Investigating the Library and Electronic Sources Anxiety among the Post Graduate Students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: The importance of the optimal use of libraries in promoting education and research in universities proposes the study of factors such as library anxiety as a necessity for identifying and discussing the library anxiety factors. The purpose of this research was to determine the factors affecting library anxiety and electronic resources anxiety from the viewpoint of postgraduate students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences.Method: The research method was descriptive-analytical; and applied. The used instrument for collecting data was a questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of postgraduate students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The sample size was 291 people and the sampling method was random stratification. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by library and information experts. Using Cronbach's alpha, its reliability was 0.92. To analyze the findings, the descriptive statistics (frequency distribution, percentage, mean and standard deviation), SPSS software and, in the inferential level, the χ² test were used.Results: The results of this research showed that the library anxiety as well as the anxiety of electronic resources of the postgraduate students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences was moderate. In the study of students' library anxiety in terms of gender, a significant difference among male and female students in the component of comfort feeling was observed. Students' library anxiety in terms of educational level revealed a significant difference among the components of comfort feeling and library knowledge of students in terms of their educational levels. Students' library anxiety in terms of age exerted a significant difference between the components of comfort feeling and library knowledge of students in terms of their ages. The students' library anxiety according to their college revealed a significant difference between the components of comfort feeling, library knowledge and emotional component in terms of college.Conclusion: The results showed that the effect of all factors affecting library anxiety (comfort feeling, library knowledge, factors related to staff, mechanical factors and emotional factors) was less than the moderate level. Students’ Library and electronic resources anxiety showed a significant difference in terms of gender, age, and their studied college.