Counseling Skills Applied to Reference Services.

Abstract

Many similarities exist between counseling and reference work. Counseling skills can be applied to reference service and librarians could benefit from studying courses in counseling techniques. Both counseling and librarianship are helping professions and their goals are similar in assisting people in finding answers to individual needs. The counselor provides help with emotional and personal problems. The reference librarian acts as a guide in finding information. A major difference between the two types of services is the length of time involved in each. The counseling sessions may last weeks whereas the reference interview is usually brief. The techniques developed over the years in counseling work are particularly interesting in their possible application to reference service. Parallel situations can be found in the initial

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