By Kaci Nicks, Reference Specialist
Laramie County Library System
Every night I (a historian) dine with a writer, a teacher, and a philosopher. Needless to say, our family has dinnertime debates, not conversations. This year’s political atmosphere has taken our dinnertime debates up a notch. Luckily, Wyoming libraries have quite a number of resources for students who need to write an argumentative paper, voters who want to become more informed, and, of course, dinnertime debaters.
Gale’s “In Context” databases are perfect for library patrons who enjoy backing their arguments with citations. Perhaps the most useful for debaters is Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Users begin by searching for a hot button topic (ex: birth control, minimum wage, or marijuana). Opposing Viewpoints will then return with a topic’s definition, latest news, relevant statistics, related biographies, and professionally published perspectives that argue both the pros and cons of the selected topic.
These databases can be accessed via the GoWyld.net website:
- Simply select the letter “G” from the top menu.
- Select “Gale Databases”, and you’ll be presented with a long list of Gale Products at your fingertips.
For those more interested in local resources, check with your local public library for candidate forums, voting information, and plenty of books to keep the discourse going. From classic philosophical works like Plato’s The Republic to the biographies of 2016’s presidential nominees we’ve got you covered!
Blog post revised and reposted, courtesy of Laramie County Library System