Customer Service

This might be the most important part of the reference interview - listening to your patron, and communicating with them. Frequently, when patrons ask their question, you are only getting a partial picture of what they want. Asking further questions to understand what the patron’s goals are, how they are going to use information, and why they need it will allow you to better connect them with the information they need. Some good techniques to keep in mind:

• Allow the patron to fully state their information needs before responding;
• Rephrase the question/request and confirm your understanding;
• Use open-ended questions to ask the patron for more information, like “Please tell me more about your topic,” or “What additional information can you give me?;”
• You can ask clarifying questions like “What have you already found? What type of source do you need? Do you need current or historical information?”

Please note that some young patrons may have trouble communicating exactly what they are looking for. This might be because they are still learning how to talk, or they are misremembering a key piece of information, or they are too embarrassed to be more specific. Try to be patient with both the patron and yourself, as you will eventually figure out what people are looking for.