The problem of the "pro se" patrons (people who are representing themselves in a legal dispute or transaction) has received significant attention in the legal information literature, and many excellent suggestions have been offered to aid law librarians in dealing with this population group. However, these suggestions can be usefully applied in any library that faces questions from "pro se" patrons. In this column, the author gives an overview of why "pro se" patrons pose a particular problem for reference librarians and uses insights gleaned from the legal information literature as well as her personal experience as a law librarian to suggest some ways in which both other law librarians and general reference librarians can meet the needs of this challenging population.