With the support of an internal grant, the Washington State University Library Instruction Department was able to undertake an assessment program to measure the use and effectiveness of online tutorials built by the department. Students viewed four of the tutorial products and were asked to perform tasks using these tutorials. They also answered a number of questions designed to garner information about attitudes, usage patterns and perceptions of library resources and services. Results of the assessment activities and future plans for improving and expanding our tutorial offerings are discussed.

This article addresses graphic novels and their growing popularity in academic libraries. Graphic novels are increasingly used as instructional resources, and they play an important role in supporting the recreational reading mission of academic libraries.The article will also tackle issues related to the cataloging and classification of graphic novels and discuss ways to use them for marketing and promotion of library services. A Brief Introduction to Graphic NovelsGraphic novels grew out of the comic book movement in the 1960s and came into existence at the hands of writers who were looking to use the comic book format to address more mainstream or adult topics. There is some debate about who coined the phrase, but one of the first graphic novels, if not the first, was Will Eisner's Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories, published in 1978. 1 Eisner, who began working in comics in 1936, has stated that he devised the term as a marketing technique to increase the chances that his illustrated series of interlinked short stories about working-class Jewish families during the Great Depression might be published. 2 The format has gained popularity over the past 25 years in a variety of geographic and topical areas, including the expected superhero stories and adaptations, but also works of satire, non-fiction, memoirs, historical fiction, and a Japanese form called manga. Some graphic novels are the product of a single writer, or a writer and illustrator

In light of the general emerging focus on assessment, it is imperative that librarians develop effective methods for evaluating their instructional endeavors. This study involved analyzing the frequency with which Washington State University Freshman Seminar students used items from librarian‐constructed resource guides. In addition, the researchers evaluated the quality of Web sites used in the freshman seminar final projects. Regardless of the information format and special treatment to place resource guide items at their fingertips, students largely did not use the librarian‐recommended resources. Citation analysis of the student Web sites exhibited a broad spectrum of quality levels and raised key questions about Web site evaluation. Ideas for improving student resource selection are discussed.

Many distance degree students at Washington State University enroll in General Education 300, a one-credit information literacy course taught online by librarians that exposes students to activities and materials that support the ACRL information literacy standards. In a final assignment, students write about the origins, applicability, and future use of information literacy and their newly minted skills in this area. We used ATLAS/ti, http://www.atlasti.de/, to analyze the text of these assignments and explore student attitudes toward information literacy. The majority of students articulate a broad view of information literacy not tied to a specific course project or to the library as a place.

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