Library requirements of Masters of Art (Creative Writing) students : is the class library of the International Institute of Modern Letters meeting their information needs?

Abstract

To investigate whether the Class Library of the International Institute of Modern Letters was meeting the information needs of the students in the Master of Arts (Creative Writing) an exploratory research approach was used. A sequential mixed methodology study comprised of a questionnaire, with both quantitative and qualitative content, to canvass student responses as well as interviews with the Institute's students, its teaching staff, and the Collection Development Librarian of the Victoria University of Wellington Central Library. The findings showed that students made significant use of the Class Library, often in preference to the University Library. This usage was based on factors such as collection quality, proximity to the Institute, accessibility of the collection and the availability of reading material.

Library anxiety experienced when using the Central Library is another probable factor. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the Institute retain the Class Library as an autonomous collection and not integrate it into the collection of the Victoria University of Wellington Central Library.