We talk about this all the time: Libraries are amazing places and jewels to the communities they serve!

This means, of course, that we are significantly more than “just” books, or “just” computers. Those are also great, and make up a lot of our work.

But organizations that are open to all in our communities, designed to serve the information needs of the people in those communities – it means that we deal with a lot of other issues in addition to “just” our biggest topics.

Libraries are affected by policies on all sorts of topics. When cities set rules or policies about homeless people – we feel the changes in public libraries. When communities vote for, or against, school funding – we feel that in school libraries. When schools require online homework – we feel that in public libraries. When the US enters into international copyright treaties, or doesn’t – we feel that in academic and in school libraries.

And when people start tinkering with the census, even if they have the best of intentions – that can affect EVERY library.

Libraries need funding. For a lot of us, that funding is set by the size of population we serve. (It’s all more complicated, of course; but this is a ballpark quickie explanation.) And the issues we see in a library are affected by the issues happening in those communities.

So, if a bunch of people in our community don’t fill out the census -our official community size shrinks. If your community size shrinks, your share of state and federal money likewise shrinks. “Hey! You don’t have as many people to serve! Great!! We’re going to shift that extra money over to communities with larger populations – thanks!!”

That may not be reality though, and so we still need enough money to pay for roads, schools, hospitals, libraries, and everything else that happens for real, actual people who do exist. They really are there, they really do need things, use things, buy things, and everything else a real person would do.

But….now the community doesn’t have money to help support that. Less money to fulfill the needs of more people? You can see the problem.

It’s a hassle to get enough people to fill out their census forms as it is! In the 2000 census, I worked in a community that got dramatically under-counted – and we had to go thru a whole “Whoops! Can we do that again??” to get enough state and federal funding to do things like “have a fire department” and other things that may seem trivial unless you want things like “no fires” in your community. (As an advocacy note: I’m in favor of “no fires” in my community.)

What to guess what happened to my library’s funding? If you guess it involved smaller numbers, you win the prize! (It’s a tear-filled prize, but…)

When people have specifically bad intentions toward the census, when they apparently WANT to under-count people in your community? Oh yeah, that’s going to be a serious problem for you, for your community, for funding in your library, for everything. Making it harder, scarier, and more potentially dangerous for people to answer the census means people won’t do it. And there goes your money, your resources, and a lot of nice things in your community.

Guess how much it matters that someone doesn’t like some of the real, actual people in your community?

In terms of still needing to get things done, it matters diddly.

It only means that EVERYONE in the community is going to get clobbered by the small-minded, the fearful, the uninformed, or the deliberately terrible people. This is all so unnecessary, so pointless, so bad.

This is happening now, today. We are all going to get clobbered if these people are allowed to mess up the census – along with all kinds of other community organizations, which can make work in libraries even harder. More people needing medical help from the computers in your library? Count on it. More people needing your library to create resumes and job applications? You bet. More homeless in your library? Well, that’s probably a given. Less funding in schools? Obviously. Big potholes tearing up your car? That will happen – and because there are apparently fewer people, the bus you might have been able to take could be gone too.

Census data goes way, way beyond just “count people and go home.” It influences literally millions of dollars that are going SOMEWHERE – but maybe not to you, to your library, or to your community.

DON’T LET PEOPLE UNDER-COUNT YOUR COMMUNITY!!!

(Small note: As ALWAYS, we are not taking partisan sides in any issue. Our only political stand is always “yay library funding and support!! more, please!!” And we always, always encourage everyone to think for themselves about candidates they choose to support. Any candidate or elected official can – and should! – support libraries and issues relevant to libraries. And any candidate, and elected official, should be encouraged to do so. Please encourage your candidates and officials to do good library things!)

So, we are very proud of the American Library Association, who are speaking for all of us in every type of library. Check out the excerpt below
by Larra Clark, and read the entire article (including a nice video!).

“On April 1, the American Library Association (ALA) joined an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court opposing the last-minute addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. ALA joined the American Statistical Association, American Sociological Association, and the Population Association of America in support of the plaintiffs in Department of Commerce v. New York. The case was appealed directly to the Supreme Court after a federal court ruled for the plaintiffs and ordered the Commerce Department to remove the question.

“Accurate and reliable census information features in an astonishing array of decisions, from where voters cast their ballots, to where small businesses choose to invest, to how the federal government allocates money, to how emergency responders prepare for natural disasters, among many others,” the brief states. The brief argues that the US Commerce Department’s addition of the citizenship question was inconsistent with its own standards and threatens the integrity of census data.

Arguments in the case will be heard April 23, and the Supreme Court is expected to rule before June 2019, when census forms are scheduled to go to press.

The amicus brief continues ALA’s ongoing opposition to the citizenship question and represents one aspect of ALA and library advocacy in advance of the 2020 Census. With leadership from the 2020 Census Library Outreach and Education Task Force, ALA members and staff are actively working in three major areas: developing resources and education to support the library field; coordinating directly with the Census Bureau and other stakeholders to increase awareness of library roles; and advancing policymaking that will support libraries and the communities we serve in achieving a fair, accurate, and inclusive census in 2020.”

THE TAKEAWAY:

Fill out your census form when you get it! Talk to your community members, hand out material to patrons, and support programs to encourage people to fill out their census forms!!

And tell your politicians to knock it off with trying to make some dumb point with the Census. This is too important for silly political games. We need this to work, and to work well, for everyone’s sake!!