Question Negotiation in the Archival Setting: The Use of Interpersonal Communication Techniques in the Reference Interview

Reference archivists currently lag behind reference librarians in their awareness of the subtleties and significance of reference interactions. This article focuses on the dynamics of question negotiation, a process by which the patron's initial query is clarified through the archivist's use of communication techniques in order to identify the patron's true information need, which often is not expressed in the initial query. Among the aspects of interpersonal communication considered are the use of paralinguistic elements of communication (pitch, stress, and volume of voice), the effect of verbal and nonverbal communication skills on the archivist-patron relationship, and the overall impact of this interaction on the archivist's effectiveness in serving the patron.