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Library knowledge of international students from developing countries: A comparison of their perceptions with those of reference librarians

Responses to a survey were received from 53 reference librarians out of 84, and 104 international students out of 256. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a significant relationship existed between international students' perceptions of the importance of library knowledge; their success in using the library, with the following variables: Length of stay at an American school, participation in library instruction programs, sex, region of origin, English language proficiency, and previous library experience. Reference librarians' perceptions of students' success in using the library and the importance of library knowledge to them were examined in relation to the following variables: Length of experience in reference work, participation in library instruction programs, and sex. In both cases, the Chi-square was used to determine the relationship. In addition, the t-test was applied to examine whether there was a significant difference between students and librarians' perceptions on the following variables: Card catalog, government documents, informational tools, bibliographic tools, research methodology, library collection, and library services. / Results revealed that four of the variables which are related to the importance of library knowledge, services, and collection were found to be significantly different and the null hypothesis was rejected in respect to card catalog, informational tools, government documents, and library collection. Similarly, four of the variables tested with regard to students' success were found to be significantly different, and the null hypothesis was rejected in respect to card catalog, bibliographic tools, research methodology, and library collection. / Recommendations were made to library educators who teach reference courses, library school administrators, and reference librarians. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1301. / Major Professor: Ronald Blazek. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76287
ContributorsBilal, Dania M., Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText
Format259 p.
RightsOn campus use only.
RelationDissertation Abstracts International

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