Casper eighth-grader Samuel Mutch turned to a computer at the library for help with his homework.

The Natrona County Public Library provides a help site through New York-based Tutor.com, and Mutch was able to research tsunamis last year for a research paper. The 13-year-old's result: "the best scores ever," according to his mother.

"He got the highest score in the class, which he's never gotten on a writing assignment," Kate Mutch said. "I did make him tell his teacher he used the homework help, because I didn't want her to think somebody else had done it!"

It's a tool that's reducing a fear among parents for homework helplessness.

Thanks to the spread of online tutoring services that are now increasingly free, courtesy of government and private funds, stumped students can reach out to resourceful tutors across the U.S. and in some cases around the world.

Feagin Johnson Jr. quickly came to his 11th-grade daughter's aid when she needed help with homework from the first pages of her thick Algebra II textbook, but his fast response came with a warning.

"I told her I'm glad I helped you on page one, because on page 101 you'll be on your own," Alabama's assistant state superintendent of education said with a laugh.

He said that through sixth grade a parent can "pretty much help them with anything, but when they get up to secondary and there's biology, chemistry, physics, Algebra I, Algebra II - oh, boy."

The number of libraries offering free online tutoring has snowballed as libraries look to make long-lasting connections with their communities, said Jan Sanders, who directs the Pasadena library system in California.

"We want to provide that link, that opportunity for people and a learning environment to come together in a friendly, equitable way," said Sanders, who is former president of the Public Library Association. "This is one way for that to happen. It's not the final answer, it's not the only thing we do. But it's an auxiliary service that's proving to be helpful."

Alabama's free online tutoring program was recently expanded to all students, who can log on to www.homeworkalabama.org, the site offered through the Alabama Public Library Service.

Users typically gain access to the sites by typing in their ZIP codes, then putting down their grade levels and the subjects they need help with. They are then connected to a tutor - the wait time varies depending on how many users are logged on - and spend an average of about 20-25 minutes per session.

Most companies have tutors available online 24/7, but they vary in the hours they are available to individual states and students.

Lynn Giese, president-elect of the National Tutoring Association, said use of tutoring in general has grown with the entry of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 and that online tutoring, by extension, has increased as well.

Giese said more research is needed on the effectiveness of online tutoring and whether it is helping students score higher on overall exams and not just the individual assignments they seek help with.

Proponents cite students' ease with computers and instant messaging technology as reasons they feel comfortable when young people seek help online. But others have concerns.

"There's not really a clearinghouse for quality and effectiveness of various tutoring models," said Don Knezek, CEO of the International Society for Technology. "That's not unusual for an industry in its infancy, but that places a larger burden on educators and on parents to ensure that the activity going on online is appropriate and that it's worth the time and fiscal investments."

He said other drawbacks include the lack of a connection that students get with a live, face-to-face tutor, but parents can help minimize that by being more involved and sometimes sitting in the tutoring sessions.

"In the same way that you wouldn't drop your kid off for lessons with a tennis pro or piano teacher but not ever talk with them about it or how it's going, I think the same thing ought to happen when going into an online environment," he said.

Alabama library director Rebecca Mitchell said the service is free for users but costs $500,000 a year, with $300,000 coming from state funds and the rest covered by a federal grant.

Considering there have been more than 200,000 online sessions so far and the average cost of traditional tutoring is $35 per hour, Mitchell figures the program has saved the state about $7 million.

Mutch, the Casper mother, said her son is not the only one who has benefited from the online help. The Casper librarian said she and her colleagues were recently stumped trying to figure out the percentage of something and turned to their computers.

"We finally said 'You know what? This is crazy, let's just go on homework help,'" Mutch said, laughing. "And he didn't give us the answer, but he walked us through and we all felt like we were back in sixth grade. So yeah, they'll help anybody!"