2020 yearsyears

19891989--20092009

“ The ability of our citizenry to learn how to learn by accessing, evaluating and using information effectively is critical to our success as a democracy and forward looking civilization. For over two decades Dr. Patricia Senn Breivik has been at the forefront of championing the need for students and graduates to learn how knowledge is organized, how to find information and how to use information so that others can learn from them. In my view, Dr. Breivik is modern information literacy’s Horace Mann.”

William L. Bainbridge, Ph.D., FACFEDistinguished Research Professor SchoolMatch InstituteUNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Patricia Breivik conceived and nurtured the National Forum on Information Literacy with careful attention to the core issues of information literacy and the central needs of members of the Forum. Her intellectual guidance, vitality, and perseverance, the same characteristics that marked all her professional endeavors, have influenced the work of people across the United States, and through her work with UNESCO, around the world. Thank you, Patricia, for your professional leadership and your personal warmth and integrity. Your colleagues and friends are richer in mind and spirit from knowing you.

Barbara CambridgeDirectorNational Council for Teachers of English

Once upon a time there was a little girl who saw an old photograph of a massive building with children lined up waiting to go inside. Mommy, Mommy what is that big building in the picture that everyone wants to go in? That's a library, Honey. What's a library? That's where all the answers are. Patricia was captivated. When I grow up, she thought, I want to help people find answers! And, grow up she did. Patricia became a tall, elegant woman, with her beautiful hair piled up on top of her head and a heart as big as all the answers in that library. She not only helped people find answers but she also helped build a massive building that held answers for a city and a university! She also worked with others who, like her, wanted to help people find answers. They called themselves the National Forum. Patricia made many friends along the way and generously provided tireless leadership for 20 years never once forgetting the children lined up in the photograph so many years ago who wanted to find answers. –

Jill CodyChair of the Department of Recreation and Leisure StudiesSan Jose State University

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) joins theinternational information literacy community in celebrating Patricia Breivik'smany years of service, dedication, and accomplishment. Within the higher education community, and, especially within ACRL, Patricia is revered as the "Queen Mother" of information literacy-"stately and wise"--who fearlessly championed information literacy as a curricular reform long before it was popular As the 57th president ACRL, Patricia established the Council of Liaisons, an enduring legacy that has enabled the association to more effectively advocate for libraries and librarians within the higher education environment. Patricia became a librarian to "make a difference for the better in peoples' lives." Thanks to her commitment, passion, and purpose, her vision lives on in ACRL where we work to ensure that all academic and research librarians be seen as "indispensable in advancing learning and scholarship."

Mary Ellen DavisAssociation of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)

Patricia Breivik is a force of nature. Happily, she chose to devote her considerable talent and energies to the cause of informationliteracy. Of her many stellar contributions I would point singularly to her ability to make information literacy a societal issue, bringing the background and experience of elementary and secondary school teacher-librarians to the world of academic librarianship and taking the case to school and academic administrators and beyond, to the business and corporate communities. She is an effective advocate, building relationships and forging partnerships while connecting educational and political agendas. I admire herand salute her.

Ken Haycock, Professor and DirectorSan Jose School of Library and Information Science

The jury is in! Reports from many segments of the community – education, workforce, public policy – in the United States and around the world – are coming to the same conclusions about the importance of an information literate society, able to find, evaluate and use information effectively. Workforce executives, political leaders, and educators are all converging in their views. Information literacy, and all its associated critical thinking, communication, and technology competencies, is now widely recognized as a critical component of: A democratic society A knowledge economy A 21st century workforce Globalization Lifelong learningInstant information gratification combined with the glut of raw, unfiltered, non authoritative, biased, and questionable information readily available and mixed in with quality information, forces the information consumer to make intelligent choices. The vision and pioneering efforts of Patricia Senn Breivik moved the conversation about information literacy out of the realm of libraries and higher education and placed it firmly on the agendas of business and civic leaders. The National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) has been the vehicle for that public conversation, in the United States, and more recently, around the world.

