Principles and Strategies

Library principles

Personal principles

Susan’s opinions

Strategies for being an effective reference

librarian

Books are meant to be read (resources are

meant to be used)

Every reader his/her book (have a broad,

unbiased collection; use many vendors)

Every book its reader (target your collection

to your community)

Save the time of the reader (organize)

A library is a growing organism (change

happens!)

Be kind and welcoming

Have a good Reference Interview

Search

Take patrons to the stacks

Close out the interaction OR

Refine and revise your search

Repeat as necessary

Listen attentively and show interest

Don’t assume – ask more questions

Ask open-ended questions

Ask clarifying questions to refine or narrow

your search

Restate or rephrase the question

Make only positive comments

Refrain from personal comments or

expressing personal opinions

Do you have any

science books?

Do you have

any books about

rehab?

What kind of information about X do you

need?

What types of information can you use?

How much information do you need?

What do you mean by X?

Can you be more specific?

Can you give me an example?

I don’t know much about X; can you help me

understand?

Take time now to save time later

Use the appropriate tools for your particular

search

ILS – staff view

PAC

Subscription Databases

Internet (first resort or last resort)

Your own knowledge of your collections

Co-workers – team up!

Use the best sources for your particular search

Circulating materials

Print Reference collection

Online databases

Other electronic resources

Co-workers

Our tag cloud

Internet (Amazon, IMDB, GoodReads, Fantastic

Fiction)

Irrelevant and outmoded?

Worth the shelf space?

Outdated?

Not so accessible through the online catalog

There is no substitute for knowing your collection!

Think beyond a simple keyword search

Consider database fields

Consider controlled vocabulary

Use appropriate limiters “…”

Collection

Subject heading

Format

Not everything will show up in an electronic search

Browse the stacks (use subject headings & call numbers)

Ask co-workers

Cookbooks vs

Cookery

Deaf vs Hearing

Impaired

Native American vs

Indian

Do you know how to locate materials here?

Do you know how to use this resource?

(index, contents)

Is this the kind of info you were looking for?

Does this information answer your question?

Does this completely

answer your

question?

Yes? Great!

No?

Refine and revise

your search

Take the patron’s name and phone number

A good reference interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrOdtu1

UCu8

Another good interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xr1OqY

tisM

Not such a good interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niac-

sIGd8g

Legal advice, including interpreting the

meaning of a law

Tax advice, including which form to use

Medical advice

Information about patrons, specifically not

borrowing history or contact information

Personal contact information

Information about who is in the library (we

are not in loco parentis)

Question originally asked:__________________________________________________

[ ] Verified question

[ ] Asked “Does this answer…”

[ ] Found answer, ideally in first source

[ ] Used open probes

[ ] Gave full attention

[ ] Paraphrased

[ ] Used positive responses

[ ] Asked for collaboration

Other observations/comments:

Don’t confuse knowing everything with being a good librarian

Take personal responsibility for your own professional growth

Know our profession’s standards and principles

Be constantly learning new skills and strategies

Become an effective finder

Be kind to your patrons and co-workers

Make the library a happy destination

Basic encyclopedia

Index to NH RSA’s

Statistical Abstract of the United States

Merck Manual

Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine

Statesman’s Yearbook

Collected biographies

History of Surnames

Local history/local interest books