Write a blog about what you learned in R&I this term
As I come to an end in my time of being an R&I intern, I have been involved with a series of projects of which I have learned various things. One of the first things that I learned while being at the desk with Emika was that we have to be able to handle some pressure to help the patrons. By this, I mean that most of the time, when at the Reference Desk, the questions that we are receiving are on the stop and sometimes we might not know the actual response to it. Another thing that I have learned at R&I would be that there is also an online component to being here. The QuestionPoint chat (although I never got a question on it) was a good opportunity for me to learn a bit more about how librarians are using online resources to help out the community.
Something that I learned close to the beginning of this term was that the Reference interview is not a job interview! Before reading about it, when one of the Reference librarians would mention the Reference interview, I would immediately think of the actual job interview that they had before coming to Carleton. However, I soon found out that the Reference interview was actually a set of questions that you ask the patron when they come to the desk for help in order to better understand what they need help with. Narrowing down, with questions, what the patron needs help with is necessary so that the patron can explain in detail what they are looking to get out of that interaction with the Reference librarian.
Valerie- Haha! That is funny that you thought the reference interview was an actual job interview, but I think you thinking that makes sense!! I personally like teaching interns about the reference interview because it allows you to organize the information you are gathering form the patron as well as organizing the loads of information they are giving you. Conducting a reference interview can sometimes be a puzzle and take longer than just a few minutes, and even though you did not experience it this term, I am sure you will have more opportunities when you attend library school. Thank you for all your excellent work this term!!