Definition

Library anxiety is a phenomenon characterized by the feeling of being “lost in the library.” It can include anxiety over: the size of the library and the location of materials, not knowing how to begin the research process, not knowing how to use the computers in the library, and being afraid to ask librarians questions or feeling that one’s questions are stupid (Van Kampen, 2004). Library anxiety is especially common among first year students and off-campus adult learners. Literature suggests that library anxiety can have an impact on academic success and can lead to library avoidance.

History of Concept

The term "library anxiety" was first coined by Constance Mellon in 1986 in her research regarding the library search process and designing library instruction programs. She found consistent feelings of anxiety emerging from the students in their reports of the research process (Van Kampen, 2004). Mellon went on to develop a qualitative theory of library anxiety and it’s affects on the learning process. Mellon’s work was expanded by Qun Jiao and Anthony Onwuegbuzie, who found that other behaviors are often connected to library anxiety, most notably perfectionism and procrastination (1997). The first quantitative study of the validity of library anxiety was developed in 1992 by Sharon Bostick, who proposed the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) to measure and categorize library anxiety among college students. This scale has since been modified and expanded by Doris Van Kampen into the Multidimensional Library Anxiety Scale (MLAS), to include dimensions missing from the original scale, such as the affects of gender and internet usage on library anxiety (2004).

Application to Reference Services

Many researchers suggest that improving librarian-student reference transactions and the quality of information literacy instruction can have an impact on reducing library anxiety (Atlas, 2005). Reference librarians are often perceived as intimidating and unapproachable. Jiao and Onwuegbuzie suggest that to relieve anxiety, “librarians should be trained to act in a friendly, professional, and accessible manner at all times.” (1997)

Librarians should be aware of the information search process and the corresponding moods and anxieties attributed to it's different phases. Carol Kuhlthau developed a model of the information search process (ISP), consisting of six stages: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection, and presentation (1994). She explains how library anxiety can be common in many of these phases, and emphasizes the importance for librarians to be recognize these phases in order to effectively reduce uncertainty and anxiety (1994).

Effective bibliographic instruction and online tutorials can also help to relieve library anxiety. In 2003, Anna M. Van Scoyoc conducted a study regarding effective instruction and library anxiety and concluded that “using library instruction to teach students how to use the library effectively and efficiently, to give students guidance with their initial use of library resources, and to create an opportunity for students to meet library staff has been recognized as an excellent method to reduce students' anxiety about using the library.” (p. 337)

Related Concepts

• Approachability
• Information Seeking Behavior
• Personality Characteristics
• Stress
• User Satisfaction

Additional Resources

• Library Anxiety: Theory, Research, and Applications
• The Library Anxiety Scale

References

Atlas, M. C. (2005). Library anxiety in the electronic era, or why won't anybody talk to me anymore? one librarian's rant. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 44(4), 314-319.

Jiao, Q. G., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1997). Antecedents of library anxiety. Library Quarterly, 67(4), 372-89.

Kuhlthau, C. C. (1994). Impact of the information search process model on library services. RQ, 34(1), 21-26.

Van Kampen, D. J. (2004). Development and validation of the multidimensional library anxiety scale. College & Research Libraries, 65(1), 28-34.

Van Scoyoc, A. M. (2003). Reducing library anxiety in first-year students: The impact of computer-assisted instruction and bibliographic instruction. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 42(4), 329-341.

Courtney A. Hoffner