The Reference Interview: Workflow and Task Analysis

CrisCross Academic Portfolio

University of Oklahoma

School of Library and Information Studies

LIS 5003 Information Systems and Networks for Libraries, Archives and Museums

Fall 1999

The Reference Interview: Workflow and Task Analysis

By Cris Richardson

The reference interview is the single most important work of the librarian staffing the public desk. Success is often determined by whether or not the librarian comes up with the correct answer to a ready reference type of question. However, most users actually need guidance in using the resources of the library for research and study. According to William A. Katz (1997), the reference interview has several objectives:

Find out what and how much data is needed
Formulate a search strategy of possible sources
Determine if the information meets the user’s needs (19).

Nevertheless, for many library users, how a librarian meets these objectives is just as important as completing the objectives. For this type of encounter to be successful, the librarian must engage the user with positive non-verbal cues, active listening, and involving the user in the search process. In fact, the American Library Association’s Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) created an Ad Hoc Committee on Behavioral Guidelines for Reference and Information Services in 1992. The goal was "to provide librarians and information professionals with specific guidelines for this complex process…[and] to identify and recommend observable behavioral attributes that could be correlated with positive patron perceptions of reference librarian performance" (1999, 1-2). The guidelines are identified as approachability, interest, listening/inquiring, searching, and follow-up.

First, librarians must recognize barriers to providing service. According to Jiao and Onwuegbuzie (1999), library users are often reluctant to approach librarians for a number of reasons, but two reasons stand out:

The user may be embarrassed by the lack of knowledge about the library and its sources
The user may perceive the librarian as unapproachable or too busy (2).

To overcome these "barriers" to service, librarians’ interpersonal skills become paramount to the success of the reference interview. In fact, the reference interview actually begins before any words are said. Marie Radford (1998) conducted a study which "hypothesized that the nonverbal behavior of the librarian is related to the user’s decision to approach" (1). According to Karen Curtis and Kathy Horne, who conducted a "Basic Reference Workshop" for the Tulsa City County Library (1998), approachability can be improved simply by making eye contact with the user and smiling. The librarian needs to put the user at ease so s/he will feel comfortable to share her/his information needs. The RASD guidelines add that the librarian is "not engrossed in reading, filing, chatting with colleagues or other activities that detract from availability" (1999, 2). Both Radford (1998) and RASD (1999) indicate that open body language is also a key to initiating contact with the user. Actually, moving out from behind the desk and meeting users in the stacks or away from the desk also makes the librarian more approachable.

Once the librarian has initiated contact with the user by nonverbal cues, the next step is to greet the user in a friendly manner, inviting the user to share her/his need. Now comes the hard part – listening – or, more accurately, active listening. Active listening involves being interested in the user’s inquiry. Once again nonverbal cues, body language, and proximity are central to the librarian’s ability to create an aura of interest. Each user deserves the librarian’s undivided attention for the span of the reference interview, whether it lasts 30 seconds or 30 minutes. Indicating interest is just one way a librarian can put the user at ease. Curtis and Horne (1998) point out that the user is attempting one of "the most complex acts of human communication: to describe something s/he does not know rather than something s/he knows." An important step in active listening is to clarify or verify the user’s request by paraphrasing and asking open-ended questions. This step allows the librarian to not only determine what information the user has already gathered but what the needs for additional information are. In addition, by seeking to understand the user’s request, and correctly rephrasing it, the librarian boosts the confidence of the user. In effect, the librarian has assisted the user in articulating the inarticulate. As Ron Day (1999) writes, "the reference interview attempts to TRANSLATE [his emphasis] the needs of the patron (as articulated, often in ordinary language) into the language and structure of the library." Moreover, by keeping the tone of the exchange even and appropriate, despite the number of times this process may be repeated, the librarian continues to create an atmosphere conducive to success.

