference.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9a8eaa5aaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/save_allocation_size_preference.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/Utils.R
+\name{save_allocation_size_preference}
+\alias{save_allocation_size_preference}
+\alias{load_allocation_size_preference}
+\alias{get_allocation_size_preference}
+\alias{set_allocation_size_preference}
+\title{Store allocation size preference}
+\usage{
+save_allocation_size_preference(value)
+
+load_allocation_size_preference()
+
+get_allocation_size_preference()
+
+set_allocation_size_preference(value)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{value}{A numeric value with the desired allocation size (in bytes).}
+}
+\value{
+For the setter, \code{TRUE} is returned invisibly but the function is invoked for the
+side effect of storing the value. For the getters, the value as a numeric.
+}
+\description{
+Save (or load) allocation size default preference in an optional
+config file
+}
+\details{
+When retrieving data from sparse arrays, allocation sizes cannot
+be determined \emph{ex ante} as the degree of sparsity is unknown.
+A configuration value can aide in providing an allocation size
+value. These functions let the user store such a value for
+retrieval by the package code.  The preference will be enconded in
+a configuration file as R (version 4.0.0 or later) allows a user-
+and package specific configuration files.  These helper functions
+sets and retrieve the value, respectively, or retrieve the cached
+value from the package environment where is it set at package
+load.
+
+The value will be stored as a character value and reparsed so
+\sQuote{1e6} and \sQuote{1000000} are equivalent, and the fixed
+(but adjustable) number of digits for numerical precision
+\emph{use for formatting} will impact the writing. This should
+have no effect on standard allocation sizes.
+
+Note that this memory budget (currently, at least) applies only to
+character columns.  A fallback value of 50mb is used if no user
+value is set.
+}
+\note{
+This function requires R version 4.0.0 or later to utilise the per-user
+config directory accessor function. For older R versions, a fallback from the
+TileDB configuration object is used.
+}