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THE REFERENCE INTERVIEW

Reference is not always answering the first question the patron asks. Sometimes the answer to their question as first stated may fill only a part of their need, and not entirely answer their question. Many times reference is the act of helping people properly articulate their entire information need. Patrons may have trouble expressing their needs to a stranger, or may be reluctant to do so. They may ask a question that they think will help them when it may only be peripheral to their real need. If you think of the questions you employ as a part of the reference interview, you may come to think of the reference interview as a very specialized conversation.

To make this clearer, let's take an example. Suppose a woman comes into your library asking for tomato sauce recipes. It 's easy to provide her with those recipes but is that all that she needs? Suppose this woman has just grown her first home garden tomatoes and is overwhelmed by the amount she harvested. If you can find out what the real need is, you may be able to really help her by providing her with ideas of other things she might do with the tomatoes: drying them, making ketchup, giving them to food banks, composting them, and so forth. You would have done a much better job of really meeting the information need that brought her to the library, even if she didn't clearly express her need in her opening question to you.

The library's responsibility is meeting the patrons' information needs and not simply answering the questions first posed.

The reference process includes the following:

1. Encouraging the patron to contact the library when there is an information need.
2. Finding out what the real information need is.
3. Finding the information that will meet the need.
4. Making sure the patron's need really has been met.
5. Being alert to the fact that filling one information need may create new needs, generating new questions, now or later.

The reference interview begins with an initial question by a patron but generally involves a series of additional questions to help get to an answer that completely fulfills their information need.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS

The reference process begins even before the patron enters the library. People have preconceived ideas of what libraries can and can't do, and of what librarians are like. This may keep some people from coming to the library at all when they have an information need.

Once people are in the library, it may be hard for them to tell you what they need. The patron may not speak English well, may be afraid to ask a "dumb" question, may not be familiar with libraries or may not know how to clearly express a need. Try to show a willingness to help; caring can transcend any language barrier!

Try to be alert to barriers to communication such as:

1. Your body language and what your posture and facial features are saying.
2. The patron's discomfort with libraries
3. Language
4. A forbidding or confusing physical arrangement of the library
5. Cultural or educational differences
6. Physical or emotional problems the patron may have

Many barriers hinder communication between patrons and the library staff.

Portions of this page are adapted from REFERENCE TRAINING MANUAL, Merced County Library, Reference Outreach Project. Jean Macomber. 1986

MAKING PEOPLE COMFORTABLE

There are some easy things that you can do to help in making your patrons feel comfortable in the library. Most of these are really just a matter of showing your patrons respect and courtesy.

1. Smile and greet your patrons as they enter the library. Practice your telephone voice to be sure that it also projects a smile.
2. Make eye contact with your patrons and try to be at eye level with them if you can (this may mean standing. For example, if your patron is seated, perhaps in a wheelchair, it really makes it easier for them to talk to you if you are seated, too. Don't forget children. It helps to be at eye level with them, too.
3. Use relaxed tones of voice and a relaxed body posture. Be sure to speak slowly and clearly.
4. Move with your patron rather than pointing. Directions that seem simple to you may be confusing to a person not used to your library.

We can help patrons to feel more comfortable in the library by showing them sincere respect and courtesy.

BODY LANGUAGE

Patrons notice our body language as well as our words. In addition to the all important body language of smiling, you can try:

1. Using your physical actions to show your patron that you are paying full attention to them. Put down your pen and whatever you are working on. Give the patron your complete attention.
2. Being aware that people may prefer different amounts of physical space around them. Some like to stand closer, some further away. Try to accommodate the patron's preferences, since this may make them more comfortable.
3. Being respectful of the patron's culture. In some cultures it is impolite to make direct eye contact. While this is usually one of the best approaches to establishing rapport with a patron, do not be disconcerted if some patrons do not return the contact.

Your smile and relaxed body posture can help patrons feel comfortable.

