Opposing Viewpoints and the Academic Library
Our book display in the Learning Commons, Reading Without Walls, is designed to expand reading horizons by encouraging students to read outside their comfort zone. We are highlighting the “opposing viewpoint series and other books.”
In last week’s Inside Higher Education, Joshua Kim, Director of Digital Learning Initiatives at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL), wrote Principles, Values and the Academic Library in the Age of Trump. His article emphasizes the importance of access to information and the opportunity to explore all perspectives. This is a hallmark of academic library collections and a core value of Collins librarians.
As we all grapple with the concept of alternative facts, fake news and providing access to different viewpoints, we’d like to share some resources that may be useful:
- Liaison Librarians: We are committed to promoting critical evaluation of resources. Librarians have many suggestions for how to assess resources. Make an appointment today. Librarians can play a vital role in helping students become critical and reflective news consumers.
- KNOW and Information Literacy Guide: This guide, developed by Peggy Burge, addresses issues of construction of authority, ownership and access to information.
- New York Times Educator’s Site: Sign up for this site and review subject guides developed by scholars which showcase different viewpoints of timely topics.
- Opposing Viewpoints In Context: This online resource covers contemporary social issues, from capital punishment to immigration. Its informed, differing views present each side of an issue and help students develop information literacy, critical thinking skills, and the confidence to draw their own valid conclusions.
- Points of View Reference Center: Similar to OVC this reference center provides users with a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. Essays provide questions and materials for further thought and study and are accompanied by supporting articles from the world’s top political and societal publications.
Review these guides from our peers that showcase a wide range of alternative points of view:
- Liberal, Conservative and Non Partisan Periodicals (Pace University)
- Conservative Views (UW Libraries)
- Liberal Views (UW Libraries)
Need Information? Don’t forget the Collins Memorial Library – Library Guides
Questions? Contact your liaison librarian
Comments: Contact Jane Carlin, library director
Remember – Your best search engine is a librarian!