Episode 806: Reference Interview

episode 806 logo

Welcome back to Season Eight of Linking Our Libraries! We are so happy to have you with us today!

We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange. Our members are libraries of all sorts: public, schools, academics, special libraries, archives, and history centers. Join us in working thorough skills library staffers can use to be more successful in their work! 

If you have spent any amount of time answering questions from patrons, you know some of this already. They often do not know how to ask for exactly what they need, and you have to wade through it all to figure out how to help everyone get what they need. As with so many other things you can do in libraries, there is a procedure developed just for you!       

The Basics:

When people think about libraries, they envision a nice older lady sitting behind a desk with some quiet, well-behaved people lining up to ask clever, interesting questions.

You do not need to have been working in a library too long to see a few flaws in this vision! Sure, a lot of library people are nice older females. And that is about where it ends. Libraries today do not focus on being quiet. We have some well-behaved patrons. 

But questions tend to be the challenging part. Not always in answering them – we have skills in doing Reference work that allows librarians to to find all kinds of great things. Figuring out how to interpret questions, and to get the best information is one of the best skills we have in our skills toolbox. 

A complete reference interview will have seven steps. Sometimes, with a quick question, you can condense these. But it’s still a good idea to think about each of them, just to be sure you have done everything necessary to help your patron.

Let’s walk through this procedure now.

1.  Approachability

This is how to start even before either person has said a word. You really start this before the patron even is in your building. Where are you sitting? Is there a sign on your desk, inviting questions – or do you look like a scary person at a big desk hiding behind stacks of books and papers?

Sure, when you are at a library desk you have things you are working on that are unrelated to patron questions. That’s fine. But remember that the patron is your primary responsibility, so be ready to look up.

The National Archives of Boston has this advice: “At this stage in the process, the behaviors exhibited by the staff member should serve to welcome the patrons and to place them at ease. The librarian’s role in the communications process is to make the patrons feel comfortable in a situation that may be perceived as intimidating, risky, confusing, and overwhelming.”

Think about how to encourage someone to find you and ask you questions. There is all kinds of research to show that people will wander around libraries, and retail stores, looking for the things they want. When those things are not found, many people will leave instead of reaching out to staff to ask questions. We need to overcome this tendency!

Think about how to make yourself approachable. When you see people wandering around, be deliberate in making eye contact. Smile. (This is often when one person in a seminar will say, “But what if I don’t feel like smiling?” The right answer is that it’s not about you – the purpose is to encourage people to talk with you. So think about how to make that happen. And if that’s something too uncomfortable or unpleasant for you, consider a job not involving the public facing side of service.)

Ask if the person needs help. A surprising number of people do not want to bother you, so will wander fruitlessly and leave unhappy. If you can make that first connection, it breaks the ice and then you can get started working toward solving their information needs.

Get up and walk around! If you are just sitting behind the desk, it is a barrier to patrons. And if someone is looking at your books, or other materials, they may not have exactly what they want – but will be reluctant to stop and come ask you questions, so again: they may just leave unhappy.

And of course, even without our pandemic online work style, we were providing service online. So there too: think about how to look approachable and how to encourage people to ask questions. How could people reach out to you to ask questions? Make your phone number obvious on your website, and have a very clear email address. If you must use a form they have to fill out, include a note about the response time. For chat reference sessions, send a copy of the transcript when you are done so your patron can remember any materials you suggested.

2.  Interest

Okay, now you are talking. Great! Now, let’s keep this conversation going.

Think about strategies you can use to show the person you are interested in what they are saying. Make eye contact, nod your head, and other signals to encourage them to keep going. The first part of this conversation is going to ramble, while your patron gets their thoughts together. Let them ramble on without interrupting.

Also, think about how you are presenting yourself. Are you scowling, looking at your phone or watch, and sitting with your legs and arms crossed? That says “leave me alone!” more clearly than words.

Your patron may be emotional, agitated, upset. It is your job, as you are keeping this conversation going, to speak clearly, understandable, and calmly. Emotions are contagious; don’t catch their turmoil – project your calm and understanding vibe.

3.  Listening (Characteristics of a good listener)

Now, our conversation is rolling along and the patron feels comfortable talking with you. Fantastic! You made them feel like they can talk to you – so now is the time to listen to what they have to say. This can be frustrating sometimes. When you are dealing with teeny kids who want to tell you a story before asking where the bathroom is, with people who are building their English and struggling to find the right words for this situation, or with people who are jerks to you – it is hard to just listen. Keep doing it though!

One of the biggest mistakes in reference work is jumping in to assume the patron wants something – especially something you know how to find. The more you let them get their own words out, the less likely you are to make that mistake!

So, think about your strategies you can use to be actively listening to people – not just waiting for a break in their words to dive in with your ideas.

Obviously, you are not staring at your computer screen at this point – unless this is a virtual interview. Repeat back the things your patron is saying in your own words, and ask “Am I understanding that? Is that what you mean?” And do not just let a nervous person nod if you are not right – clarify their talking points as you are going along. This may also help them to focus their thoughts on their information needs.

