Don’t Just Turn It Off & Back On Again

How Library IT Workers Can Use Reference Skills on the Job

Callan Bignoli | Emily Ferrier |Whitni Watkins

Intros

Who are we?



What is the Reference Interview?

A conversation between a librarian and a library user, usually at a reference desk, in which the librarian responds to the user's initial explanation of their information need by first attempting to clarify that need and then by directing the user to appropriate information resources.

Parts of the Reference Interview

1. Establishing rapport
2. Determining the question
3. Developing a strategy & communicating it to the user
4. Closing the Interview

How do we triage?

In practice

Building best practices for the future

Tips & Tricks