ALA Home  RUSA  MARS  General Library Tutorials

General Library Tutorials

Innovative Web-Based Reference Services:
A Selected List

Local Systems and Services Committee

Tutorials in this context are Web-based programs that teach practical information about how to conduct general library and/or Internet research.

Institution: University of Arizona Library
Title: Finding Journal Articles in EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier (tutorial for English Composition classes)
URL: http://www.library.arizona.edu/library/teams/ust/eng101/ebsco/ebscohtutorial.htm
Contact: Vicki Mills: millsv@u.library.arizona.edu
Description: This is a tutorial used with freshman English Composition classes. It teaches basic searching techniques and how to use these techniques in Academic Search Premier. The instructions to the students are in the left frame and right frame goes to the Library's homepage. They can open ASP and do their search in it, select an appropriate citation and answer questions about that citation. The results of the tutorial are sent to the students' instructors and also to the library's English Composition coordinator. The tutorial is easy for students to learn and seem to like it. The instructors also like it because they can see the students’ topics, search terms and results. The results are emailed to them, with the student’s email address, so if a student is having problems, the instructor can reply directly to the student through the tutorial email and give them suggestions or set up a conference.
Why it's innovative: The use of frames to facilitate live searching during the tutorial--many tutorials use screen grabs or simulated seaching. Also, automatic forwarding of the tutorial results makes this a valuable resource for the instructor.
Reviewed: June 2003

Institution: Hennepin County Library
Title: Information Literacy Quiz
URL: http://www.hclib.org/pub/training/ (click on "Information Literacy Quiz" to begin; requires Macromedia Authorware Plug-in, available to download from the library site)
Contact: Ryan Paetznick: rpaetznick@hclib.org
Description: The Information Literacy Quiz tests knowledge of four key ways for finding information at the library--the Catalog, Reference Sources, World Wide Web, and Periodical Indexes--teaching why and when to use these sources. The tutorial is fully interactive, engaging the user through a 20 question quiz and guiding him or her to the best source for a particular information need. It also explains why one particular source would be better than another. Answers include specific examples such as reference books and web sites.
Why it's innovative: This tutorial is very engaging and fun, short and to the point, with good examples aimed at public library users. It makes excellent use of interactive technology.
Reviewed: June 2003

Institution: Houston Area Library System
Title: HALS Reference 1,2,3
URL: http://www.hals.lib.tx.us/ref123
Contact: Mary E. Crocker: mary.crocker@cityofhouston.net
Description: Rather than for library users, this tutorial is aimed at new staff working at public library reference desks. It is divided into three modules: People, Questions and Answers. Topics include definitions of reference, getting to know your user community, legal issues and policies, the reference interview and question negotiation, search strategies and specific information resources. Each module concludes with a quiz. Sidebars in each tutorial screen offer additional resources to explore.
Why it's innovative: This is a thoughtful, accessible and very detailed approach to providing a basic set of reference skills to workers in a large library system.
Reviewed: June 2003

Institution: North Carolina State University Libraries
Title: LOBO, The Library Online Basic Orientation
URL: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/lobo2/
Contact: Megan Oakleaf: megan_oakleaf@ncsu.edu
Description: This is a comprehensive tour through the research process and a guide to how library resources fit into that process. It includes an optional interactive component that allows students to work through a specific assignment, developing a search strategy, conducting a search and evaluating the results. The student’s responses are tallied and can be printed out at the end of the session, for personal reference or to submit to an instructor. The tutorial is well illustrated with both static and motion graphics. It also includes several innovative features, including a section on how to interpret an instructor’s assignment, and a Keyword Builder that demonstrates how to formulate a keyword search string with Boolean operators using terms from the student’s selected paper topic.
Why it's innovative: LOBO was one of the first academic library tutorials to include links to a live chat-based reference service for assistance. The Keyword Builder, Citation Builder and various "wizards" are creative applications of accessible development tools like ColdFusion and Dreamweaver.
Reviewed: June 2003

Institution: University of Texas System Digital Library
Title: TILT - Texas Information Literacy Tutorial
URL: http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/
Contact: Send questions to: tilt@lib.utexas.edu.
Description: The TILT tutorial is a nicely conceptualized and designed product with many interactive learning elements. Various quizzes and games provide students with feedback on their understanding of the concepts. TILT focuses on teaching concepts rather than tools, and examples are not specific to any particular database, search engine or library catalog, which is necessary since TILT serves the entire University of Texas System. Modules focus on selecting the correct type of resources for the information need, search strategies, evaluating sources, and myths and facts about the Internet. While TILT was surely a labor intensive project, there are many good ideas for interactivity that can be adapted for use at other libraries. In fact, TILT offers at no charge an Open Publication License of the tutorial that may be adapted for use at other libraries (see http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/resources/ for more information). An excellent example of such adaptation by another library is the Western Michigan University Libraries' Searchpath (see http://www.wmich.edu/library/searchpath/) which was selected for the ACRL Internet Education Project in Winter 2003.
Why it's innovative: Highly interactive, incorporating elements to suit a number of learning styles. One of the first of its kind, and still perhaps the most widely used.
Initially Reviewed: June 2000, Re-reviewed June 2003

Reviewer: Julie Borden