“Technostress” A literature survey on the effect of information technology on library users

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the present paper is to review the impact of information technologies on users of libraries and to understand the problems encountered in their information technology (IT) usage by reference to the concept of “technostress”, the inability to cope with the new computer technologies in a healthy or positive manner.Design/methodology/approachA literature review was undertaken to further our understanding of the influence of IT based services on the users of libraries.FindingsThe paper provides a literature derived set of information about library users who initially find it difficult to cope with the new technology and experience anxiety (termed “IT anxiety”, “technostress” or alternatively “technophobia”). This is bound to affect their adoption of IT technologies negatively. They may eventually begin to avoid contact with computers. Since this avoidance strategy is highly impractical in the modern IT dependent world, the various causes of technostress must be analysed, so that users can be trained to overcome technophobia.Research limitations/implicationsThe conclusions in the present paper are based on articles from different sources and not on any field study.Practical implicationsBeing a review article, it reflects the problems encountered by a range of users in different countries. The paper also pragmatically provides factors to be considered in designing a training module.Originality/valueThe paper organises information collected from different sources and presents a consolidated picture of the problems encountered by users in exploiting computers in libraries, while suggesting the means to overcome these problems.