How to share itunes with multiple users on a macbook pro?

step by step instructions will be very much appreciated as i'm not technically inclined

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
There is a folder in /Users directory named "Shared" which can be opened by all users and where you can put your iTunes library to be shared among different users. Another option would be to use an external drive.
You only have to copy the iTunes library to that folder. In order to access there, open a Finder window, select the Go menu -> Go to Folder, and type:
/Users/Shared
After doing this, open iTunes while holding down the Alt key, and point iTunes to the library saved in that folder. Finally, open iTunes, go to iTunes menu (in the menu bar) -> Preferences -> Advanced, and choose the iTunes Media folder in the Shared folder. Do this in all your users.
Both roaringgnome's and Niel's answer (which is the same as this one) are valid. Just use the one you want to :-)

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