A structured, interactive conversation between a user and a librarian or information professional intended to clarify the user’s needs for information and identify relevant resources, sources, or search strategies. The reference interview helps to surface the:

• purpose of the search
• level of depth required
• constraints (time, audience, format)
• decision or action the information will support.

Historically, reference interviews were conducted in person at a library reference desk, particularly in academic, public, and special libraries. In academic environments, reference librarians played a central role in supporting student learning and faculty research by helping users navigate information catalogs, indexes, print collections, and subscription databases. These interviews emphasized:

• translating research topics into searchable terms
• guiding users to authoritative scholarly sources
• teaching effective research and evaluation skills as part of information literacy instruction.

In modern library environments, reference interviews continue to be a foundational practice but are now conducted across digital and hybrid formats, including chat, email, video consultation, and AI-assisted tools.  In AI-enabled digital libraries, reference interviews increasingly operate as a hybrid process:

• AI supports initial intake, keyword expansion, and discovery.
• Human librarians intervene where nuance, judgment, or verification is required.
• The reference interview becomes a tool not only for finding information, but for teaching users how to search, question, and interpret AI-mediated results.

In modern academic and research-oriented libraries, reference interviews are commonly conducted by reference librarians in support of student learning, faculty research, and institutional inquiry. Librarians support users who may not know what to search for, how to frame a question, or how to assess AI-mediated or algorithmically ranked results. Reference interviews increasingly focus on:

• clarifying intent rather than keywords
• improve prompts and search strategies
• guiding ethical and responsible use of AI tools
• helping users interpret, validate, and apply information rather than simply retrieve it.