The Reference Interview Revisited: Librarian-patron Interaction in the Virtual Environment

Evelyn L. Curry
2005 Simile  
This paper examined the reference interview literature over the past 10 years to determine how thinking has changed regarding the process. The ten-year window was chosen to roughly measure the impact of the internet on reference (specifically, the RI) since its introduction in the early 1990s. The paper was divided into two parts-the RI in the traditional (electronic) reference setting; and the online RI in the virtual setting. The thinking of reference personnel has come full circle -to an
more » ... rstanding that the basic tenets still hold true. To the extent that reference workers provide the "human touch" in the "high-tech" setting is the extent to which they will, not only survive, but thrive in modern libraries. The reference interview is far from being a simple verbal interaction between two people. It remains one of the most difficult tasks in the library. (Cohen, 1993, p. 189). 1) characteristics of the patient (age, educational attainment, socio-economic status, locus of control, gender, perceptions of privacy, communication apprehension and personality types); 2) communication behavior, style and function: interpersonal involvement, communication style (dominance) conversation analysis, exchange of information expertise, and control; 3) satisfaction: patron satisfaction, communication satisfaction, immediacy, similarity, receptivity, dominance, composure and formality; 4)compliance: compliance-gaining strategies and resistance; and 5) relational history: trust, intimacy and control. (Radcliff, 1995, pp. 504 -505). Librarian-patron satisfaction, she concludes, is affected by warmth, self-disclosure, feedback and immediacy. Morris (1994) treats the user-centered approach to RI modeling. The patron's needs, not his or her wants or demands, should be the focus of attention in the RI. The contexts in which user needs are
doi:10.3138/sim.5.1.004 fatcat:64medvkvvvfizbljtw3wjs4ezu