PHYSICAL BARRIERS

Sometimes we put actual physical barriers between our patrons and ourselves. High counters, for example, may intimidate some people. Imagine the barrier a high counter represents to a child or to a person in a wheelchair! In some larger libraries, the reference area may be tucked into a corner or in the back of the room where it cannot be seen easily by the patron who walks into the library. Many patrons prefer to help themselves. They rely on good signs and an orderly arrangement to find what they want. If the arrangement of the building is confusing, your patrons will be confused too! It helps to look at our libraries from the patrons' point of view.

An interesting exercise is to bring a friend into your branch to look around with a new perspective. Choose someone who doesn't often use the library if you can. Ask your friend for reactions on the general atmosphere, signs, lights, arrangement and ease of finding things. Whatever physical barriers you do have in your library, you should be mindful of making certain all of your services meet the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm).

Our library buildings are often a barrier instead of a help to service.

COMMUNICATING WITHOUT FACE TO FACE CONTACT

You can't see your patron's facial expressions and they can't see yours, so you lose one very valuable way of communicating. Nuances of sarcasm and humor require careful consideration in your words whether typed or spoken.

The telephone distorts words, so it's easier to make mistakes in hearing.

You can't see who your patron is. It becomes especially imperative not to assume the kind or level of information wanted, you need to ask. In an email query, this means not assigning gender, age, or nationality of the person asking the question.

Customers may feel as though an email is more efficient way for them to communicate with you although your desk and staff may still be better equipped to answer telephone and walk-in customers. Make sure you put email queries in the same queue as other types of queries and be certain you have a regular schedule for checking for reference emails.

ANSWERING THE PHONE

1. Identify your library or branch very clearly. Follow your library's policies on how to identify yourself and your library.
2. As soon as you pick up the receiver, talk to the caller. Don't pick it up to stop the ringing while continuing a conversation with someone else.
3. Your initial greeting sets the tone for the rest of the interview. Practice sounding clear, helpful, and competent.
4. If you work in a library where you may be required to transfer a call, be sure you give them guidance on how your phone system works.

GENERAL

1. Put warmth and friendliness in your voice and typed words. Callers and email patrons can't see you smile, but they can hear it reflected in your voice.
2. Speak clearly and not too fast. What may seem to you to be rapid speech may sound like a curt reply to the listener.
3. Always have paper and pencil ready.
4. If the patron gives you a name any time during the call, write it down (phonetically) and try to use it later in the conversation. In emails, identifying names can be difficult.
5. Use simple, straightforward language, avoiding library jargon the patron might not understand.

ANSWERING EMAILS

1. It is important for your staff to work out a systematic approach to receive and answer email reference questions. Many libraries take the approach of creating a generic email address that all librarians take turn answering.
2. Be sure to spell check your email responses just as you would any other typed correspondence to customers.
3. One of the most well known email reference services is the Internet Public Library (IPL). When you are ready to ask a question of the staff at the IPL, you see a screen that prompts you in the the reference interview.
4. After offering email reference to your patrons, you may find yourself creating an FAQ for your customers. Here is an example of an FAQ as created by the Nebraska Library Commission: Unclaimed Property
5. Some libraries may want to create rules for answering email questions.

Here is an example of a public library's guidelines for e-mail reference courtesy of the Houston Public Library:

GUIDELINES FOR EMAIL REFERENCE - HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

In order to provide reliable, prompt service, it is important to maintain a list of standards and practices for writing e-mail replies.

