The Reference Interview
Betsy Spackman & Leticia Camacho
Brigham Young University
NLA Annual Conference
October 20, 2005
Overview
Definition and steps
Why reference negotiation is important
ALA’s Behavioral Guidelines
Games
What is the reference interview?
Finding out what patrons really want and
helping them find resources to meet their
goals
“Reference librarians are mediators
between the user and the resources he or
she needs or wants”
Steps of the reference interview
 Build rapport and
trust
 Ask questions
 Listen and remember
 Answer and find
resources
 Follow up
Why is reference negotiation important?
Users don’t ask for what they really want
Language is ambiguous
Anomalous states of knowledge
Evaluation of reference—55% rule
Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of
Reference and Information Service Providers
 Approachability
 Interest
 Listening/Inquiring
 Searching
 Follow up
What our users think…
Approachability Activity
We are going to show you a few slides,
look at the slides, then answer the
following question:
Which Librarian would you ask?
Which Librarian Would You Ask?
Approachability Activity
The first librarian is working on the computer and the second is talking on the telephone. Viewer selects
the librarian on the computer as the one that they will approach. Patrons will avoid the one in the phone.
The same two reference assistants are reading, but have changed places. Either is likely selected.
The first librarian is standing in front of the desk and the second is in the usual position at the desk. While
the person in front is closer to the patron, he is almost too close and may be blocked to some viewers.
The man on the right is using the computer, while the woman on the left is reading. Most likely patrons
will select the man on the computer before they will interrupt the reading woman.
The female librarian is already helping someone, while the male librarian is not busy. Most likely the
patron will ask the male librarian rather than wait for the female librarian to finish.
Both librarians are standing, making eye contact, and are ready to help the patron-however the librarian on the left is also smiling. Over 90% of viewers select the smiling
librarian over the non smiling librarian.
In this image, the two librarians are talking to each other and neither is acknowledging
the patrons. Most viewers (over 70%) selected the woman, because she is the one
doing the talking and her body language is more active than that of the man’s.
Hierarchy of Reference Approachability: According to the results of a survey
similar to the activity that you just completed, patrons choose the librarian
they will approach based on the following patterns:
Approachable Behaviors in Order of
Preference
(% Selected)
Standing and Eye Contact – and
Smiling!
93
Standing and Eye Contact
90
Helping Another patron
12
Standing and Writing
11
Sitting and Eye contact
10
Using the Computer
10
Reading
5
Talking on the Phone
1
Finding Out What They Really
Want to Know
 Some common
problems
 Open and Closed
questions
 Paraphrasing and
Summarizing
 Closure
 Follow-up
Some Common Problems
Failure to establish contact
Bypassing the reference Interview
An unmonitored referral
Failure to pay attention
Lack of knowledge of appropriate
sources
Open Questions
Allows people to respond in their own
terms
Begins with Who, What, Why, Where,
When, or How
It works best in situations in which there
may be many options that can’t be
known in advance – the usual case at
the reference desk
Closed Questions
Questions that require a yes/no,
this/that response.
It works best in circumstances in
which there exists only a small set of
options known in advance
Sense-Making Questions
A special kind of open question that asks specifically about situations, or gaps, or helps
1. Know the situation the person is in



What are you working on?
How did this question arise?
What happened that you need to know this?
2. The gaps in his or her understanding



What kind of help would you like
What are you trying to understand?
What would you like to know about X?
3. The uses or helps



