This study compares academic library use of
undergraduate students in the united states and
undergraduate students in Taiwan. Frequency of library use
was treated as a dependent variable to determine the best
predictors from 16 independent variables via a
questionnaire administered to junior students in the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in the U. S. and the
National Taiwan University in Taiwan.
The items composing the dependent variables of library
use were factor analyzed to determine the underlying
structure of the purposes of library use and the frequency
of library use. For both samples, two factors explained
well over 50 per cent of the variance in the items: NONCOLLECTION
USE and COLLECTION USE. The factor scores for
these factors were used as dependent variables with 16
predictors, and backward method of multiple regression was
applied to extract the best predictors for each sample.
The results indicated that the situational variables such as the requirement of term papers, assigned reading beyond
textbooks, instructor's encouragement to use the library,
and the need for a quiet place to study were the most
important variables in the American sample, interacting
with psychological traits, library-relationship variables,
and demographic variables in their relationship to
undergraduate library use. In the Chinese sample,
demographic variables such as mother's educational level
and psychological variables such as dogmatism, and antiintellectualism
were more important than situational
variables in their relationship to undergraduate library
use.
