How to Contribute |

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Identify Tutorials for Development Anyone wishing to participate in this initiative can consult a list of online resources identified as high priority for development. The list came about as a result of an online survey conducted of COPPUL libraries and contains:
  • a listing of which electronic products (by which vendors) were most in use
  • a listing of additional online resources - not included in the survey - which others have indicated are important for development.
  • a listing of which online resources are currently being worked on by other librarians.

The list is part of a Wiki and as a result, people can not only learn which e-resource they would like to develop, but also post which ones they are working on, completed, or have recently updated. You will have to register for the Wiki but it is very easy to do.

Adopt a Tutorial One goal of this initiative is to encourage people to take responsibility for creating and updating one Tutorial. This will enable everyone to have access to current Tutorials despite changes made to databases, e-journal or e-book search engines by vendors or publishers. If you have consulted the list and wish to adopt a Tutorial for one of the online resources, please let others know by posting all relevant information on the Wiki so that others will know it is being handled. Relevant information should include:

  • Name of the E-Resource a tutorial is being designed for
  • Name of the Vendor for the e-resource
  • Your Name and Contact Information
  • If you are working on an update to an existing tutorial
Note: The List's RSS feed will then notify others that someone has agreed to Adopt a Tutorial for a the e-resource you have selected.

Once the Tutorial is completed:

  • Go back to the Wiki and indicate that its is completed, or that you have updated a previous tutorial (including the date / version for the Tutorial)
  • Go to D-Space and load the tutorial (to learn how to load the tutorial go to: Uploading Viewlets to the DSpace Shared Viewlet Database.)

Upon notification on the Wiki, and uploading the Tutorial onto D-Space:



Review the Guidelines Another important step is to read the brief Guidelines for Building Animated Tutorials which provides an overview of some basic elements identified as important to each Tutorial. These guidelines are very generic and outline:

  • the basic content that everyone would naturally expect to see in a Tutorial. (i.e. remember to include a full record)
  • important information on what information to include or exclude about accessing documents - dependant upon which features are included in different databases.
  • some basic design elements that enable Tutorials to be exchanged readily (such as using standardized fonts and colors.)
  • some practical advice on Animated Tutorial building (such as recommended viewing times for Tutorials, sequencing, context, etc.)
The guidelines are there to ensure (1) that a minimum standard is met in each Tutorial and (2) that they are relevant to all participating libraries. The accessing resources requirements, in particular, will work to ensure that local holdings information is taken into account. Please read them carefully.

It is Best to Include Audio Although this issue was not addressed in the initial draft of the Guidelines, they were recently included in their update. This is a direct result of a discussion held in the 2005 COPPUL Public Services Group where everyone agreed that Audio makes for a better viewing experience and makes Viewlets easier to follow. Consequently, they are now an additional prerequisite.