How do you plan to use this information?
What would you like to see happen in this situation?
What are you trying to do in this situation?
Paraphrasing
Feeds back what has been said in the
previous comment
So you’re looking for …
What you need is . . .
You mean . . .
As I understand you . . .
Tips: Be concise, do not add or change the meaning, use a checkout
(Is that what you wanted? Was that it?)
Summarizing
Is like paraphrasing except that is covers a larger
span of conversation and requires you to distill the
essence of what was said over the course of a longer
series of questions and answers.
Tips: Synthesize, condense and go for the big picture
Closure
The art of tactful ending
 Indicate that discussion has been completed
 Focus on what has been achieved in the
discussion
 Established a good communication climate
 Use a follow up question
Follow-up
It allows you to discover, and repair, communication
accidents before the user leaves the library
Two types:
 Those that invite the user to ask for additional help
if needed
 Those that allow users to tell you whether they got
the kind of help they were really hoping to get
Game: Twenty Questions
Several volunteers:
A patron and a librarian
Someone to keep time
Someone to count questions
First two minutes: only closed questions
After that: any questions
Compare
Questions?
Analyze this Reference Transaction:
User: I checked the catalog but couldn’t find what
I was looking for.
Librarian: Not on the shelf?
User: No.
Librarian: What is that you wanted?
User: The books.
Librarian: Yes but what type of information
User: It’s on body work.
Librarian: OK
User: I’m helping a friend.
Analyze this Reference Transaction:
User: I checked the catalog but couldn’t find what I was
looking for.
Librarian: Not on the shelf? (acknowledgment)
User: No.
Librarian: What is that you wanted? (open question)
User: The books.
Librarian: Yes but what type of information? (open
question)
User: It’s on body work.
Librarian: OK (encourager)
User: I’m helping a friend.
What does the patron really want?
Where are the nutrition journals?
Information about the latest fad diet
Where are books about Nixon?
Text of Checker’s Speech
Where are the book reviews?
A review of Women by Booth Tarkington
Where are the old magazines?
Origins of the TV dinner
Analyze this Reference Transaction
 User: Excuse me, but I’m looking for some poems
 Librarian: Some poems? What poems are you looking
for?
 User: Love poems.
 Librarian: Love poems? Ok. Is there anything in
particular? By anybody—American, Canadian, British—
does it matter?
 User: No, just a project on love poems.
 Librarian: Ok, do you know how to use the catalog here?
 User: No.
 Librarian: Ok. [Explains the catalog.] Did you want
books that you can take home, or is it alright to work
here?
 User: Mm-hmm. No.
Analyze this Reference Transaction
 User: Excuse me, but I’m looking for some poems
 Librarian: Some poems? What poems are you looking for?
(acknowledgement followed by an open question)
 User: Love poems.
 Librarian: Love poems? (acknowledgement) Ok. Is there anything
in particular? By anybody—American, Canadian, British—does it
matter? (a question that is open in its function, but gets turned into a
closed question)
 User: No, just a project on love poems.
 Librarian: Ok, do you know how to use the catalog here? (system
question)
 User: No.
 Librarian: Ok. [Explains the catalog.] Did you want books that you
can take home, or is it alright to work here? (closed question)
 User: Mm-hmm. No.
References
 Ross, Catherine Sheldrick, Kristi Nilsen, and Patricia
Dewdney. 2002. Conducting the Reference Interview: A
How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. New York: NealSchuman Publishers, Inc., 241 p.
 Dervin, Brenda and Patricia Dewdney. 1986. Neutral
Questioning: A New Approach to the Reference
Interview. RQ (Summer): 506-513.
 Dewdney, Patricia and Catherine Sheldrick Ross. 1994.
“Flying a Light Aircraft: Reference Service Evaluation
from a User’s Viewpoint.” RQ 34 (Winter): 217-230.
References
 Durrance, Joan C. 1995. “Factors That Influence
Reference Success: What Makes Questioners Willing to
Return?” The Reference Librarian 49/50: 243-265.
 Fine, Sara. 1995. “Reference and Resources: The
Human Side.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship
(Jan): 17-20.
 Howze, Philip C. and Felix E. Unaeze. 1997. “All in the
Name of Service: Mediation, Client Self-Determination,
and Reference Practice in Academic Libraries.” RQ 36
(Spring): 430-437.
 RUSA online course: The Reference Interview
http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaevents/onlinereferenceint
erviewcourse/refinterview.htm
Contact Information
Betsy Spackman
Life Sciences Librarian/Science Reference
Specialist
betsy_spackman@byu.edu; (801) 422-6777
Leticia Camacho
Management/Economics Librarian
leticia_camacho@byu.edu; (801) 422-1970