Library Anxiety of Residents in Use of Information Sources and Electronic Services Based on Localized Bostick Scale

A Library is a safe place to research and study for some students, but it creates anxiety for others. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the library anxiety among Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences(KUMS) residents in using information sources and electronic services based on five factors of Bostick scale.

The study was a cross-sectional survey. The sample size was 197 persons who were selected using simple random sampling. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.809. The questionnaire consisted of 41 questions on a five-point Likert scale. The library anxiety questions were designed and localized based on the five factors of the Bostick scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation and analytical statistics by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS 23 software.

The mean score of library anxiety was 78.32, the mean score of familiarity and usage was 32.08 and 29.54. Mechanical and emotional factors had the highest mean of library anxiety factors. Mean library anxiety was not significantly different between male and female residents(p>0.05). There was a significant relationship between residents' library anxiety and their skills in using information resources and e-services.

The results indicate a level of library anxiety among the assistants. Accepting this fact can be a positive step in solving the problems associated with the use of information and electronic resources.