Reference scenario

{{More sources|date=October 2024}}

A reference scenario is an imagined situation where a library patron brings a question to a librarian and there is then a conversation, called in the field a reference interview, where the librarian works to help the patron find the information they want. These scenarios are used in training future librarians in how to help patrons. A scenario can be as short as a couple of sentence; it includes a question and a situation that underlies that question.

Scenarios focus the library student on the interaction with a patron. In class practice sessions, one student acts as the patron and the other as the librarian; the one practicing as the librarian shouldn't know the whole scenario in advance.{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Catherine Sheldrick |url=https://archive.org/details/conductingrefere0000ross/ |title=Conducting the reference interview : a how-to-do-it manual for librarians |date=2002 |publisher=Neal-Schuman Publishers |others= |isbn=978-1-55570-432-2 |location=New York}}

Scenarios are valued because often the question asked is not the end of the patron's information search, but the start. Patrons often start by voicing a question that they think the library can answer, rather than the question they are actually seeking to answer; or, they pose a question that the librarian doesn't understand. Reference librarian skills are about mediating a gap between what the patron wants and what the library can provide. This can involve the librarian making themselves a partner in the patron's search, showing them what the library has to offer, or sometimes just clarifying a confusing word.