Congratulations and thank you to both NFIL and to Dr. Breivik for their leadership and dedication to, as it is called in the Alexandria Proclamation, “this basic human right.”

Patricia IannuzziDean of LibrariesUniversity of Nevada at Las Vegas

The National Forum on Information Literacy has made an important contribution to the national dialogue on what it means to be prepared for the 21st century. While giving stature to information literacy, the forum has never taken its eye off social justice and equity issues. This is due in no small measure to the outstanding leadership of Dr. Patricia Senn Breivik. Her contributions to school library media programs have transformed how students master information technology. The National Education Association applauds the National Forum on Information Literacy on its 20th anniversary.

John I. WilsonExecutive DirectorNEA

Long before others did, Patricia Senn Breivik understood the integral role of information literacy in all aspects of life. Individuals who develop and cultivate their information literacy throughout their lives have the tools they need to succeed in the increasingly competitive global marketplace and to discern value amid ubiquitous media cacophony. The worldwide economic crisis has demonstrated the necessity of lifelong learning and its foundation, information literacy, in an ever changing and challenging world.

Jim RettigUniversity LibrarianRichmond UniversityImmediate Past President, ALA

On behalf of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), I would like to congratulate the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) on twenty years of successful outreach on behalf of the information literacy movement. Under the leadership of Patricia Senn Breivik, the movement expanded beyond education and became part of government, business and public conversations. Because of this, to be information literate has become an everyday expectation of students, workers and consumers. Our best wishes to both Patricia and NFIL.

Julie A. WalkerExecutive DirectorAmerican Association of School Librarians (AASL)

Helping to establish new professional societies and related kinds of associations is perhaps one of the most difficult, frustrating, and demanding tasks that I have ever attempted in the course of my own professional life. I know first-hand the long hours, attention to detail, hand-holding, and other responsibilities which the organizers, and then the officers that come after them, must face 24/7, 52 weeks of the year. The stream of tasks never seems to end - - they are with you at night when you turn out the lights, and with you in the morning when the rooster crows! Patricia Senn Breivik faced up to those never-ending duties with patience, perseverance, tact, diplomacy, charm and astonishing people and organizational skills, and, as a result, the National Forum has been an enormous success, and has even served as a role model for several other similar organizations around the world. Shunning the spotlight herself, she has always gone the extra mile to make sure those around her, serving in helping and supportive roles, felt appreciated, important, and involved as key players. While the Forum’s annual meeting programs, and its involvement in both national and international conferences, all have been critical to the advancement of the information literacy concept worldwide, above all else, the most memorable experience for me was just working side by side with her, and hoping that maybe just a few of those outstanding skills and capabilities might rub off a little!

F. Woody HortonInformation Management Consultant

Mike EisenbergDean EmeritusUniversity of Washington Information School

Bold, visionary, passionate, inclusive, successful. These powerful words capture the essence of Patricia Senn Breivik and the National Forum on Information Literacy that she created. Back in the 1980s, Patricia did not simply glimpse the future, she knew, with every fiber, the nature and importance of information. Information literacy went far beyond simply locating items in a library, and her definition of information literacy endorsed by the American Library Association in 1989 is as relevant today as it was then. This is extraordinary when you realize that this work precedes two of the most profound information systems developments of the 20th Century: the Internet explosion and the invention of the World Wide Web! And, with this forward-looking definition in hand, Patricia brought together the widest possible range of people—thinkers and writers, librarians and educators, business people and policy makers—in a National Forum to champion information literacy and to infuse its elements into all aspects of human endeavor. This year—2009—we can step back and recognize all that’s been accomplished. Information literacy is now widely accepted as essential for all people. It’s not just one of many literacies, it’s at the center of all. And the single most important person in making this happen is Patricia Senn Breivik and the single most important organization is the National Forum on Information Literacy. The Presidential Proclamation of National Information Literacy Awareness Month is a most fitting recognition to both Patricia and NFIL. I salute you.