As I understand, they are available on CPAN, correct?

Yup, http://search.cpan.org


Are there any clear instructions on their installation and usage?

It depends on what OS you are using. On Unix/Linux, something along the lines of perl -MCPAN -e shell will get you started. If you are on Windows, there is an application named PPM in the bin directory of your perl install. After that it's generally as easy as doing a install Desired::Module.


Good Luck.