Reference interview: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:44, 22 September 2011

Revision as of 23:01, 23 September 2011

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3. Accuracy is highly prized by librarians, but it is not the only, or even the most important, element that users look for: Users want information packaged in a certain format; they want it within a

specified period of time; they want it in a certain amount; and above all they want it not to take more than a certain amount of effort to get it. Depending on their purpose, users may be quite satisfied with ballpark answers and won't require anything more exact. Part of conducting the Reference interview successfully is to find out how finely-grained the helpful answer needs to be. Matthew Saxton and John Richardson (2002) found that public library users were highly satisfied <ref>{{cite book|last=Ross|first=S. R|title=Why bother with a reference interview?|year=2009|publisher=London, Facet|___location=London|pages=1-371–37}}</ref>with the service despite lack of accuracy.0 Fifteen percent were highly satisfied even when they didn't find everything they needed. Three percent were highly satisfied even when the response they received was later judged to be inaccurate. Three percent were highly satisfied even when they didn't find anything useful. These findings provide more evidence to suggest that accuracy is not the only indicator for satisfaction.

== 12 things needed to conduct a successful interview ==