Getting Started in Graduate School: An Online Tutorial for New Graduate Students

In August 2024, our library launched an asynchronous online tutorial, Getting Started in Graduate School. The purpose of the tutorial was fourfold: to complement existing student orientation programming at the library and the university; to situate the library as a valuable resource for graduate student academic success; to align with a similar library-designed online tutorial for new undergraduate students; and to provide practical information about graduate school expectations, framed through existing library resources and programming. The tutorial was created using the Springshare LibGuide and LibWizard platform and features a mix of static and interactive elements, which were developed and embedded using the open-source platform H5P. In this article we discuss the process of developing the tutorial, its promotion, and student engagement with the resource. We conclude by discussing aspects of the tutorial that worked well, how the tutorial might be used in the future, and reflect on how other library educators may approach the design of similar resources for their graduate student populations.