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Allentown, PA — Today The LGBT Library at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center was named one of 59 libraries nationwide to receive a $2,000 Library Census Equity Fund grant from the American Library Association (ALA), which awarded the grants to bolster library services to hard-to-count communities and help achieve a complete count in the 2020 Census.
“Participation in the Census is critical, especially for underserved populations like the LGBT community,” said Adrian Shanker, Executive Director of Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center. But there’s a real fear that LGBT people won’t participate in the 2020 Census — that’s why we are so grateful to the American Library Association for creating the Library Census Equity Fund to provide resources that make it possible for us to outreach to the LGBT population in our community about the importance of completing the 2020 Census.”
The Library at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center includes a collection of more than 2,300 library materials and regularly hosts authors for book talks. Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center is a member of American Library Association, and was the only library at an LGBT community center, and the only organization in Pennsylvania, to receive the Library Census Equity Fund grant.
With support from American Library Association’s Library Census Equity Fund, The LGBT Library at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center will host a community forum to expand awareness and understanding of Census activities for hard-to-count populations including LGBT individuals. And the center will facilitate participation in the Census by opening The Cyber Center at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center to anyone wishing to complete an online Census form.
“The efforts of The LGBT Library at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center,” said ALA President Wanda Brown, “will shine a light on all the library workers across the country who are shouldering efforts to reach and inform their communities—especially vulnerable and hard-to-count populations—about the importance of a full and inclusive count.”
The results of the 2020 Census will affect communities across the country. More than $1.5 trillion in federal funds are allocated each year to state and local governments based on Census data. When residents are missed in the Census, their communities miss out on needed funding for services such as libraries, schools, healthcare, and transportation.
The U.S. Constitution requires a census of all residents every ten years. In the 2020 Census, residents will have the choice to respond online, by phone, or by mail. The U.S. Census Bureau will send mailings to households prior to Census Day, which is April 1, 2020.
About Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center: (www.bradburysullivancenter.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center provides arts, health, youth, and pride programs to strengthen and support the LGBT community across the Greater Lehigh Valley. The Library at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center received the 2018 Allentown Arts Ovation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Arts.
About ALA: (www.ala.org)
The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all.
Information Provided By:
Adrian Shanker
Executive Director
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
