Week 14: Challenging Interviews

I took some time off for a quick trip, so this post includes the day before I left and the day after. Not a true "week" but the amount of hours is about right for a combined entry.

These shifts both involved a couple of reference interviews that were individually challenging.

A young patron asked if I could help her find a movie she had borrowed before but couldn't remember the title of. At first, she couldn't remember anything about it except that it was animated and had people racing in space. I asked about the main character, and she remembered her name was Molly, and then added that the race was an "intergalactic race." Using these keywords, I was able to do a Google search and find a series called "Ōban Star-Racers," which the patron immediately recognized as the movie she wanted.  

The day I returned I had an interesting reference interview that was made more difficult by being over the phone. A patron called in to ask how to use coupons. I was at first astonished that someone had never used coupons before, but quickly asked for clarification. She wanted to know how to get coupons and how to find coupons and stores that would give her money back. She also wanted to get involved in a local group of couponers. I found some of the stores that accept coupons that give money back to the customer, but I was unable to find an exhaustive list. I told the customer how to access various forums online that were coupon centric, and explained that some coupons could be found online and printed off, while others would be found in newspapers and magazines. This was one reference interview where I felt like I ended it before the patron truly wanted to, she would have liked me to find all of her coupons for her, but I felt this was a misuse of my time as I had answered the basic questions and given a lesson in information literacy so that she could find these coupons herself.

Tip of the Week: If you're not sure how to help a patron or don't understand their request, keep asking questions until you do.

Article Annotation and Abstract Area

Harmeyer, Dave. "Reviving The Reference Interview: From Desk To Chat To Phone." Reference Librarian 51.2 (2010): 163-166. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Aug. 2012.

This article is a narrative account of one librarian's experience with the changing medium of the reference interview. Harmeyer discusses the how reference desks are being staffed by part-time employees instead of "real librarians" with only the most involved queries being referred to librarians. His story revolves around the transfer of a confused reference chat patron to a satisfied phone transaction.