Library users are overwhelmed by the complexities of library services and the sheer volume of information sources. Hence, Mellon (1986) investigated the process of writing reports for assignments at the library. Students expressed fear of approaching librarians and their discomfort with the library rather than difficulties in finding information. Users with library anxiety feel helpless when searching for information in the library; they cannot navigate the library well, their library skills are inferior to those of their peers, they do not know how to start searching for materials, and they struggle to find the materials they need. Mellon (1986) states that these reactions are natural and that library anxiety can be resolved by building on successful experiences. Library anxiety has also been examined among postgraduates (Jiao & Onwuegbuzie, 1998) and immigrants (Mengxiong, 1995). Indeed, library anxiety contributes to poor academic performance and needs to be addressed (Jan, Anwar, & Warraich, 2020; Kwon, 2008).

Library anxiety has over time grown to include not only searching libraries, but also the Web. The adoption of digital environments (e.g., digitisation, the web) in libraries has led to widespread library anxiety. For instance, online public access catalogues and other web-based information retrieval services are no longer mediated by librarians and other professionals but are directly provided to users (Bandura, Freeman, & Lightsey, 1999; Mizrachi & Snunith, 2004; Omran, 2001). Users are expected to obtain the information they seek using these technologies.

Library anxiety is primarily induced by users’ psychology (Agalya, Singson, Thiyagarajan, & Gogoi, 2022; Akbarzadeh & Bigdeli, 2020; Jan, Anwar, & Warraich, 2020; Kwon, 2008). Jan et al. (2020) focused on emotional intelligence (EI), that is, one’s ability to monitor their own and others’ emotions, identify them, and adjust one’s thoughts and behaviours accordingly. They found a positive relationship between EI and library anxiety (r (140) =0.18, p=0.04), with a one-unit increase in EI inducing a 0.23-unit increase in library anxiety. Thus, students with high EI are sometimes unwilling to utilise libraries due to fear, that is, they experience library anxiety. It is important to note that EI affects how university students (participants) deal with library anxiety and does not directly relate to library anxiety. Jan et al. (2020) showed that psychological factors regulate library anxiety. However, the specific psychological factors EI monitors and their psychological mechanisms have not been clarified regarding library anxiety. Other studies exploring library anxiety-related psychological factors (Agalya et al., 2022; Akbarzadeh & Bigdeli, 2020; Kwon, 2008) have focused on the degree of anxiety experienced and familiarity with libraries and librarians, neglecting not only the multiple psychological factors related to library anxiety but also the psychological mechanisms through which library anxiety occurs. Additionally, differences between searching and stopping searches among those with library anxiety have not yet been addressed.

Most previous studies on library anxiety have addressed exploration as a component of task performance or learning activities. Therefore, based on findings in educational psychology, achievement motivation and goal orientation are psychological factors that may be related to library anxiety. This makes sense as library anxiety is a psychological state that can occur during learning when achievement motivation and goal orientation influence the desire to complete learning tasks and not fail. Achievement motivation is a psychological inclination that can be positively or negatively driven. Positive achievement motivation might be the hope of success, which represents the desire to achieve success in a goal or task. Negative achievement motivation could take the form of fear of failure, which represents the desire to avoid failure. Hope of success is related to experiencing pride when achieving a goal, whereas fear of failure is related to experiencing shame when a goal is not achieved (Elliot & Church, 1997). Goal orientation is a goal that is set and positioned to recognise or monitor one’s achievement motivation and satisfy it (Atkinson, 1964). Goal orientations can be categorised into three types: mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal orientations (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). Mastery goal orientation refers to being motivated to improve or master a task. Performance-approach orientation refers to being motivated by the desire to obtain a positive evaluation in a task, whereas a performance-avoidance goal orientation refers to being motivated by fear of failure stemming from being evaluated negatively and being seen as incompetent. Regarding the relationship between these three goal orientations, academic performance, and motivation, several studies have confirmed a positive correlation between performance-approach goals with intrinsic motives and grades and a negative correlation between performance-avoidance goals with intrinsic motivation and grades (Elliott & Dweck, 1998; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996; Tanaka & Yamauchi, 2000).

Many studies on library anxiety have used exploration as part of a task or task performance with learning as the research context. It has been proposed that library anxiety is an effect of achievement motivation and goal orientation—concepts widely studied in educational psychology—and is reflected in factors such as underestimating one’s own skills, avoiding behaviours for fear others would see one as incompetent, and changing one’s behaviour.

Therefore, in the present study, based on a review of the seminal papers referenced above, it was hypothesised that (1) achievement motivation, which is the inherent psychological inclination of a person, influences goal orientation based on how they approach and perform each task (Atkinson, 1964; Elliot & Church, 1997; Elliott & Dweck, 1998; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996; Tanaka & Yamauchi, 2000), and (2) the interaction between achievement motivation and goal orientation modifies exploratory behaviour (Bandura, Freeman, & Lightsey, 1999; Jan, Anwar, & Warraich, 2020; Jiao & Onwuegbuzie, 1998; Kwon, 2008; Mellon, 1986; Mengxiong, 1995; Mizrachi & Snunith, 2004; Omran, 2001).

First, regarding hypothesis 1, the results confirmed that hope of success has a direct positive influence on performance-approach and mastery goals and that it significantly influences mastery goals. Further, it was confirmed that fear of failure directly influences performance-avoidance goals; thus, hypothesis 1 was accepted. This result was consistent with the findings of Elliot and Church (1997) and Mitsunami (2010). Hope of success appears to lead to mastery goals, whereas fear of failure tends to lead to performance-avoidance goals. Regarding hypothesis 2, the results showed that the performance-approach goal had no effect on the implementing interpersonal resources, independence in information seeking, or implementing mass media resources, while the mastery goal had a similar positive effect on these three factors, and the performance-avoidance goal had a positive effect on implementing mass media resources; thus, hypothesis 2 was partially supported.

Hope of success affected mastery goals in most cases and had the same effect on implementing interpersonal resources, independence in information seeking, and implementing mass media resources. Therefore, when the focus is on personal growth and a deeper understanding of the task rather than on comparison with others, information seeking is actively carried out using all sources of information. However, when fear of failure is the motive and a performance-avoidance goal is adopted, searching for information through others is avoided, and searching using interpersonal resources is preferred to prevent damage to self-esteem or being treated lightly by others in the event of failure. Mass media resource searches tend to occur regardless of goal orientation.

This study was conducted among university students. As attitudes towards tasks and challenges in learning are thought to differ at each educational stage, the results obtained cannot be generalised to all educational stages. In addition, this study adopted a simplified survey and model to first grasp the potential psychological mechanisms involved in library anxiety. However, the fact that the performance-approach goal did not affect any of the exploratory behaviours suggests the existence of other variables. Building on this research, it will be necessary to investigate the relationships between various cognitive factors and learning-related variables.