Primary Research Group has published The Survey of Best Practices in Developing Online Information Literacy Tutorials, ISBN 978-1-57440-247-6.

The study looks closely at how academic libraries are developing and deploying online information literacy tutorials exploring issues such as spending, budgets, staffing, range and qualifications of staff used for tutorial development, software use, time frame for tutorial development, conceptions of what constitutes a quality tutorial, assessment of library efforts, marketing to students and faculty, cooperation with other institutions, frequency of tutorial revision, measurement of student outcomes, and other issues in the development and use of online information literacy tutorials.

The study was devised with the assistance of Jennifer Holland and Yvonne Mercy of the University of Arizona Libraries, and Erica DeFrain of the University of Vermont Library. The summary of main findings was written by Holland and DeFrain.

Just a few of the main findings from this exhaustive 285-page study are that:

• The mean number of information literacy tutorials per library in the sample was 27.92, and the median was 10.50.
• The library homepage was listed as the most popular access point for online information literacy tutorials, followed by subject guides, course guides, and YouTube.
• Nearly 69 percent of tutorials used by the libraries in the sample were created in-house.
• A third of the libraries sampled report using the tutorials of other libraries.
• The following institutions were cited by survey participants for excellence in tutorial development and a source of imitation or inspiration: Cardiff University, Clark College, Costal Carolina University, Cooperative Library Instruction Project, Glasgow Caledonian (UK), Kent State, Manor College, Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, Open University (UK), Penn State, Rutgers, South African Universities, TILT, University of Arizona, University of California-Irvine, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, University of Sydney, University of Texas-Austin, University of Texas-Houston, Vanderbilt, Wayne State University, West Chester University, and Western Oregon University.
• About a quarter of the libraries sampled assigned only one person to the task of developing information literacy tutorials for the library.
• Only a third of librarians sampled felt that their institutions provided adequate support for tutorial development.
• 43.75 percent of respondents from community colleges indicated that it took less than 10 hours to develop an information literacy tutorial.
• 2.56 percent of the libraries sampled used their own in-house developed software to create tutorials.

Data is broken out by size and type of library, for U.S. and foreign libraries, and for public and private colleges. The report ($89.00) is available from Primary Research Group and also from major book vendors such as Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Yankee Book Peddler, Midwest Library Services, Overdrive, Research and Markets, and other distributors of content. For a free excerpt, table of contents, and list of survey participants, or to place an order, visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.