Investigating Library Anxiety Among Students’ of the Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University

One of the most critical and widespread problems that is spreading like wildfire amongst the student community is visiting the library and is considered to be one of the most important blockade towards the achievement of students. This widespread and critical concern is one of the anxieties that seriously affects the academic and psychological well-being of both students and researchers. The libraries are actively addressing this encounter by encouraging a welcoming atmosphere and developing resources to alleviate the anxiety of the students. This study assessed the prevalence of library anxiety among 172 students from IMS-BHU. The analysis of the relevant data established the adapted version of Bostick’s library anxiety scale as a reliable measure, with internal consistency scores (alpha) ranging from high (0.83) to acceptable (0.72). The study’s discoveries revealed no notable disparity in library anxiety levels between female and male students. On an average, the students of IMS-BHU exhibited low levels of library anxiety. Among the various constructs, Library staff-related obstructions were deemed to be the main cause of library anxiety, followed by mechanical, comfort, knowledge, and affective barriers. In order to assuage the anxiety recommendations were provided to address and mitigate the reasons of this novel type of library anxiety.