• First and foremost, our goal is to reply to every query within two working days
• All answers should be addressed to the individual who wrote the initial message (not to Answers) and begin with "Dear Mr. ____," or "Dear Ms. ________,". If gender cannot be inferred by the name, the salutation may include the full name (e.g., "Dear Robin Smith"). If there is no surname given, the first name may be used alone. If there is no recognizable name, or only a surname, the salutation may read "Dear Friend".
• Usually "Thank you for using HPL Interactive" or a variation will follow the salutation. See the attached sample letter for example.
• Tone in reply should not be too chatty or casual. Remember that although e-mail is not as formal as conventional written correspondence, it is more formal than spoken conversation. Remember that in e-mail communication, the person on the other end cannot hear your tone of voice or see your facial expressions. Remarks that may be witty or appropriate in person or even over the telephone can easily be mistaken for sarcasm in e-mail. Use of emoticons or smileys is not appropriate in communication with the public.
• Library jargon and expressions with which a non-librarian may not be familiar should be explained if used at all. For example, "ILL" may be used if on first reference, one writes "Interlibrary Loan (ILL)". Department and branch abbreviations (e.g., BIC, BST, JUN, SCE) should be avoided.
• Please spell out commonly used words such as "Department" and names of months rather than using abbreviations or numbers (e.g., May 1, 1999, instead of 5/1/99)
• Titles of books, magazines, newspapers, etc. should be set off in the body of the message. A preferred method is by preceding and following the title with an underscore (e.g., _The Importance of Being Earnest_; _Jane Eyre _; _Time_; _The Washington Post_ ). Quotation marks are confusing because they are used to set off article titles. All caps too closely resembles the Internet convention for shouting.
• Conventional addresses should be given on multiple lines as in the sample below.
• Please do not sign your name to an e-mail response.
• If you include a URL or e-mail address in the text, write it on a line by itself with no additional punctuation (i.e., with no terminal period). For example: For more information, you may want to go to the U.S. Senate's web site: http://www.senate.gov/
• Please do not command (e.g., "Come to the library"). Please use "please" or phrases such as "You may want to try…" Also, please use "we" (e.g., "We were unable to find anything.") instead of "I" in most cases. These seem trivial, but they make a response seem much more polite.
• Please keep instructions as simple as possible. For example, if you know the URL for a web site (other than a licensed database) that is linked from our Internet links page, just give the URL rather than guiding the patron through several steps, which may be confusing. An exception would be if one were recommending several web sites linked from a single link (such as the genealogy links). In this case, it may be easier to guide the patron carefully through the link steps.
• Central Departments may now answer shelf checks by sending an e-mail message directly to the patron. The response should be copied to Answers. There are "canned responses" available for answering these requests. Please use the appropriate canned response, varying language only slightly to accommodate the request. If you receive a new request that has not been routed through Answers, you may either honor the request, informing the sender that they should use the proper form next time (canned answer #4), or, if there is not sufficient information to fill the request, return to sender instructing in use of form (canned answer #5). When you respond to a shelf check by e-mail, please remove any interoffice correspondence.
• Branches: When you answer a shelf check, please phone the person who has requested the item (unless they have stated they prefer to be contacted by e-mail in which case the response should be routed through Answers) to let them know the status of their request. Please e-mail Answers with the results of the shelf check. Normally an e-mail message with the results of a shelf check is not sent, the phone call being the only contact. If you are unable to fill a shelf check, contact by telephone and offer an alternative way of supplying the material (e.g., calling a branch or putting a $1.00 hold on the item). This should be handled by branch location to which the shelf check has been sent, not by Answers. If you do respond to a shelf check by e-mail, please remove any interoffice correspondence.
• Generally, all responses should be sent through Answers. In special cases, with permission of Answers, some responses may have to be sent directly, without going through Answers. If you do e-mail directly, please "cc" a copy to Answers to keep track for our statistics.
• If your department is contacted directly by e-mail, please send a copy of the request to Answers. If the request is inappropriate for your department, please forward it to Answers. Any replies coming directly from a department should advise that new questions should be routed through our web site and use our forms.

Reprinted with permission. Written and Revised by John A. Merullo, December 5, 2000.

A sample response to an email request for a copy of an obituary:

Dear Mr. Stanhope,
Thank you for using HPL Interactive.
We found an obituary for Julia Newbury Chandler in the _Houston Chronicle_. It appears on page 12 of the May 28, 1937 issue.
We will be glad to send you a copy. Please send a check or money order for $2.75, payable to "City of Houston", to:
Houston Public Library
Bibliographic Information Center
500 McKinney Ave.
Houston TX 77002

We hope this information is useful and that you use HPL Interactive again soon.
Answers Department
Houston Public Library
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Henry J. E. Stanhope
E-Mail: hjestanhope@rien.com
Address: 107 Gainsborough St. #111
City: Boston
State: MA
Zip: 02115
Phone: 617 555-1995
Deadline: 1/1/04
Library Card: No
Library Card #:

Question: I am looking for a copy of an obituary for Julia Newbury Chandler in the _Houston Chronicle_ . She died May 27, 1937. Please let me know how much you charge for this service. Thank you,
Henry Stanhope

GETTING THE QUESTION

Pay particular attention to the model reference behavior checklist. Remember to:

1. Use open questions

2. Clarify when necessary

3. Verify or repeat the question back to the patron before attempting to answer it.

4. Customers are often reluctant to tell you that their question is urgent. Ask them specifically when they need your answer.

