Deliberations on design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to encourage libraries to be as involved as possible in the design of the services they provide, be that traditional Web services or sophisticated discovery services. An inordinate reliance upon turn key applications that afford little to no opportunity for customization will not allow the author to be responsive to patron needs. Design/methodology/approach – This is a viewpoint column, and the content is exploratory in nature. Findings – The findings, in a sense, are that while in the past, others have been trusted to make critical design decisions, the author now needs to focus on applying information science skills to the design of his Web-based services. Originality/value – The quality of the digital services offered by libraries is a direct correlation of the level of investment offered. Investing at a more substantial level involves risks that need to be weighed against the potential benefits, but those risks cannot be completely ignored if the goal is a higher...