Library anxiety among Polish students: Development and validation of the Polish Library Anxiety Scale

The Polish Library Anxiety Scale (P-LAS) was developed and validated using as bases Bostick's Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) and three other scales: Multidimensional LAS (MLAS), Hebrew-LAS (H-LAS), and Kuwait-LAS (K-LAS). P-LAS consists of six components: barriers related to staff, personal affect, technology, library knowledge, library comfort, and resources. The research to develop this instrument took place in two empirical stages. Initial research using P-LAS concluded that about 40% of surveyed Polish students may be affected by some form of library anxiety. The general level of library anxiety among Polish respondents was relatively low.

Research Highlights
► About 40% of Polish students are affected by library anxiety.
► Polish Library Anxiety Scale (P-LAS) was developed and validated.
► The general level of library anxiety among respondents was relatively low.
► Resource anxiety plays a significant role in the phenomenon in Poland.