The Good Big Brother: The United States Census Bureau - Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Since 1790, Americans have been telling the United States Government where they live, how many children they have, their gender, age, and other vital statistics in the form of questionnaires from the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau asks everything from worker’s commute time (25.5 minutes was the average in 2000) to how much ice cream Americans consume (24 pounds per person annually versus 2 pounds in 1910).

America’s diversity and the struggles of the American people have been well documented by censuses. Women and minorities have fought for the recognition to be counted in the census. Women were not named in the census until 1850 (unless they were the “head of the household”), African Americans and Native Americans were not named in the census until 1870, and people of Hispanic origin did not have a category until 1970 when the data was needed to implement such federal statutes as the bilingual election rules under the Voting Rights Act. Today the census collects data on each diverse population group (over 300 groups) in the United States, so that everyone may be represented in the Federal government and in their local communities.

The changing faces of America have been counted and represented by the census and its important role in influencing the allotment of federal funds and the number of congressional representatives each state is allowed. The census also impacts our local communities in the planning for new roads, schools, and most importantly, libraries!

And now the United States Census Bureau is getting ready to implement a brand new approach to the census.

Enumerators are using handheld computers instead of clipboards to gather census information, but this is not the only change the Census Bureau is undergoing in 2004. Most of us are familiar with the two big numbers to remember when dealing with the census, 72 years before individuals’ data is released and every ten years the population and housing census is conducted. The Census Bureau is adding another big number: one. With the introduction of the American Community Survey (ACS), the Census Bureau will now be conducting a demographic and socioeconomic survey every year instead of a census once every ten years. There will still be a decennial census in 2010, but it will only include the short form, which counts the population.

The ACS will replace the long form, which collects demographic, housing, social, and economic information. Full implementation of the ACS, meaning the survey will be conducted in every county, American Indian and Alaska Native Area, Hawaiian Home Land and in Puerto Rico (over 3 million households), will begin in 2004. Some counties may have already participated in the testing phase of the ACS, which has been active since 1996. One out of 480 households will receive the ACS questionnaire, but individual households should only receive a survey once every five years. The Census Bureau has been releasing informative fact sheets to educate the public about this change and an educational brochure for patrons is available for download at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Special/brochure.htm.

The ACS and the decennial census are not the only surveys and censuses the Census Bureau conducts. From the Economic Census, to the Women and Minority-Owned Business Survey, to the State and Local Government Public-Employee Retirement System Survey, the United States Census Bureau conducts nearly 100 surveys and censuses, so they are constantly collecting data and disseminating information on how Americans live. Information about the surveys and censuses is available at http://www.census.gov/main/www/surveys.html.

The first U.S. Census in 1790 took eighteen months to conduct and present the data to President Washington. Today the Census Bureau is able to collect and disseminate data in two weeks. The 2000 Census was the first census where Americans were able to submit their data electronically, and the Census Bureau has been a leading government agency in the e-government shift to provide American citizens access to fast, reliable data on the Internet.

The U.S. Census Bureau has had a web presence since 1994 and today over 1.5 million pages of information are accessed every day. The Census Bureau has created user-friendly data retrieval systems, such as American FactFinder [http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en] with easy access to data on population, disability, education, income and employment, poverty, housing, business and industry for all U.S. states, counties, cities, towns, and zip codes. American FactFinder also includes a Kid’s Corner [http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/kids/kids.html] with fun state facts and information on the U.S. Census Bureau. Another quick reference tool, the State and County Quick Facts [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd] has population, race, gender, business and other data available by state and by county. The Census Bureau has also recently made available historical censuses [http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/index.htm] and statistical abstracts [http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/index.htm].

KDLA specializes in census and statistical data in our selection of Federal Government Documents. For more information on the census or Federal Government Documents, please contact the reference desk at http://www.kdla.ky.gov/research/libasklib.asp or #502-564-8300, ext. 342.

The Kentucky State Data Center and Kentucky Population Research is also a valuable source for census data, specifically interpreting and analyzing Kentucky census data and the website address is http://ksdc.louisville.edu.

200 Years of Census Taking: Population and Housing Questions, 1790-1990. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 1989.

ACS Living by the Numbers: Your Role in the American Community Survey. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 2003. 23 June 2004 <http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Special/brochure.htm>

Factfinder for the Nation: History and Organization. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 2000. 23 June 2004 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-4.pdf>

Frequently Ask Questions. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 2004. 23 June 2004 <http://www.census.gov/iqa/faq/genfaq.htm>

Measuring America: the Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 2002.

Profile America: Ice Cream. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, Public Information Office, 2004. 23 June 2004 <http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/radio/pa0608.htm>

The United States Census Bureau. www.census.gov.

This article originally appeared in the July/Sept. 2004 edition of SelectioNotes.