Five Steps to an Effective Reference Interview

1. Set the tone. Be approachable.
2. Clarify the question. Use open questions.
3. Verify the Request. Restate the question.
4. Get the Information (for the patron) Use appropriate tools (Catalog, OneSearch, Ask the Library FAQs)
5. Follow-up. “Do you have everything you need?”
6. Hand Off.

Reference librarians need a master’s degree in library science, information studies or library and information studies. Librarians with a master’s from a program accredited through the American Library Association might enjoy better employment prospects than holders of degrees from non-accredited schools.

People who grow into excellent reference librarians are born with, or develop early, an insatiable curiosity about everything they encounter. They have an abiding interest in people and their stories, a quality, which enhances their ability to relate to diverse populations and experiences.

Reference librarians recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources to help patrons with specific information needs. Requests for assistance often occur in person at the library, reference is increasingly conducted by phone, chat and email.

The reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds of information from multiple sources.

The following is a list of essential librarian skills:

• Organization. Librarians spend much of their time organizing books, movies, reference sheets, CDs, tapes, magazines and newspapers.
• Critical thinking.
• Cataloging.
• Information curation.
• Communication.
• Documentation.
• Computer skills.
• Take enrichment classes.

Making contact with the user is the first step in what is known as the reference interview. The reference interview can be thought of as a conversation where one person asks another for help in finding information about a topic which they may know little about and have a harder time trying to describe what it is they want to know about it.

In the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Services Professionals, approachability is the first behavior listed. As a reference worker you must present a welcoming presence, one which encourages patrons in need to approach for help.

Closed questions involve a judgment on the part of the reference worker of what is relevant to the user. Open questions such as “Tell me more about your topic.” allow users to answer in their own words and do not limit answers to the narrow range of choices presented by the closed question.