The Census Bureau advertises itself as the “pre‐eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States.” The Bureau conducts more than 20 censuses a decade and 100 surveys annually about America’s people, businesses, industries, and institutions. The agency is best known for the decennial censuses of population and housing but also performs a series of economic censuses every five years. The numerous surveys allow the Bureau to gather statistical data on a more routine basis. The Census Bureau home page reflects this broad range of data gathering activities. The World Wide Web (WWW) has become an important component of the Bureau’s data dissemination activities. Given the relative newness of the WWW, most of the information is dated 1990 or later.
The Bureau designed this site “to be intuitive, concise, and quick loading” with the user not needing to know the internal Census Bureau structure to access the information. The agency has successfully met these goals. Most information can be accessed by following logical links, often with links to the same page from different starting points. The site also offers search functions that will be outlined in greater detail below. Pages are kept up‐to‐date with daily, weekly or monthly revisions as needed. Although most of the information is available at no cost, some access restrictions do apply. Many documents are in Portable Document Format (pdf) requiring Adobe Acrobat software to read them. This software can be downloaded free from the site. If you want to skip the graphics or use a text reader such as Lynx, the Bureau provides a “topics in text” version. This imposes some limitations, especially when viewing the more interactive pages. The Bureau also restricts access to some of its more popular data products by requiring a subscription.
A variety of search mechanisms exist to assist in locating information. The simplest is to click on the SUBJECTS A TO Z button. This gives an alphabetical list of topics and reports. For example, by choosing the appropriate letter, one can learn what the Bureau has in terms of genealogical information (not much — researchers usually need to go to the National Archives) or to access the entire Statistical Abstract of the United States. The viewer also can search for terms rather than scanning the entries.
A second access point is the SEARCH icon which enables the user to search the entire Census web site. Choosing the “Word” search option includes the ability to use Boolean and proximity operators and truncation. While viewing a list of results, a searcher can click on the “find more like this” link which is useful only if one needs to broaden a search. A more valuable search feature residing at the bottom of each page of results is a “refine your search” option. This permits modifying the original search and limits the new search to the already existing set of results. A second SEARCH option is by “Place.” Entering a zip code or place name will retrieve gazetteer information with a link for mapping the site. A “Map” search allows the user to view state, metropolitan, or county level maps and data. The “Staff” feature lets one search for contact information if one knows a person’s name.
Some buttons provide rapid access to limited fields of information. The icon with the Census Bureau logo gives information primarily about the Census Internet site. A link on this page provides suggestions on how to cite Census Bureau web documents. ABOUT THE BUREAU gives information on agency programs, employment opportunities, and contacts. The CURRENT U.S. POPULATION COUNT updates population estimates for the United States and the world every few seconds and explains how the Bureau arrives at these estimates. CURRENT ECONOMIC INDICATORS furnishes information about the current state of the United States economy. The USER MANUAL briefly describes how to navigate the site. The remaining icons lead to information described in greater depth below.
Keeping current on census related news and publications is possible in two ways. NEWS is produced by the Bureau’s Public Information Office and provides up‐to‐date information about Census developments. This includes planning information regarding the conduct of the 1997 economic censuses and the 2000 decennial population and housing censuses. Another feature is an extensive explanation of the new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) which is a joint venture between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAICS (pronounced “nakes”) is replacing the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. Upcoming events cover the current and next months. One can search by date or subject to see Bureau press releases. NEW ON THE SITE provides a list of features added to the web site in the last 30 days and a link to the previous two months.
CENSTATS ‐ CENSTORE leads to Census products and publications in differing ways. A click on the “Free Publications in PDF” icon provides access to all Census Bureau publications released since January, 1996. CenStats is a subscription based service to products such as the County Business Patterns, USA Counties, Census Tract Street Locator and international trade data. The viewer can take a test drive of these products. The basic functionality is “search and display,” i.e. the user specifies the geographic areas, data sets, commodities, etc. and CenStats finds and displays the specified data. The tester cannot stray outside the predetermined boundaries. A subscriber to one of these products is able to print documents but is prevented from downloading the data. The price for a single user account ranges from $40 for three months to $125 for one year. Multi‐user subscription packages also are available. Follow the path to CenStore to get pricing and ordering information for non‐web products. It provides ordering information and contacts for products sold by the Census Bureau and the Government Printing Office. A nice feature in CenStore is the ability to subscribe to a number of mailing lists. These include the Census Bureau monthly newsletter (The Census and You), the Monthly Product Announcement and Daily List, the Press Release Mailing list and the biweekly I‐Net‐Bulletin. The publications are delivered via email and are a simple means of keeping abreast of Census Bureau developments.
Two icons on the home page lead to pages more interactive in nature. JUST FOR FUN provides a video zone and map gallery of census information. This page currently features “Map Stats” which presents statistical profiles for states, congressional districts, and counties. Designed for more serious researchers, ACCESS TOOLS allows users to manipulate data by either mapping or extracting variables. The “Tiger Map Server” permits the former activity. The data extraction facilities include the “1990 Census Lookup” for 1990 summary data and “Ferret” for Current Population Survey (CPS) data. Experimenting with these tools is the best means by far for learning their capabilities. These interactive pages may provide a useful tool for educators trying to incorporate statistical data into their instructional sessions.
The Census Bureau also provides access to related statistical sites. The home page contains a link to “Other Official Statistics/FedStats.” FedStats (http://www.fedstats.gov) provides one‐stop web access to over 70 United States statistical agencies. This link also includes links to international statistical agencies and state data centers. The latter are cooperative ventures between the Census Bureau and state statistical offices.
This web site is an excellent place to begin a search for statistical data. The information available provides insights into many facets of American life. It is accessible to Web users from many different backgrounds and with a wide variety of information needs.
