What is the Question?

People seldom clearly express their real information needs.

Sometimes patrons try to be helpful and ask questions in a way they think will help you answer their questions easily. They may believe if they can get a book on a subject, they can look up the answer themselves. This leads to questions that are too broadly stated. There is almost always a more specific need behind a question such as, "Where is the section on dogs?" or "Do you have a history of Italy?" Discovering that need will help you be more efficient and successful in helping the patron. The specific piece of information called for might be best found in another source. Patrons don't always know that information on a subject can be found in many different forms besides books-- websites, magazines, videos, and microform.

Patrons may be hesitant to express their information needs; the request may be highly personal, or the person may simply feel that it's none of your business. Even when patrons are not reluctant to share their questions, they may be poorly equipped to articulate their requests because of:

• lack of education
• physical handicaps
• lack of understanding of the English language
• lack of knowledge of the subject

You need to tactfully convey the idea that your job requires you to discover a person's information need. Try to communicate the idea that the more information you have, the better job you can do to find the material that will be the most helpful.

For a successful reference interview, you will need to find out the following information:

• What kind of information is needed?
  Examples: statistics, photographs, a government report
   

• How much--or how little--information is needed?
  Examples: a dictionary definition, an article, several books
   

• How will the information be used?
  Examples: for a school report, for a business decision, for a do-it-yourself
  project
   

• What degree of sophistication is required?
  Examples: highly technical information, adult recreational reading, junior high school reading level
   

• How much time does the user wish to spend?
  Examples: a few minutes, several hours or days
   

• When is the information needed?
  Examples: immediately, by the end of the week, whenever available

Also helpful is the question:

• Are there limitations on the format in which the information is usable?

Examples:

• Can the patron easily access a microform reader?
• Is the patron hoping to show a video or other visual as part of a presentation?
• Is the patron hoping to obtain website addresses to follow up with?

Listening is the first step to getting the facts. Put aside whatever you may have been working on and give the patron your full attention. Do not interrupt the patron while he or she is speaking.

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