Library anxiety among Omani and Saudi Arabian international students: A case study at the University of South Carolina, USA

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate variables that may contribute towards increasing or decreasing the level of library anxiety among Saudi and Omani students studying at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA. The study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with several international students from Saudi Arabia and Oman to determine the main factors that lead to a high level of anxiety in the library. The Library Anxiety Scale, designed by Anwar et al., was used for conducting this study; t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for analyzing the data.The findings indicated that students who participated in library training courses score lower on the library anxiety scale than students who did not it. The study further revealed that the students listed the highest affective barriers and library knowledge barriers when looking at the mean score of each dimension of library anxiety. This type of exploration has never been done before and the main function of this study is to recognize the existence and impact of library anxiety among Saudi Arabian and Omani students who are studying at U.S. colleges and universities.