Did you know that President Barack Obama signed a proclamation on October 1st declaring the month to be “National Information Literacy Awareness Month“? I have to confess that I didn’t hear about this until reading Steven Bell’s blog entry on the ACRLog today. Must have got lost in the buzz leading up to Homecoming.
I say, “it’s about time!” The President says (in the proclamation), “National Information Literacy Awareness Month highlights the need for all Americans to be adept in the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age.” The proclamation also states, “Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of information, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise.”
How encouraging. You can read the full proclamation here (and even download your own PDF framable copy). Information Literacy skills that need developing are quite extensive - just check out the Higher Education standards and competencies listed by the ACRL. How would you rate your comfort level with these competencies?
Coming from our President, this “signal” indicates the importance of information literacy in a democratic society and yet I wonder, “what took our leaders so long to publicly acknowledge this need for awareness?”
Ken