![[ Information Services Reference Behavior Standards ]](refstandardsBanner.jpg)
Approachability (Info Need; Question Receipt)
- consistently remains in
office during on-call hours
- responds promptly to each
request
- makes eye contact
- gives friendly verbal greeting
Knowledge/Competency (Question
Translation and Search Strategy/Execution)
- effectively uses electronic
reference tools and library Web page
- effectively uses print
reference tools
- provides assistance at
the appropriate level of need
- plans and executes effective
search strategies
- refers questions to a library
colleague only after consulting obvious sources
Partnerships/Teamwork
- asks for assistance from
coworkers when necessary
- contacts subject liaison
for dialogue with faculty instructor(s) about class assignments
- willing to fill in for
an absent coworker when asked
- answers office walk-ins
and Library Services Desk requests even when not on-call if the patron
load demands it
- alerts coworkers regarding
frequently asked questions or class assignments
Reference Interview (Question
Clarification/Translation; Judgment of Relevance)
- rephrases patron's request
and asks for confirmation to ensure that it is understood
- uses open-ended questions
to encourage patron to offer more information about their request (example:
please tell me more about your topic; what class is it for?)
- uses clarifying questions
to refine the search query (examples: how much/what type of information
do you need?)
- avoids library jargon and
uses terminology that is understandable to the patron
- asks for validation of
patron satisfaction at the end of the interview (examples: does this
answer your question/is this what you needed?)
Timeliness
- is in office at beginning
of on-call hours
- refers lengthy (longer
than 10 min.) reference answers to Help with Research service if possible
- knows when only a short
answer is appropriate
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