Ask clarifying questions. “Will you need images with that? Are you giving a presentation or writing a paper? How many sources do you need?” It’s been fine for the patron to ramble around in their thinking, and now you can start helping them to focus.

4.  Interviewing  

Okay, now we are at the heart of it all: the interview! We are at step #4 – and this is where people tend to dive in without doing the prep work. Sometimes that’s okay, but you should at least be aware that those steps are important in your ultimate success.

Now is when we really drill into figuring out what our patron needs. 

Some suggestions here from the Boston National Archives:

  • Use open-ended questioning techniques to encourage patrons to expand on the request or present additional information. Some examples of such questions include:
    • Please tell me more about your topic. 
    • What additional information can you give me? 
    • How much information do you need? 
  • Use closed and/or clarifying questions to refine the search query. Some examples of clarifying questions are:
    • What have you already found? 
    • What type of information do you need (books, articles, etc.)? 
    • Do you need current or historical information? 

One important part of the interview process is to maintain objectivity. This information is not for you to decide whether or not it is useful, valuable, or good – the information is for the patron. You can have all the opinions you want, but keep them to yourself. Adding in questions or comments like “oh, that’s so gross” or “does your mom/teacher/brother” know you are reading this kind of thing?” or “well, I guess SOME people would be interested in this” are not helpful. Whatever they are doing is their business. 

You can ask clarifying questions to be sure you are giving out the best information, but otherwise? Zip it. And that includes exhibiting no crabby and unwelcoming body language. There are several research studies describing library people working in schools or in public libraries with young people who did not want to help the patron find books and information on LGBTQIA subjects,and were shaming and unhelpful. Remember: it’s not your business. Your job is to help people find the best information, the most interesting book, or whatever else they need. You are there to make that happen, not to decide whether or not it should happen.

5.  Searching

For most librarians, this is the fun part! Being able to use a variety of resources, online and in person, is cool. This is where you get to be Information Superheroes! Every library will be different in the materials you use, so doing the actual searching is a different subject for us. Instead, think about how you will keep this positive interaction going forward. 

The very least you can do, if the patron is sitting at your desk, is to flip your screen around so you can both see it. You know how incredibly frustrating it is to have someone apparently ignoring you, while maybe randomly hitting keys and frowning at a screen facing only them. Are they really doing anything? Is it broken? Should you just leave??? Don’t let that happen to your patron.

Verbalize what you are doing, as you do it. “Okay, now we are going to check out this database. It has all the latest news, so your tricycle story should be here.” Or, “I’m using this setting to be sure the images we find are okay for you to use with copyright laws.” This can be a good opportunity to talk about good search strategies. I like to point out “peer reviewed” labels on articles in academic libraries, and to talk about what that means and why it’s good. Talk about copyright limitations, the uses of different resources, how you are narrowing down a search – all of that can be useful to your patron.

6.  Answering

And here you are – the big reveal! This is where you can shine!

It’s very fun to find good answers, good resources, and good material for people. Hand it over, and bask in your success!

Immediately say – “is this what you were looking for? Does this make sense?” Sure, you may have found the perfect article on space exploration; but if it’s from a university press it may not work for your second grade patron. Have them clarify that yes, this is it. 

When they frown over it, and say, “well, I’m not sure…” jump in with a few more clarifying questions. “Do you need that in black and white? Would a second article help? Now that you are looking at this, do you think we should redo this search but in the 1800s?” All of those questions can help your patron to think in a more focused way about what they really need – and since you are continuing to offer to find that information, they do not need to be embarrassed about saying it isn’t quite right yet.

7.  Follow-up

You aren’t quite done yet! This is where we wrap up our positive customer experience.

Asking some basic questions: “Can I help you find anything else? Did you have any other questions?” is pretty straightforward. (And, before you feel too overworked – people rarely have more questions.)

Be sure you also tell them to come back if they have follow up questions, or if they need other material. Mean it when you say it. 

Remember: you may not need to do every single step for very basic questions; “where is the bathroom” for example. But think about each of these steps, and try to use each one when you are working with patrons. It really will make for a better experience for both of you!

Resources for you to consult:

Books Read

And now we have one of our favorite parts of each episode: sharing books! Each of us will share a book we are reading. Links to each book will be on our show notes page, with a link to Amazon.com. If you buy a nice book – or anything else – Amazon will give us a small percent of their profits. Thanks in advance!!

Conclusion

Thanks to you for joining us this week! It’s always better when you are here with us!

Here are a few quick takeaways from today’s discussion – our seven steps:

  • Approachability
  • Interest
  • Listening 
  • Interviewing 
  • Searching
  • Answering 
  • Follow-up

Be sure you are subscribed to Linking Our Libraries in your favorite podcast app – or just stream it on our website.

If you want to hear more about books, subscribe to our podcast Reading With Libraries in that same favorite app. Get a new episode each week, with more book suggestions.

Check back in with us next week for another library skill!