“The whole point is to get as many people to sign on and to get their census done,” said Molly Fogarty, director of the city library system, meeting with the City Council this week. “We know how important it is to count everybody.”
The grant is from the state Secretary of Commonwealth’s office under an initiative to get a “Complete Count” of all residents, officials said.
Fogarty and Jean M. Canosa Albano, assistant director, issued a joint statement Wednesday, saying the public libraries “are committed to helping all Springfield residents be counted.”
“In Massachusetts, there are no Census offices west of Worcester," the library officials said. “As a trusted, welcoming community institution with nine locations throughout the City, the Springfield City Library is uniquely positioned to be a civic and community partner in reaching the Census goal of ‘Counting Everyone Once, Only Once and in the right Place’ in Springfield.”
The department is training staff to answer questions from the public and to direct people to the census website.
“Staff will also be equipped to handle questions about privacy and security on the legitimate Census website, as well as how to avoid misinformation and scams,” library officials said. “We will have dedicated computers available for people to submit their Census answers online.”
The libraries are ready to help residents as soon as the residents get their invitation to participate in the census.
The census, conducted nationwide every 10 years, is used to determine the number of representatives in Congress a region will have, and can also affect opportunities for federal funding.
Springfield’s population has been estimated at 153,000 to 155,000. The impact would be “devastating” on federal funding if the new count shows less than 150,000, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said last year.
April 1st is national census day, and the city libraries will be open that day until 8 p.m., with special events to help promote the census, Fogarty said.
There are also extended hours and special activities on May 6.
The grant includes money to hire translators. There is programming being offered on April 1, to give parents time to fill out the census form, Fogarty said.
There will be promotions through the media and social media, she said.
“Many people in Springfield are part of communities considered ‘hard-to-count’ by the census,” the library officials said. “We are here to remove barriers to completing Census by families and people who move frequently, who have low incomes, who are seniors, who lack broadband internet access, or for whom English is not a first language.”
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