5. Clarify what an emergency or an ASAP (as soon as possible) is. It may mean ten minutes ago, sometime within the day, or sometime within the week.

6. In some cases, an email query is answered with one response back to the patron. A reference interview isn't necessary. For example, a patron may ask for the populations of several towns in your state. You would respond with the latest census and projections as they are available and the question would most likely be complete. However, you may receive an email asking for all of the proclamations your governor has issued since statehood. This would require some negotiation in dialog between you and the customer. In which case, you would respond with what your library has available, what other libraries might be able to offer, and what would be possible through Interlibrary Loan through their local library, wherever that might be.

7. If open ended questions are not yielding results, offering multiple choices may be helpful.

8. Email reference transactions can happen almost instantly or may take days. Be patient with customer's email habits.

9. Customers contact you by email because they may be uncomfortable using the phone. If you are a person who prefers the telephone, try to respect the patron's way of contacting you.

Verify spellings using a phonetic key:
B as in Boy
C as in Charles
D as in David
F as in Frank
G as in George
M as in Mary
N as in Nancy
P as in Peter
S as in Sam
T as in Thomas
V as in Victor
Z as in Zebra

ANSWERING QUESTIONS

1. If you have to leave the phone to look up an answer, put the phone on hold if you can. This respects the privacy of other patrons' conversations in the library. Tell the caller what you are doing so they won't think they have been cut off. When you come back to the phone, thank them for holding.

2. Warn the patron if you plan to leave the phone for more than three minutes. Three minutes seems like a very long time when you are listening to dead phone silence. Knowing that a patron is waiting on hold can sometimes make it difficult to find the answer. If this is the case, you may want to offer calling back, emailing, or texting the customer the information. Very often, you will find the answer more easily without the added pressure of having a customer waiting.

3. Be sure you have checked before you say "no" or "we don't have that" and always offer to refer the question.

4. Never let a question drop because you can't find an answer right away. If the patron has time to wait, offer to get back with the patron in whatever way is most convenient for both of you (email, phone, text) after working on it.

5. Make sure the patron understands the answer. It helps to begin by making sure the patron is ready to take down the answer. "Are you ready for me to read this, now?" You can offer to spell difficult words or names and check to make sure the patron heard. "Did you get that?" "Would you like me to repeat that?"

6. In giving information, always identify the source of the information first, before giving it. For example, "I'm reading from the 2010 World Almanac" and it says.....", or "I have the 2010 World Book Encyclopedia in hand, and it says....". Both the title and date of the source are important so the patron can evaluate the currency and accuracy of the information.

7. Some libraries create a special policy for answering email reference questions.

ENDING THE CONVERSATION

Always follow up the information you give by asking, "Does that completely answer your question?" or some similar question.

If you are going to be working more on a question, here are some important considerations:

1. Let the patron know who you are in case they want to contact you.

2. Get the patron's name and phone number, and repeat the spelling and number. If you are delivering the information to the customer via email ALWAYS ask for a phone number to call in the event you have trouble with their email address. It is easy to misunderstand an email address given over the phone. Having a phone number to fall back on insures delivery of the answer to your customer.

3. Give the patron a realistic idea of when you might be calling back. Some patrons may expect a call back very soon, when you can't call until tomorrow. It helps to establish a definite time when the patron will be available and expecting you to call back. Leaving answers on voice mail will compromise patron confidentiality so be sure to ask the customer if their voice mail or answering machines are private and if it is okay to leave answers in that medium.

4. If you are unable to answer a customer's question, be sure to list everything you have checked to assure them you've done all you can do. If you are able to offer an alternative to the customer, give the patron confidence that your referral is worth their time to call.