WASHINGTON - During the last census a decade ago, librarians could turn to federally-trained staff in the building to help people get counted.

That help may dry up in 2020. Next year, in the first census to be conducted mainly online, the Census Bureau decided to do away with more than 23,000 of those federal assistance centers in libraries and public places. Librarians worry about the burden of providing computers and advice and helping people overcome language barriers.

In many libraries, planning for the census may depend on the outcome of a late drive in Congress to force the Census Bureau to restore Questionnaire Assistance Centers, or QACs, particularly in hard-to-count areas, according to the American Library Association.

Without knowing if census-trained people will be out in force, some libraries are torn between investing in more computers or in programs educating people who might be fearful of the government about the benefits of taking part in the census.

Libraries also worry about the responsibility of dealing with personal information and helping people respond to complex questions. For instance, people of any ethnicity may claim Hispanic origin.

“Libraries are not really the ones who should be answering those questions. It should be people sworn to protect the confidentiality of people’s answers,” said Gavin Baker, the American Library Association’s assistant director of government relations. “There’s a big question of how people are going to react in the first online census. We don’t know whether five people are going to walk in, or 500. If there is a high-volume seeking help, we would like the Census Bureau to handle as much of that as possible rather than competing with our other tasks.”

For subscribers: Texas leaves census outreach to cities, counties

The prospect that the libraries could be picking up the slack is the latest fallout from decisions by President Donald Trump’s administration regarding the census. Though QAC’s were part of the last census, the administration appears bent on disregarding a directive from Congress.

The White House also waged a losing battle all the way to the Supreme Court for a citizenship question, among initiatives that could tamp down participation by Latinos. An undercount next year could have a significant impact on Texas, which receives billions in government based on the census and stands to add three seats in Congress based on population counts.

In the 2010 census, 23,556 of the federal assistance centers operated in businesses, public areas and churches - including 6,000 in libraries. The centers counted more than 700,000 people, which advocates in Congress like to say is more than the population of Vermont.

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A Census Bureau study afterward concluded that the program had been successful but could be improved, partly by advertising locations of the centers. But the Trump administration, which has attempted many changes to the census, some highly controversial, disagreed with Census Bureau senior staff.

“We have a new way of conducting the census this time, a very efficient way that achieves new efficiencies,” Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham said this week in a briefing with reporters, in response to a question about the assistance centers. “A very important message that we’re going to be sharing with the public is how easy the census will be, how safe and secure the data will be and how important it is to the community,” he said.

Planning for the 2020 census has been roiled by controversy. Census advocates have argued that more money is needed - as much as $2 billion more - to count everyone in the country, as Article 1 of the Constitution prescribes. Until seven months ago, the Census Bureau had no permanent director.

The decennial count became a flashpoint in the immigration debate when the Trump administration pressed to ask on the questionnaire if people are U.S. citizens as a means to enforce the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court rejected that argument in June, scuttling the effort.

In 2017, the 2020 census landed on the Government Accountability Office’s High Risk List and it remains there. The GAO - Congress’s nonpartisan investigative arm — added to concerns this spring by warning that hacking and disinformation efforts could plague the count.

Census methods typically are set years in advance. Still unsettled in the eyes of Congress is the fate of the assistance centers, despite funding legislation this year for the Census Bureau asserting that the agency “shall…open questionnaire assistance centers in hard-to-count communities.”

At a House Oversight Committee hearing last month, Dillingham’s assertion that he planned to only study re-opening the centers provoked a heated exchange with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz, D-Fla.

“It’s right here in black and white,” she said, pointing at a copy of the legislation directing the federal assistance centers.

“It’s not feasible at this point in time,” Dillingham said. “Let me assure you we’re delivering more assistance than ever before, certainly more than the last census.”

The Census Bureau says that under a new Mobile Assistance Initiative, teams will fan out in public areas to offer help. The bureau has been slow to respond to a request from congressional Democrats for details and did not respond to a similar question by Hearst Newspapers in recent days.

Wasserman Shultz said she understands that the initiative will consist of two-person teams equipped with iPads popping up at markets, festivals and public gatherings.

“How will two people with an iPad find critical mass?” she asked at the hearing, reflecting her doubts.

In Texas, Libraries ‘extremely critical’ role

A report this month on census-driven government spending underscores the importance to localities to help count as many people.

The report, by George Washington University and the Project on Government Oversight, predicts that $900 billion in federal money will be distributed annually in coming years based on the 2020 count.

The report noted that in Title 1 receipts - support for schools with large populations of low-income students - Harris ($274 million) and Bexar ($98 million) counties together received more than one-quarter of the allocation for Texas.

In San Antonio and Houston, library directors say that despite uncertainties, they’re confident they’ll be prepared thanks to robust local planning. City and county planning entities bear extra responsibility in Texas, one of few states not to establish a Complete Count Committee.

A spokeswoman for the Census Bureau, which has encouraged state-level planning, said Friday by email that Texas “has committed to the formation of a state Complete Count Committee.”

San Antonio Public Library Director Ramiro Salazar is a member of a national task force helping libraries prepare. He said that in San Antonio’s 28 branches, librarians will be setting aside as many as three computer terminals for filling out questionnaires.

“In some communities the digital divide is not that significant. But in other parts of the community, they don’t have the resources at home, so the only resource for them is the public library,” he said.

Salazar said he is monitoring the dispute in Washington related to the federal assistance centers, but understands that no matter how it turns out, the count will proceed.

“I can tell you that libraries will be extremely critical and significant in getting a complete count,” he said.

In Houston, which has the added challenge of counting families displaced by Harvey, Public Library Executive Director Rhea Lawson is part of complete count effort involving the city, Harris County and more than four dozen community groups.

Lawson said that one of her goals is making people feel “comfortable with technology” and that if need be, the library will take laptops into the community to help people complete the questionnaires.

Lawson said she wants direction from Washington but isn’t waiting to plan.

“I think we have a pretty good trajectory having reached across the city and county and engaged community-based organizations who are working to educate people,” she said. “I think we’ll be OK.”