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Stillwater Public Library Using Grant to Act as Census Hub

2020 census invitations are now arriving, and Stillwater Public Library is poised to play an important role in helping people respond.

They have a $2,000 grant from the American Library Association to help reach under-counted populations. ALA Deputy Director for Public Policy Larra Clark said Stillwater will act as a central hub for all things census.

"So, they’re using the funding to expand their outreach, to work with Head Start and their food bank, and also to make sure all their technology is ready for people so if they don’t have a library card, they can use the library computer during the census period," Clark said.

Clark said Stillwater Public Library’s location is also helpful, since college students are traditionally hard to count during the census. So are people experiencing homelessness, children, Native Americans and people of color.

Census responses will determine everything from congressional representation to the distribution of more than $1 trillion a year in federal funding.

"The 10 minutes that people spend completing the census online or by phone or by mail will have an impact on their community services for 10 years," Clark said.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.