1. Introduction This user study is based on empirical data collected from an online survey conducted between April 7 and May 28, 2005 at Virginia Tech. The goal of this comparative study is to investigate how graduate students from diverse ethnic groups discover, select, and use various information sources, and to obtain insights into international graduate students’ information seeking behavior, especially its similarities and differences compared with the information locating patterns used by their American peers. A literature review revealed a ten year gap in similar studies of information seeking behavior of international graduate students. Comparison studies of the differences between American and international graduate students had not previously been done. Methodology and Data Collection A web-based anonymous survey was published on Survey Monkey from April 7 to May 28, 2005. Cover letter and the survey link was sent to graduate students via their listserv. Survey questionnaire consisted of 4 sections: 1. Section I was structured to elicit demographic information about the study group. 2.Section II sought to investigate general information about searching patterns. 3.Section III focused on library activities. 4.Section IV is an open-ended question for final comments. The authors employed statistical hypothesis testing techniques to study the following three areas: 1. Compare the information needs and information seeking behavior of international graduate students compared with American graduate students 2. Investigate the relationship between English language proficiency of international graduate students and their information seeking behavior 3. Investigate the relationship between length of stay in the United States of international graduate students and their information seeking behavior Acknowledgements This research was funded by a grant from the Virginia Tech University Libraries Travel and Research Committee. The authors wish to acknowledge assistance from graduate school officials: Monika Gibson, Ruth Athanson, and Sherri Turner, and to express appreciation to the following Virginia Tech librarians: Paul Metz, Althea Aschmann, Margaret Merrill, Dave Beagle, Vicki Kok, Bruce Obenhaus, Michelle Young, Luke Vilelle, and Professor of Information Science at University of Missouri, Columbia: John Budd New Library Services Conclusions Impact of language/culture communication barriers and technology barriers on international students’ access to library information has decreased as English proficiency for international graduate students has increased. A gap exists in university library services between American and foreign libraries. International graduate students have had less library instruction than their American peers. Perhaps instruction at the graduate level would be helpful. Library electronic resources and Internet searching are the top starting point for information seeking for both groups of graduate students. International graduate students use the library much more actively and often than their American peers. There are differences in the way international and American graduate students begin searching for library resources. VT international graduate students preferred a Internet search engines, while American VT graduate students start with VT E- resources. International Graduate Students vs. American Graduate Students: a user study at Virginia Tech 2005 Clara Liao, Georgetown Law Mary Finn, Virginia Tech Jun Lu, American University Selected citations Bender, D.J., E.M Bayne, and R.M. Brigham. 1996. Lunar condition [1] Institute of International Education, “Interest in International Education Exchange Remains Strong in the Aftermath of September 11th according to IIE survey,” Institute of International Education, 2002. [1] Open Doors, “Open Doors 2004: International Students in the U.S.,” Open Doors, 2004. [1] Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “University Enrollment Profile 2005” [1] Sara Baron and Alexia Strout-Dapaz, “Communicating with and empowering international students with a library skills set,” Reference Services Review 29, no. 4 (2001): 314-326 The data indicates that graduate students, whose primary language isn’t English, have strong confidence in their English skills. This corresponds with evidence from TOEFL scores, which have been increasing steadily for the past 10 years. For further information Liao, Y., Finn, M., and Lu, J. (2005). Behavior of international graduate students vs. American graduate students: A user study at Virginia Tech 2005. College and Research Libraries, 68(1), 5-25 Findings International respondents use university libraries much more often than American respondents. Unlike many American students, many international respondents not only use library for study and research, but also as a social gathering place. International and American respondents have similar answers for most general evaluation questions on survey, but international respondents value the use of the library in their information seeking process more highly. How Useful is Library in Your Information Seeking process English Proficiency Poor/Fair Good Very Good/Excellent Speaking2225.9%2225.9%4148.2% Listening1618.8%2428.2%4552.9% Writing2124.7%2630.6%3844.7% Reading910.6%2124.7%5564.7% Respondent structure closely resembled demographic distribution of graduate students at VT Almost half of international respondents said they initiated searching from the Internet, while American respondents tended to search VT E-resources first International students use library services, both in online and physical visits, more than their American counterparts. Significantly more international respondents felt new to all these library services than their American peers, which indicates that a quite large academic library service gap exists between the United States and other countries The data indicates that graduate students whose primary language isn’t English, have strong confidence in their English skills. This correlates with TOEFL scores which have been rising for the past 10 years. Differences in Frequency of Library Activities