1	Reference Interviews Module 1 Min-Yen KAN Fundamentals of LIS
2	What is a reference interview?
3	What is a reference interview? Process where the user comes to the reference desk and asks for information What type of information do people ask for? What are the characteristics of a reference interview? What factors lead to a “successful” reference interview? How do we evaluate reference interviews?
4	RI as a process: a first point of view
5	RI as an information transfer process Check whether a (human) system provides the user with a right answer Complete Accurate and timely What is the percentage of questions answered correctly?
6	Why only ___%?!? Some explanations:
7	One reference interview The librarian: I think it went all right from my viewpoint because I didn’t have to really interact too much. She seemed capable, she seemed to know what she was doing. I felt she had found what she wanted because she said she had what she needed. She seemed to be capable of handling it on her own. - Radford (99)
8	One reference interview The student: I felt like she couldn’t help me on my subject. Isn’t that she didn’t know the answer, but I felt that she didn’t want to [help]… she looked like she did not know what I was talking about, a blank stare and also almost like irritated.
9	RI as an communicative art When a group of MLS students were sent on a mission to the library to ask a question… __% said that they might ask another question in the future __% said that they wouldn’t bother asking the librarian even if they have an information need No matter what form the reference interview takes on, a form of interpersonal communication takes place Is not and cannot be free of relational dimensions
10	"When attempts to find information..." When attempts to find information fail, patrons may choose to approach the reference desk. If they do, the librarian becomes the human interface or mediator between the library and the users’ need. The critically important moment when users approach and engage the librarian can be the point at which the complexities of the library are gently explained, fears are calmed, and information becomes accessible. If help is withheld, given grudgingly, hurriedly, or in a condensing manner, the encounter becomes the point at which the library appears even more inaccessible. Users can be left feeling confused, frustrated, and sometimes personally defeated or humiliated. - paraphrased from Radford (99)
11	Question Negotiation Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK) A state in which the user “is unable to specify precisely what is needed to address their need” To help the librarian understand the needs of the user, Taylor (68) uses 5 question filters Subject Objective and motivation Escalator Questions
12	Types of queries in RI Directional e.g., Where are the photocopiers? 30-50% of all questions 1 minute or less Ready reference – “factoid” questions e.g., Who is the prime minister of China? 50-60% 90% can be answered using standard references; 10% Specific-search e.g., Where can I find information on sexism in business? 20%-40% Depends on sources available Research Questions c.f., information ecology very low frequency Depends, but generally longer and more challenging (and fun)
13	Question Variability The question alone does not determine its type Aspects of the user (adult, child, professor, student under deadline) Scope of the query (just for fun, winning a bet, for research)
14	RI as a doctor consultation? Yes __ No __
15	Finding and evaluating materials Once understood, the query has to be transformed into a search strategy e.g., does the scope of the query imply an article, a book or a bibliography? Do I need to do a catalog search? Once material is found, is it actually appropriate to the user? e.g., is the material suitable for citation in a high school report or research publication?
16	Available sources in the library Access Bibliography e.g., controlled bibliographies & (union) catalogs Source Encyclopedias Fact Sources Dictionaries Biographical Sources Geographical Sources
17	The Information Chain Primary sources Secondary Tertiary
18	Evaluating a source Many criteria to consider, but: Purpose Authority Scope Audience Cost Format
19	RI as a process: revised game plan
20	Transition into the DL No matter what the technology is, the goal remains to answer questions William Katz (Reference services guru)
21	A Librarian’s Lament We have enticed the academy into cyberspace…without us. We have proven the value of library resources…but not the librarian - R. David Lankes (Director of Institute of Information Systems, Syracuse University)
22	The state of digital reference Question Answering systems AskA services Cutting edge trends
23	TREC Question Answering The state of the art system question answering system gets about ______ of “factoid” ready-reference questions answered correctly. - TREC competition results (02)
24	Ask-A services Question Triage Sorting and routing questions Ask A services Differ on Cost: Fee or free Turnaround time Area of expertise Rating / Feedback on experts
25	What is Digital Reference? a.k.a. “AskA” services Internet-based question-and-answer services that connect users with experts and subject expertise. Connect people with people
26	Virtual Reference Desk Network This service provides support to AskA services by accepting out-of-scope and overflow questions. When a subject-specific service gets questions out of its scope, it forwards them to the VRDN. If a question cannot be addressed by another member, it is handled by a VRD core librarian.
27	But does it matter? Sloan (02)’s statistics Types of questions (n = 877) Research questions – 30% “I need five articles for…” – 20% Known item questions – 8%) Ready reference questions – 14% Library use questions – 8% Library technical questions – 9% Wait time 63% of users waited fewer than 30 seconds 73.5% in one minute or less
28	Heading in the right direction for the future? Question session as a data object to be studied and statistically analyzed. Collaboration strategies to bring users to experts 24/7. HCI studies and chat/email/dialog toolkits to make user interactions seem more polite and pleasant. Melding of automatic methods with manual ones.
29	References Virtual Reference Desk (conferences proceedings also online) http://www.vrd.org/ Alliance Library Ready Reference (used in Sloan’s study, including data) http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/Projects/ReadyRef/index.html