Library anxiety among university students: A survey

Library anxiety has been identified as a contributory factor to poor academic performance among students, and libraries are being challenged to give serious consideration to this phenomenon in order to develop strategies for reducing the problem. This study sought to determine if there were any indicators of the presence of library anxiety among a sample of 150 undergraduates in the faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus and some of the factors contributing to this condition. The findings indicated the presence of library anxiety of short-term duration among the students due to both personal and institutional factors. Some personal factors included a lack of the relevant information literacy skills, absence of previous library experience, ignorance of the capability and extent of the library information retrieval systems and confusion when trying to find their way around the library. Institutional factors included the relatively large size of the library, the layout and organization of floors and collection, unavailability of computers and lack of appropriate signage. Recommendations were made to help alleviate the problems that appear to have triggered library anxiety.