The Relationship between Academic Library Design and Library Anxiety in Students

The amount of library anxiety—feelings of discomfort and stress in a library environment—that students face is intimately connected with the design of academic library spaces. However, until this point, most research into library anxiety and the physical environment of academic libraries has not considered the relationship between the two. This literature review discusses the current research available about library anxiety and academic library design. It highlights points of overlap where, despite the best of intentions, libraries may have failed to address the antecedents of library anxiety when making design decisions and suggests that more research is needed to fully understand the correlation between the two.