Abstract:
The purpose of this study aims at questioning and testing the difference in library usage skills and attitudes towards the private college libraries, the librarians, and the use of such libraries of the first year private college students who enrolled and unenrolled "Lib. 011" at the secondary level. In order to test the above assumption, it is hypothesized that the students who took "Lib 011" would develop better skills in using library tools and have better attitudes towards college library, librarian and library usage than the ones who did not. The questionnaires were then distributed in August 1983 to the randomly selected /(.53 first year students in six private colleges who do not offer introduction to library course. They are Bangkok College, College of Business Administration, Sripatum College, Southeast Asia College, Assumption Business Administration College, and Siam Technical College. The collected data were analyzed by percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, T test and F test. The results can be summarized as follows: Studying "Lib 011" has no effect on neither the library usage skills nor attitudes of the two groups. However, the different attitude towards the college library resources is apparent between those two groups. The findings further revealed that both groups of students who enrolled or unenrolled in "Lib: 011" were unskilled in using card catalogue, particularly, the subject and title cards, its filing rules and the use of bibliography for term paper writing. Most of the students failed to use the periodical indexes which is considered the significant searching tool to gain business information. Thus, the private colleges who only distribute the library guide as a tool to introduce their college libraries or give only a brief library introduction should reconsider their policy whether or not to generate the formal independent course in "Introduction to Business Library."