The Reference Interview, the newest course in the Library Foundational Training (LiFT) program, introduces learners to this core service that library staff provide to connect with users and meet their information needs. This on-demand course explains the purpose of a reference interview and suggests methods to make users feel comfortable and to more effectively identify and clarify their information needs. The course prompts learners to investigate their library’s own resources and commonly asked reference questions and role-play different scenarios of a patron approaching with a reference question. Taken together, the course prepares learners to confidently approach reference work with clarity, empathy, and practical strategies they can use right away.

The course emphasizes the importance of demonstrating information literacy, following ethical practices, and applying customer service skills to help ensure a successful reference interaction. To boost their information literacy skills, learners are introduced to the SIFT method, a helpful strategy anyone can use to evaluate information online in four simple steps.

1. Stop—Consider what you already know about the topic and source
2. Investigate the source—Learn more about the author and publisher of the information
3. Find better coverage—Locate additional sources that may or may not support the original claim
4. Trace the original context—Locate the original sources for any claims, quotes, and media used to ensure you understand their full context

Once the learners become familiar with the method, they then apply it in an activity that asks them to assess resources they find online.

Like all LiFT courses, The Reference Interview includes a Discussion Guide to support and facilitate group learning, with reflection prompts and opportunities to practice some course activities together. Practicing the reference interview role-play activities in person and sharing useful resources as a group are helpful and motivating ways for library staff to begin applying what they learned from the course.

Enroll in the course

This course is part of the LiFT—Library Foundational Training collection of on-demand learning content. OCLC’s WebJunction, in collaboration with the Idaho Commission for Libraries, designed LiFT courses to give library staff and volunteers practical, foundational knowledge to grow in their roles, expand their confidence, and strengthen public library practice from the ground up.