A virtual understanding : The reference interview and question negotiation in the digital age : Digital reference services

The Reference Interview and Question Negotiation in the Digital Age This article examines the reference interview in the digital library environment. The reference interview is clearly at the heart of the reference transaction. Electronic technologies will not change the centrality of this process for librarians and users. Some of the challenges of interviewing users in a digital world are considered in this article. The first part compares and contrasts the traditional face-to-face reference interview with the electronic interview. Next, some suggestions for effective electronic interviewing are presented and analyzed. Lastly, conclusions are drawn about some of the skills that tie together the electronic interview process, mainly traditional letter-writing skills. Telecommunications, computers, e-mail, and the Internet have made time and distance less significant factors for users of libraries. Few librarians can deny that they have had to adapt to changes in electronic technology. The provision of reference service has not been immune to these changes. Electronic reference is becoming an important remote service offering for an ever-growing number of libraries. However, changes in technology still have not diminished the centrality of the reference interview for both librarians and users. Clearly, interviewing users in an electronic age presents challenges that need to be examined. This article will compare and contrast the face-to-face interview with the electronic interview, and give some suggestions for effective electronic interviewing. In-Person Interviewing The oldest and most widely used reference interview is the face-to-face encounter. This type of interview involves interacting with the user in a traditional library setting where the user has an immediate information need. The need can be either for sources or for access to library databases and collections. In these cases, most reference librarians have some experience in clarifying questions and providing intellectual access to library services.(1) The face-to-face interview is often enriched by the physical presence of the library collection. Sources that are immediately at hand can help to clarify many user questions at an early stage. Library buildings are a natural forum for users and reference librarians to solve information problems, and library collections allow for many of these problems to be handled in a single encounter.(2) Electronic Interviewing In a face-to-face reference interview, the librarian has access to a user's verbal, nonverbal, and visual cues. Tones of voice, patterns of speech, facial expressions, and eye contact can give important clues about the course of an encounter. A user can communicate confidence, uneasiness, openness, or shyness with just a few gestures at the reference desk. By being able to observe these cues, librarians can rephrase questions and get things back on track.(3) Perhaps the best aspect of the in-person interview is the ability of both the librarian and user to clarify a request through face-to-face questioning. This can be particularly useful if responses from both parties have not been very clear. With all the parties present, give-and-take can be smooth and question negotiation can move forward quickly.(4) The face-to-face reference interview depends on the user, librarian, and library collection being physically present. The electronic interview, however, is not restricted by many of these conventional boundaries. By using e-mail, librarians and users can communicate from any point in the world. Messages can be sent at the sender's convenience and are not restricted to the hours that particular library is open. E-mail has thus allowed users to achieve many of their information goals without having to enter the library.(5) E-mail also makes it possible for more people to participate in potential reference interviews. …