Library Anxiety Among Chinese Students: Modification and Application of LAS in the Context of Chinese Academic Libraries

Abstract

In this paper, the status of library anxiety among university students in China is studied. With interviews, questionnaires and statistical methods, a modified Chinese Library Anxiety Scale (C-LAS) is developed, considerably different from that previously proposed by Bostick [Bostick, S. L. (1992). The development and validation of the Library Anxiety Scale. PhD dissertation, Wayne State University] and suitable for the Chinese cultural sphere, consisting of seven factors including resources, retrieval, regulations, staff, knowledge, comfort and affection, delineated further into 36 statements in total. Two aspects of users including demographic factors and participation in library training courses are also studied. This study proposes a quantitative measure for the levels of library anxiety in China. The findings also suggest that resources, retrieval, and regulations are the main factors impacting library anxiety and that users' library anxiety levels are related to demographic factors and participation in library training courses.