Interviewing Overview
Alfred Benjamin. The Helping Interview. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 1981. (Second edition, 1974, largely the same)
Stanley C. Mahoney. The Art of Helping People Effectively. Association Press, 1967. (esp. pp. 28-49, 122-36)
Lawrence M. Bramer. The Helping Relationship. Prentice-Hall, 1979. (esp. pp. 67-99)
Sara Fine. ALibrarians and the Art of Helping.@ The Reference Librarian No. 59 (1997): 77-91.
Randall P. Harrison. Beyond Words. Prentice-Hall, 1974.
Samy Molcho. Body Speech. St. Martin=s, 1985.
Mark L. Knapp. Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction. 2d ed. Holt, 1978.
Edward T. Hall. The Hidden Dimension. Doubleday, 1966. (esp. pp. 107-22)
Ann J. Matthews. Communicate! A Librarian=s Guide to Interpersonal Relations. ALA, 1983.
The Reference Interview: Preparation for Positive Results. Midwest Health Science Library Network, 1982.
Elaine and Edward Jennerich. The Reference Interview as a Creative Art. 2d ed. Libraries Unlimited, 1997. (First ed., 1987, o.k., too.)
Catherine S. Ross and Patricia Dewdney. Communicating Professionally: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Library Applications. Neal-Schuman, 1989.
Catherine S. Ross and Patricia Dewdney. AReference Interviewing Skills: Twelve Common Questions.@ Public Libraries 25 (Spring 1986): 7-9.
Brenda Dervin and Patricia Dewdney. ANeutral Questioning: A New Approach to the Reference Interview.@ RQ 25 (Summer 1986): 506-13.
Lille Seward Dyson. AImproving Reference Services.@ Public Libraries 31 September/October 1992: 284-89.
Sara Fine. AReference and Resources: The Human Side.@ Journal of Academic Librarianship 21 (January 1995): 17-20.
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RUSA Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Services Professionals.@ RQ 36 (Winter 1996): 200-203.Kathleen T. Horning. AFishing for Questions.@ Wilson Library Bulletin 68 (May 1994): 57-59.
Abels, Eileen G. AThe E-mail Reference Interview.@ RQ 35 (Spring 1996): 345-58.
Does This Completely Answer Your Question. (color, 16 minutes) Library Video Network (dist. by ALA Video).
Using the four stages of the interview that Gers and Dyson use in the article cited above and in the attached handout, this video does a nice job of covering the basics of the reference interview.
The Difficult Reference Question. (color, 19 minutes) Library Video Network (dist. by ALA Video).
Provides an introduction to classic communication theory. Gives concrete suggestions for strengthening interpersonal skills. Shows several examples of librarians negotiating difficult reference questions.
Coaching: Practice Makes Perfect. (color, 17 minutes) Library Video Network (dist. by ALA Video).
Explains how the method of peer-to-peer coaching can be used to aid in applying things learned in workshops. As an illustration, shows how staff members can improve their reference interview skills by forming teams that observe each other and provide descriptive feedback. (See: Gers and Seward, A>I Heard You Say...=: Peer Coaching for More Effective Reference Service, AThe Reference Librarian. No. 22, 245-59.)