Close Encounters of the Digital Kind: Designing Effective Online Tutorials

Reference and instruction librarians increasingly face the challenge of transforming traditional face-to-face library instruction to the digital environment in order to reach larger groups of users. This research report outlines the results of a multidisciplinary review of the literature concerning “best practices” in the design of information literacy tutorials. Literature was searched in the fields of library science, instructional design, web design and development, and human computer interaction to create two sets of design considerations and “best practices” for the creation of information literacy tutorials.