LISTSERV 16.5 - TLA-L Archives

Many people are thinking of ways how to help their neighbors and support their communities when the normal channels of volunteering and community events have been rescheduled, cancelled or have become virtual events. There are still ways to participate in your community while social distancing!

Encourage your patrons to fill out the 2020 Census

According to an article in the Tennessean, as of the end of May only 60% of Tennesseans have participated in the 2020 Census. People living in Tennessee have until the end of October to complete the Census. The data collected by the census affects our daily lives and communities as it informs decisions on funding allocation for infrastructure, schools and health systems. The census determines how many representatives each state gets in Congress and is used to redraw district boundaries.

Here are some ideas of what other libraries are doing across the country. Let me tell you, “Everyone Counts” is a catchy little tune!

Town hall style information sharing: Prince George’s County Memorial Library System in Maryland hosted a Virtual Census Day Town Hall on April 1 via Zoom.
Virtual programming: On April 1, Census Day, VAPL’s Streaming Storytime featured a song created by the Census Bureau called “Everyone Counts.” The archived VAPL story time video can be found here.
Emails and Newsletters: Georgia’s Cobb County library system has a subscriber list of 40,000 and sent out a special edition on April 1 that included links to the 2020 Census and census-related news.

Promote the 2020 Census using US Census Social Media Graphics.

Physical Materials: Even with most libraries closed to the public, some libraries have continued to provide physical materials. Clark told LJ that some libraries are providing census materials in curbside pickups.

Print out Outreach Materials for display at your curbside pickup area!

Here are some of the articles referenced:

KOOKOGEY, C. (2020, May 31). Only 60.2% of tennesseans have participated in census. The Tennessean.

Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2408191757?accountid=33208

GRIGSBY, K. (2020, March 13). 2020 census forms will be mailed starting today. What should I do, and what's at stake? The Tennessean.

Retrieved from https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2020/03/12/census-form-2020-tennessee-whats-at-stake/5016135002/

Thanks,

Andrea Zielke

TEL Administrator

Tennessee Electronic Library

Tennessee State Library and Archives

Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

403 7th Avenue North

Nashville, TN 37243

Phone: 615-532-4627

Fax: 615-532-9904

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