Library Service: Customer Service

Library services are more than the services that a library offers. It is the type and breadth of customer service that librarians are able to provide. Perhaps this is what is most applicable to us as library and information professionals. In this capacity it is our duty to provide the patron with the information that best meets their needs. This should be done in such a fashion that the patron feels that he or she is being respected at all times. This is what makes us professionals.
This seems fairly straightforward, but information seekers do not always know what they are looking for. They have a question that needs to be answered by information services that we provide, and it is our job to make the connection for them. As part of this process, I think that it is important that the librarian do a mini-interview of the patron to find why they are searching, how it will be used, and so forth (Rubin, 1998, p.28). I think that this will provide the patron with better search results. I do not think that this infringes on their privacy. If they decline to answer they are well within their rights, but as a result broader information will be accumulated for them.
Do you think that the mini-interview process is a duty on the part of the librarian or an infringement on their privacy? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.