Constance Mellon’s “Library Anxiety”: An Appreciation and a Critique

Assessing Information Literacy Skills and Library Anxiety of First-Year Occupational Therapy Graduate Students

“…In the academic library setting, a student does not necessarily want to appear unknowledgeable, yet asking a simple research question may reveal a lot about a person's educational level and research experience (McAfee, 2018). The term "library anxiety" first emerged in the literature in 1986, as a result of the observations and studies by Constance Mellon, then a professor of library science in North Carolina (Gremmels, 2015;McPherson, 2015). Mellon described library anxiety as a "situation-specific negative feeling or emotional disposition that occurs when a student is in a library setting" (Onwuegbuzie & Jiao, 2000, p. 46).…”

“…Her findings revealed three main causes for library anxiety: 1) students feel that their library skills are inadequate, yet believe those of their peers are adequate; 2) inadequacy is something to be ashamed of and hidden if possible, and 3) inadequacy likely would be revealed if one asked questions (McAfee, 2018;Vernon et al, 2016). Bostick later tested Mellon's findings by developing in her dissertation a Likert survey for college students called the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS), which consisted of 43 items designed to test library anxiety in undergraduates (Gremmels, 2015). Bostick identified five prominent factors leading to library anxiety: barriers with library staff, affective barriers, comfort with the library, knowledge of the library, and the presence of mechanical barriers (Lu & Adkins, 2012).…”

“…Library anxiety has been recognized as a contributing factor to poor overall academic performance; to negatively influencing a student's ability to complete assignments and be successful, while also having cognitive, affective, physiological and behavioral ramifications (Brinkman & Hartsell-Gundy, 2012;McPherson, 2015;Vernon et al, 2016). As Gremmels (2015) offered, "This is what I am seeing in my students who seem overwhelmed by the library, in need of a librarian's help yet reluctant to approach us" (p. 268). In the extreme, students with library anxiety will actively avoid using the library for the duration of their studies (Cooke, 2010;McPherson, 2015;Still, 2015).…”

“…A pre/post survey was constructed (see Appendices 1 and 2) with 17 questions utilizing a 4-point Likert scale. The literature review and the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) by Bostick (Gremmels, 2015) served as guides for question construction. Consideration was given to keeping the survey brief and relevant to the context of this particular study; therefore, a standardized survey was not utilized.…”

Don’t Panic! Managing Library Anxiety with a Library Survival Guide

“…including consultations with librarians." 4 Simple observation of information seekers anywhere suggests that many students today turn to Google to answer questions, while the idea of the library seems arcane, or does not even enter their minds as a source of information. A basic grasp of information literacy can help students look beyond Google to the resources and research help available at the library.…”