Reference Interview and Beyond

After reviewing the materials, it is apparent that there are many similar themes for the face-to-face reference interview. To me it is mostly common sense. I had been doing these things when I worked at Borders as a bookseller without ever hearing what a "reference interview" was.

Face-to-Face Reference
This is a subject that is well documented as it has been done for many years now. The various articles all seem to say the same things. We need to have open ended questions, don't assume anything, watch your body language, and make sure to finish it up right (follow-up). I think sometimes we forget about the body language (I know that I do). It was nice to see that included as something that we need to watch out for. We could be unintentionally "telling" someone we don't care as much as we do by not actually "showing" it with how we are holding ourselves. For me, that is one of the things I will definitely try to watch out for.

Virtual Reference
It was nice to see that this was included in some of the articles for us to read. This is still something new to us and I know that it is different than what we do on the floor. Personally, I don't have a hard time with the virtual reference as I use IM programs at home. I think it is more of a new thing and somewhat difficult for those who are not using the technology as much. One way that we could improve our own VR skills is perhaps by practicing talking with each other using IM. It is a great way to really practice using IM and to get used to "talking" that way with our clients. I don't really agree with what Ann Viles had to say about VR though. I think what she suggested (smiley faces, etc) is somewhat unprofessional. I'm not saying that we can't be friendly with the customers, but having dancing faces and using "lol" isn't exactly professional and make us look silly. I also think we need to keep the scripts down to a minimum. If we want to keep a "human" approach to IM, it is important to make sure the person on the other end knows they are chatting with a human and not just some automated machine.