The role of librarians, information services and information literacy skills of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) graduate students in decreasing their information seeking anxiety

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the role of librarians, information services and information literacy skills of graduate students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) in decreasing their information seeking anxiety. Methodology: This was an applied study conducted through survey method. The statistical population included 12260 graduate students consisting of 8100 master’s students and 4160 doctoral students. Of these, 236 students were selected by non-proportional stratified random sampling method. Data were gathered using questionnaires and were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. Results: The students’ information seeking anxiety level was moderate. In addition, students' information literacy status was lower than average. On the other hand, students' use of information services was moderate. There was a significant relationship between their information seeking anxiety and information literacy. The findings showed that the role of librarians in decreasing the information seeking anxiety of graduate students was at moderate level. Also, participation in related workshops did not have any effect on students’ information seeking anxiety. There was also a significant positive correlation between the students' score on librarians’ communication skills and their level of information anxiety. There was a significant positive correlation between the use of information services and the information seeking anxiety of graduate students. The findings also showed that there was no significant difference between the mean scores of students' information seeking anxiety and their gender and academic field, but their educational level. In addition, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of the students’ information literacy skills and their gender, academic field and educational level. Conclusion: Awareness of the various factors that can affect the process of people’s informing seeking to the point where they are anxious is necessary. The results of this study, with emphasis on the role of librarians, the students’ use of information services and information literacy skills can be addressed by librarians and university authorities in order to recognize the effective factors and to take the needed steps for removing them.