How To Ask a Reference Question
 |
Are you afraid of librarians? For some reason, many people are. Don’t be afraid, we don’t bite! We're actually very nice.
Here's some advice to follow when you ask a question at the reference desk.
|
Librarians usually ask the following questions when you come to the desk:
- What is your topic?
- What is your assignment?
- What class is it for?
- Where have you looked already?
- What problems are you running into?
- How much information do you need?
- Can you describe what you want to find?
You might not believe it, but librarians are trained (we have master’s degrees!) in how to figure out what people need to know. Often people aren’t quite sure what question they want to ask when they come to the reference desk, but we can help you figure it out if you’ve already tried to do some research on your own.
If you come prepared to answer at least some of these questions, you’re already doing great.
Shark image courtesy of
Richard Ling,
creative commons license.
Pre-Test and Post-Test
Contact Us!