A few weeks ago (Sept. 14-19) I made a trip to Bulgaria. (Another blog with more about that to follow!) I was a guest of the Bulgarian Library and Information Association, speaking in the national capital of Sofia to about 30, mostly public library directors about what I've called "community reference," and others call "embedded reference." Incidentally, as I think more about this, I've decided it might better be called "library as leader." I advocate a process that follows seven stages: 1. Brainstorm the names of community leaders . "Community" here doesn't mean just public leaders. The community could be a university, a public school, or a corporation. "Community" just means "operating environment." And "leaders" means decision-makers or influencers. 2. Interview them . One of the fundamental skills of librarianship is the reference interview. I suggest three questions: - what are the k...