Customer Reviews

Conducting the Reference Interview: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, Second Edition (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I was preparing for paraprofessional librarian job interviews--I don't have formal training as a librarian--I found this book very helpful. It gave me both a general framework and lots of specifics. Anyone, not just librarians, trying to help people find information they need, but don't know how to ask for, would learn from this book. It also teaches some fabulous customer service skills. I felt like I'd taken a thorough crash course in helping people get their needs met.

CONDUCTING THE REFERENCE INTERVIEW isn't a bad book, but it's basically 280-some pages on how not to be a jerk. There wouldn't be anything inherently wrong about this except the book was quite expensive. I sort of think my graduate school was a little short-sighted in requiring this. I could've learned just as much by reading a journal article.

This book is great for any reference librarian. There are detailed suggestions for improving service, with ample research to support the ideas presented. In addition, there are simple and easy practice exercises to try. The text makes for enjoyable reading, which is no easy feat given the nature of the material. A must read for those studying reference or working in a reference situation- whether public, private, corporate, or academic, this book covers countless situations and teaches the reader how to effectively handle those situations. An A+!

See my review of "Reference and Information services in the 21th century" since my observation and suggestion for the publisher is the same.

I initially did not want to buy this new edition because of the price. Being student and all that. But just about to graduate with my library tech diploma and needed this book for the course. And it's excellent. Very well written, informative, witty! I can't believe some of the obsurd examples of "how NOT to conduct a reference interview"
You have to buy this book, I actually really enjoyed it.

Collaboratively written by Catherine Shedlrick Ross (Professor and Dean, who teaches graduate courses in reference services and readers' advisory work in the MLS program); Kirsti Nilsen (Assistant Professor, MLIS programs for the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto); and Patricia Dewdney (Associate Professor and librarian workshop instructor), Conducting The Reference Interview: A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians covers every aspect of properly and effectively conducting interviews when recruiting library staff and volunteers for academic, governmental, corporate, and community library system. Conducting The Reference Interview is an essential, core addition to any academic Library Science reference collection and highly recommended reading for anyone charged with the responsibility for interviewing applicants for library service.