Once the librarian has a good understanding as to the nature of the request, s/he can begin the process of refining the search query through closed questions and begin conducting the search. Melanie Wright and Laura Guy (1997) quote Bopp and Smith (1995) regarding a number of factors to consider in focusing the search:

Why the question is being asked, which may help determine the true subject of the question.
Its relationship to other areas
Requirements such as how much information is needed or the desired format
The amount of time the user has, deadlines, and the availability of materials
User variables such as aptitude, reading ability, and level of motivation
Prior search history (what the user has already done to locate the information and what s/he already knows about the subject.

Day (1999) also indicates that the librarian should assist the user initiate the search process, particularly if the user is not comfortable using the technology of access or is not aware of all the options available for research. However, he also points out that this step may be unnecessary with an experienced library user or researcher.

What does the librarian do, if s/he has exhausted all resources at the library and has not found the needed information? The librarian should make a referral as soon as s/he realizes that the library lacks the needed resources. Nothing frustrates a user more than to be dragged all over the library from the reference section to the OPAC, to the electronic databases, and the stacks, before the librarian finally says, "I’m sorry; we don’t seem to have the needed information." Knowing when to make a referral is just as important as knowing how to access the information.

The librarian has left the user engaged in research or made a referral, but the story isn’t over. The final step is the follow-up. RASD (1999) states, "the librarian is responsible for determining if the patron is satisfied with the results of the search… [or] for referring the patrons to other sources" (4). How do you accomplish this step? Ask the user if s/he believes the question has been answered completely! Provides support and information to make sure the user feels satisfied.

The reference interview is more than a series of questions. The librarian serves as an interface between the user and the resources of the library. The success of that process is measured in the satisfaction of the user following this interaction. The interview begins before words are spoken and may even continue after the user has left the library. The key to success is good interpersonal skills.

Self-Evaluation

I chose the Reference Interview as my work process because I engage in it several times each day. I wanted to be sure I grasped the concepts of a successful reference interview by analyzing the process and by doing a literature search on the subject. Nevertheless, by choosing a familiar activity, I robbed myself of the experience of mastering a completely new task by analyzing it. One advantage of doing this analysis is that I found that the skills which made me a successful teacher and advocate in the past, also lent themselves well to the role of the librarian as an "information counselor." Because I am such a global thinker, workflow charts are extremely difficult for me. I either can’t break a task down into its components, or I want to over-analyze and include every detail. However, I believe I have managed to take a complex task and simplify the process for both myself and others who wish to understand the Reference Interview.

Works Cited

Bopp, R.E. and Smith, L.C. (1995). Reference and information services, Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., quoted in Wright, M. and Guy, L. (1997). "Where do I find it and what do I do with it: Practical problem-solving in the data library," presented at the 1997 Iassist/IFDO conference in Odense, Denmark, available: http://basil.dacc.wisc.edu/types/data_reference.htm (11/06/99).

Curtis, K. and Horne, K. (1998). "Basic reference workshop," presented at Tulsa City County Library, 04/09/98.

Day, R. (1999). "Five elements to successful reference librarianship," available: http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/D/Ronald.E.Day-1/fiveelements.htm (09/02/99).

Jiao, Q. and Onwuegbuzie, A. (1999, April). "Identifying library anxiety through students’ learning-modality preferences," Library Quarterly, v69 i2 p202(16).

Katz, W.A. (1997). Introduction to reference work, volume 1: Basic information services. St. Louis: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Radford, M. (1998). "Approach or avoidance? The role of nonverbal communication in the academic library user’s decision to initiate a reference encounter," Library Trends, v46 n4 p699(19).

RASD (1999). "Guidelines for behavioral performance of reference and information services professionals," available: http://www.ala.org/rusa/behavior.html (09/02/99).

Wright, M. and Guy, L. (1997). "Where do I find it and what do I do with it: Practical problem-solving in the data library," presented at the 1997 Iassist/IFDO conference in Odense, Denmark, available: http://basil.dacc.wisc.edu/types/data_reference.htm (11/06/99).

Reference Interview Workflow Chart

Last revised: November, 9, 1999.

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Copyright 1999.

Last revised: November, 9, 1999.