Abstract Because the main purpose of libraries is to serve as an avenue for obtaining a multitude of text in various forms, and reading is the key activity undertaken by library users, it is likely that students with the poorest reading skills are the most uncomfortable in a library research setting. Yet, surprisingly, no research exists investigating the relationship between levels of reading ability and library anxiety. This was the purpose of the present inquiry. Specifically, the current study examined the relationship between reading comprehension and reading vocabulary and five dimensions of library anxiety (namely, barriers with staff, affective barriers, comfort with the library, knowledge of the library, and mechanical barriers). Participants were 45 African‐American graduate students from various disciplines. They were administered the Library Anxiety Scale and the Nelson‐Denny Reading Test. A canonical correlation analysis (Rc=0.39) revealed that reading comprehension and reading vocabulary were related statistically significant to barriers with staff, comfort with the library, and knowledge of the library. Implications are discussed.
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