Libraries: Helping ensure the census count
It would be difficult to overstate the importance of obtaining an accurate count of New Mexico residents for the 2020 census. With the right count of residents, the state gains the federal dollars and representation that it deserves — but in a large, rural state with sizeable populations that tend to mistrust strangers, most observers worry that when all the folks are counted, the final tally will miss tens of thousands of New Mexicans. That comes at a cost of $3,700 per person each year in Santa Fe County.
That’s why efforts to make the census count both accurate and efficient are so important, including a new venture announced this week — using all three public libraries to host Citizenship and Census
Corners, places where residents can find out more about both the process to become U.S. citizens and the census.
Launched by the city of Santa Fe and the immigrant rights group Somos un Pueblo Unido as part of its Citizenship Now! program, the corners will present information in both Spanish and English to help people find out more about why they need to be counted and how to become a citizen of the United States.
The census, which takes place every 10 years, is mandated by the Constitution and helps determine how many U.S. representatives each state is allocated and how federal funds are distributed. Getting this right means New Mexico will receive its due.
Placing such information in the library makes sense, considering that our libraries remain important gathering places for the community. They are the intellectual equivalents of our downtown Plaza, where we come together to share information, be entertained and take home materials that nurture our minds.
Just this month, a Gallup survey revealed that U.S. adults visit libraries more often than movies; adults told pollsters they took 10.5 trips to the library in 2019, about twice as many times as they attended the movies. Libraries remain a logical place to hand out information to reach a wide variety of people, even in a world where information is shared online.
This partnership is part of a broader outreach to bring local governments and various groups together to reach every person possible so that the census count does not leave people behind.
Through the Santa Fe Complete Count Committee, the city and county of Santa Fe are working to find hard-to-reach populations — whether residents who don’t speak English, folks who live on isolated rural roads, in tribal communities or senior citizens who might be afraid to answer their doors. There will be initiatives beyond the library centers as work on the census progresses.
Local leaders know how important it is to take an accurate count of residents in urban Santa Fe, all over the county and throughout the state of New Mexico. Libraries will help make that happen.