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.
Scenarios focus the library student on the interaction with a patron.
[1] Scenarios are valued because often the question asked is not the end of the patron's information search, but the start.
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.