ABSTRACT
One reader asked if there was a term for answering a question with a question. What a perfect question from a reference librarian! After all, don't we frequently do just this? Of course, we call it "the reference interview" or "negotiating the question." I sometimes wonder how patrons feel when they ask what they think is a very simple question, only to have the librarian come back with another question. Patrons probably don't realize that the librarian was trained to assume patrons don't know what they really want.
