American FactFinder is a comprehensive way to access statistics on population, housing, business and industry in the USA. The site offers various ways to access data. The section labeled “Start with Basic Facts” lets users search for commonly needed data on population, including racial composition, income distribution, education, housing, etc., for many geographical areas. The sources of the data are the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, the Economic Census (undertaken every five years), and the American Community survey, which provides yearly profiles of US communities.
FactFinder presents information in two formats: tables and maps. Tables provide detailed statistical summaries on a variety of population, economic, housing, educational and industrial data. There are two kinds of maps. Reference maps can be created to show user‐controlled geographical boundaries (state, county, legislative district, and 106th Congressional District, to name a few) and features, such as major roads, schools, airports, jails, and hospitals. Thematic maps show the geographical distribution of a specific piece of statistical data (such as population density). FactFinder gives the source of the data in the upper left‐hand corner of the map screen.
The initial FactFinder screen loads quickly. Specific items or interest are highlighted, leading users directly to Census 2000 Results for All States or Census 2000 Tables and Reports. It is also worth noting that maps seem to load quite quickly in comparison with other programs. Users can also conveniently link to additional data sources, namely the 1990 Census, the Economic Census, and the American Community Survey. There is also a blank search bar which allows searching by either keyword or place name. FactFinder also makes available, under a single link, a chart of all the data sets it has available, listed beneath the source of the data (Decennial Census, Economic Census, and American Community Survey). A description of each data set can be obtained by mousing over the link for each one.
Working with Census data can be a complex business, but FactFinder’s online Help is very useful. There is an excellent Table of Contents that can help users navigate through the various tasks. Additional useful features of FactFinder’s Help are the Tutorials and the Glossary. Context‐sensitive help for specific tasks is also available. A feature that I always appreciate when using any software is that clicking on Help opens up a new window. This allows users to toggle back and forth between the actual program and Help as needed, rather than having to click the back button to return to the task at hand.
Although American FactFinder does not ‐ and indeed could not ‐ succeed in making US Census data easy and transparent to interpret and work with, it certainly does make a credible stab at making it accessible. Patrons would be well served if libraries of all types provided a link to American FactFinder from their Web sites.
