A Study of Readers’ Negative Emotions in University Libraries

Readers’ evaluation of library service depends much on their emotional feelings towards library usage, in particular negative ones. The current study investigates the causes and categories of readers’ negative feelings in library usage. Thirty-two readers were interviewed for their experiences of negative feelings in library, which were then categorized into the following seven types: anger, anxiety, alarm, frustration, helplessness, sadness, and shame. In addition, readers’ negative feelings in library were found to result from libraries’ regulations/management, other readers, facilities, environment/space, library staff, collection, and information technology/software.