Securing Massachusetts' Competitive Advantage – Information Literacy

Oct. 2, 2011 - PRLog -- Governor Deval L Patrick recently issued the first gubernatorial proclamation, endorsing information literacy as a key, decisive player in the future, sustained growth of the Massachusetts economy. Having Massachusetts citizens develop the information literacy competencies needed to find, evaluate, and use information effectively in addition to discerning what is and what is not credible and authentic, underscores our on-going transition into a thriving information society.

Governor Patrick notes that " Individuals who are comfortable working with informational resources in the digital world are able to seek highly skilled jobs and compete at high levels in the global economy...information literacy is a crucial part of education and if taught as early as the kindergarten level, will expose students to analytic and research practices that will better prepare them for changing technologies" and a competitive economy worldwide.

October is National Information Literacy Awareness Month. In 2009, President Obama issued the first presidential proclamation, acknowledging the critical importance of information literacy to the social and economic welfare of the American people. Strengthening our nation's 21st century social and economic infrastructure through information literacy practice requires systemic adoption by the states.

At present, the lack of information literacy skills currently costs business billions of dollars annually in low productivity, accidents, absenteeism, misinformation, and poor product quality.  K-16 educators, students, and adult learners can certainly benefit from more exposure to information literacy practice and philosophy.  Even workers in non-profit organizations engaged in information literacy practice can, in fact, provide more meaningful options to the clients they serve.

Consequently, preparing the citizens of the Commonwealth to seek highly skilled jobs and compete successfully in a global economy is a top priority. And one of the most effective ways to hasten our economic recovery and ensure our long-term stability is to make information literacy an integral component in the development of human capital – an essential cornerstone for Massachusetts economic policy.
 
Established in 1989 by the American Library Association, the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) has evolved into one of the pre-eminent advocacy, non-profit organizations dedicated to mainstreaming information and digital literacy practice at home and abroad. Both information and digital literacy are vital to our state and nation’s long term social cohesion, economic prosperity, and national security.

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The National Forum on Information Literacy has evolved into one of the pre-eminent advocacy organizations dedicated to mainstreaming information literacy competencies and practice in the U.S. and worldwide.