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The purpose of the research is to investigate Norwegian web‐tutorials in contexts consisting of organizational issues and different forms of usability in relation to students’ perception and use of the system. Further, the research investigates the usefulness of the concepts concerning affordances and different forms of usability.

The research has employed a variety of data‐collection methods including interviews with librarians, interviews and focus group interviews with students, coupled with tests of their capabilities using the systems. A detailed research design is included in the paper.

In the organizational context, the research confirmed the importance of a close contact with teachers and disciplines and it was also clearly indicated that disciplines that supported an evidence‐based approach to research were much more active in using the tutorials as part of the requirements. Further, examples of organizational amnesia are discussed, pointing to the necessity for leadership support and systematic knowledge sharing. System Usability Scores are analysed in relation to solution of tasks and interesting relations are analysed. The perceptions of students were also interesting, clearly indicating marked differences in perceptions depending on study year and discipline but also different valuation of the different forms of usability. Overall, the research indicated a discrepancy between design intentions versus use and perception of the tutorials.

The theoretical approach has not been used often in library and information science research and the paper indicates its usefulness for further research. The findings presented in the paper also have implications for the way libraries design and promote information literacy tools.

In an effort to meet the challenge of providing students in a large general education course with effective library instruction, a pilot project of using a Web tutorial was tested. This article describes librarian collaboration with faculty in the development of a Web tutorial and supplementary course materials over the course of three semesters. The success of the original experiment convinced the teaching assistants and faculty member to incorporate the tutorial into the class syllabus. Unique to this Web tutorial is the continued involvement of the librarian in responding to each student. This successful instructional tool has been adapted for other courses, and can be a model for reaching large numbers of students.

This article examines a structured redesign of one academic library's offering of its online learning objects. This process considered both improving the online learning objects and developing a feasible workflow process for librarians. The findings for both processes are discussed.

The scholarship on online library learning objects and web tutorials, beginning with Dewald's seminal study, was examined for trends, patterns, and best practices. From this research, informal interviews were conducted with library faculty members. Once this information had been collected, other public university libraries in the state of Michigan – 14 in all – were considered in terms of if, and how, they offered online learning objects and web tutorials. These three areas of inquiry provide a foundation for the best practices and workflows developed.

Based on the scholarship, librarian feedback, and informal assessment of other public university libraries' practices, best practices were developed for web tutorial evaluation and creation. These best practices are to make online learning content: maintainable, available, geared at users, informative, and customizable. Workflows for librarians around these best practices were developed. Also, using these best practices, the library redesigned its tutorials web page and employed a different content management tool, which benefitted both librarians and users with increased interactivity and ease of use.

This article shares best practices and library workflows for online learning objects in ways that are not commonly addressed in the literature. It also considers the library's online instructional presence from the perspectives of both user and librarian, and works to develop structures in which both can function effectively. This article is also of value because of the practical implications it offers to library professionals.

The University of Wyoming Libraries has implemented an interactive Web tutorial focused on the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards. Since its inception, approximately 3,000 students have used TIP: tutorial for information power. At this point it is appropriate to pause and reflect on our experience. Have we met our original objectives? Was TIP worth the time, effort, and expense required to develop a Web tutorial? Has it had an impact on information literacy on our campus?

The paper seeks to explore and discuss in detail the application of instructional media features in developing web‐based library instruction in order to strengthen students' online learning experience.

The paper surveys research findings on instructional media features that can be incorporated into library instruction in the web environment. The effective use of media elements such as text, color, graphics, navigation systems, audio, video, as well as the implementation of interaction and feedback, are analyzed. Exemplary illustrations supplement the discussions of guidelines for the design of successful online library tutorials.

Academic libraries are taking advantage of technological innovations to extend instructional opportunities and enrich traditional classroom‐based bibliographic instruction. Web‐based library instruction requires more than duplicating print instructional materials on the web. Good online information tutorials should effectively incorporate multiple instructional media into the web presence to convey the instruction in multi‐stimulating ways.

The findings of the paper will be helpful to librarians who plan to design and develop web‐based instruction or online tutorials for the greater engagement of students.

The paper provides practical help to librarians in obtaining an understanding of various instructional media capabilities for creating effective online instructional materials.

Many academic library Web sites offer online “tours” to provide basic orientation of their collections and services. However, these tours are often merely photos, floor plans, or written descriptions. In 1999, the library at California State University, Fullerton sought to improve its own Web site orientation, by using more engaging Web technologies; namely, streaming video and interactive tutorials. A project of videotaping a full‐motion, narrated tour of the library, and then placing it on the Web site as streaming video segments, was undertaken. Additionally, interactive tutorials – quizzes written in JavaScript so as to “reply” to user prompts – were added. This article will describe the process of creating this project, available in its completed form at: http://www. library.fullerton.edu/tour

Bowling Green State University Jerome Library’s Web tutorial, FALCON, models a standard library instructional session on the use of the library’s Web‐based catalog. Tutorials can be particularly helpful in reaching large numbers of students. The degree of interactivity and the design of a tutorial are dependent on the goals of its creators and the intended audience of the product. Several features make FALCON unique. It is interactive, self‐contained and focuses on a single resource. Interactivity is accomplished without scripts or forms. The tutorial’s self‐containment, achieved with a complex system of files and without a live catalog connection, enables users to learn how to search the catalog at their own pace, at a time or place of their choosing and without the threat of venturing into cyberspace. Future enhancements to the tutorial will include assessment and evaluation materials.

Texas A&M University Libraries developed a Web‐based training (WBT) application for LandView III, a federal depository CD‐ROM publication using cross‐browser dynamic HTML (DHTML) and other Web technologies. The interactive and self‐paced tutorial demonstrates the major features of the CD‐ROM and shows how to navigate the programs. The tutorial features dynamic HTML techniques, such as hiding, showing and moving layers; dragging objects; and windows‐style drop‐down menus. It also integrates interactive forms, common gateway interface (CGI), frames, and animated GIF images in the design of the WBT. After describing the design and implementation of the tutorial project, an evaluation of usage statistics and user feedback was conducted, as well as an assessment of its strengths and weaknesses, and a comparison of this tutorial with other common types of training methods. The present article describes an innovative approach for CD‐ROM training using advanced Web technologies such as dynamic HTML, which can simulate and demonstrate the interactive use of the CD‐ROM, as well as the actual search process of a database.

The paper seeks to investigate the benefits of the Resource Discovery Network (RDN) Virtual Training Suite.

This paper gives an overview of the service, its impact in the community and its funding history and future.

The RDN Virtual Training Suite offers free, subject‐based internet training online. It was designed to provide a user‐education service to supplement the services offered by the RDN. The Virtual Training Suite comprises 61 “teach yourself” web tutorials, with titles ranging from “Internet Chemist” to “Internet Philosopher”. Each offers the user a tour of the best of the web for the subject, plus guidance on internet searching and web site evaluation. Evidence suggests that it is being widely adopted in taught courses and library instruction.

The paper is useful for anyone planning to use the RDN Virtual Training Suite.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and rationale for the creation of a scalable approach to online database instruction.

The paper discusses the pedagogical, organizational, and technological considerations for developing an interactive, online tutorial that can be used by librarians for database instruction.

Database instruction during one‐shot library sessions is a cornerstone of information literacy programs, but with a move to online instruction, it has not been clear how to replicate many of the pedagogical advantages that take place in a face‐to‐face environment. Librarians along with programmers have developed a new type of scalable and pedagogically‐sound interactive tutorial.

The paper provides librarians with a history of the development of a tutorial that has been released as open‐source software program that can be easily modified by other libraries.