EXPLORING LIBRARY ANXIETY FACED BY NEW STUDENTS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITYNOF TECHNOLOGY AKURE, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated library anxiety faced by new students in Federal university of Technology Akure, Ondo state , Nigeria, the research was guided by the objectives on causes of Library anxiety, strategies to to reduce library anxiety. A survey research method was adopted for the study while the population of the study was the seventy-six(76) library staff. The instrument used for data collection for the study was interview. It was found out that  absence of proper signage directing new users to the library may create tension for them. Reduction of library anxiety can be done through user education and introduction of new undergraduate students to various sections of the Library during the yearly library orientation programme and to some new undergradute students who are seeing  big Library for the first time may find it uneasy to quickly adapt to the new environment among others. It is concluded that new students in Federal University of Technology akure, Ondo state, Nigeria , faced anxiety in the course of using  the library. It is recommended that provision of signage will help the new students to use the library, creation of a welcoming and conducive atmosphere for new undergraduate students by allowing them to freely ask qustions on what is not clear to them, students should be taught to have good knowledge of how to make good use of a standrd library in such a way that those who may have initially abandoned the library because of the use of strange terminologies such as call number and notations may find pleasure to return and make good use of available informtion resources in the Library of the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria.