[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 123, 111th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 

PROCLAMATION 8429--OCT. 1, 2009

Proclamation 8429 of October 1, 2009
National Information Literacy Awareness Month, 2009
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Every day, we are inundated with vast amounts of information. A 24-hour
news cycle and thousands of global television and radio networks,
coupled with an immense array of online resources, have challenged our
long-held perceptions of information management. Rather than merely
possessing data, we must also learn the skills necessary to acquire,
collate, and evaluate information for any situation. This new type of
literacy also requires competency with communication technologies,
including computers and mobile devices that can help in our day-to-day
decisionmaking. National Information Literacy Awareness Month highlights
the need for all Americans to be adept in the skills necessary to
effectively navigate the Information Age.
Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also
know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of
authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an
opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have that opinion
amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time,
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.
Our Nation's educators and institutions of learning must be aware of-and
adjust to-these new realities. In addition to the basic skills of
reading, writing, and arithmetic, it is equally important that our
students are given the tools required to take advantage of the
information available to them. The ability to seek, find, and decipher
information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether
financial, medical, educational, or technical.

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123 STAT. 3712

This month, we dedicate ourselves to increasing information literacy
awareness so that all citizens understand its vital importance. An
informed and educated citizenry is essential to the functioning of our
modern democratic society, and I encourage educational and community
institutions across the country to help Americans find and evaluate the
information they seek, in all its forms.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2009 as
National Information Literacy Awareness Month. I call upon the people of
the United States to recognize the important role information plays in
our daily lives, and appreciate the need for a greater understanding of
its impact.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
fourth.
BARACK OBAMA