The reference interview should cover:
- building rapport with the user
- negotiating the question
- developing an efficient search strategy
- locating the information
- evaluating the information
- following up to confirm the answer is sufficient
- closing the interview

Reference Interview

First, the reference librarian needs to conduct a reference interview with the user to specify the question as much as possible to focus their search aim and find the most relevant results and resources for the user.

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Reference services are generally broken into two parts:

1- Specifying the question

2- Answering the question

Two Parts of Reference Services

Cassell, K. A., & Hiremath, U. (2009). Reference and information services in the 21st century: An introduction (2nd ed.). Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Reference and information services in the 21st century: An introduction

Specifying the Question in Reference Services

After specifying the question, the librarian needs to use their reference skills to find adequate information to fill the need and answer the user's question.

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