Parts of A Reference Interview
The reference interview is structured to help the librarian provide answers to the library user. In general, the interview is composed of the following stages.
- Welcoming
- Gathering general information from the user and getting an overview of the problem
- Confirming the exact question
- Intervention, such as giving information, advice or instructions
- Finishing, including feedback and summary
These stages may occur in loops, for example when a clarification of the question leads to the need to establish more background information on the query topic. These steps are designed to put the user at their ease, and then help ensure that they have correctly explained what they require. When the reference librarian believes that the query is fully understood, they attempt to provide resources that help satisfy it. An important and often overlooked final step is checking that the information or service provided was indeed what the library user required.
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