Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Facilitator: Lara Sibley, Goshen Public Library
Location: Southeastern NY Library Resources Council, 21 S. Elting Corners Rd., Highland, NY

The Reference Special Interest Group is open to library workers who provide reference services or want to learn more about it. The group is not limited by library type and comprises academic, special, public, school, and hospital library staff. You do not need to be a degree-holding librarian to attend. The facilitator will bring an agenda, and attendees are welcome to share their thoughts, ideas, experiences, and questions.

This month’s topic is: Zen and the art of the reference interview: Meaningful reference work in a fast-paced world

How do we provide meaningful and metered reference service when patrons have places to be and we have a line of people and a to-do list waiting. Each reference interview is unique in its scale, pace and timing. Some questions are short, specific and transactional, some are long, winding and collaborative. How do we, as information professionals, manage the variations in these interactions when so often things seem to happen all at once. Come discuss your successes, fails, tips and tricks for providing present reference services in a frantic world.