AkLA Census Tutorial Part 7: Where to get Census data and suggestions for sharing it with your patrons

After reading Week 6’s posting on Census geography, you probably understand why I broke this tutorial into once a week bits! Welcome to Week 8 of the Alaska Library Association Government Documents Roundtable’s tutorial on Census 2000.

HOW INFORMATION IS BEING DISTRIBUTED?

Unlike prior Censuses, the Internet is going to be the prime vehicle for distributing Census information. American FactFinder [http://factfinder.census.gov] will have the most current and complete information down to the lowest possible geography level. That’s great if you have a T1 connection like I do here at the Alaska State Library. However, in tribute to everyone with slow or nonexistent Internet connections, the Census Bureau will be disseminating information in a wide variety of formats:

• Printed Reports - There will be far fewer printed reports available for Census 2000 and they will be less detailed. For 100% data products, there will be eight tables of data for each State down to the place level only. For sample data products, there will be twelve tables of data for each State down to the place level only. Printed reports will be sold through the Government Printing Office [http://bookstore.gpo.gov] or toll-free 866-512-1800) and reports for your state should be available through your local Federal Depository Library, which you can find by searching [http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/ldirect.html]. PDF versions of printed reports will be also be available at [http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/index.html].
• CD-ROM/DVD-ROM - Most Census 2000 tabulations and maps will be available on CD-ROMs and/or DVDs. Viewing software will be included. CD-ROMs may be ordered by phone through the Census Bureau ’s Customer Services Center on 301-457-4100,or by clicking on [http://www.census.gov/mp/www/censtore.html]. Information coverage on the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM should be similar to what you can find on American FactFinder. CDs/DVDs for at least your home state should be available from your local Federal Depository Library.
• American FactFinder [http://factfinder.census.gov] is the centerpiece of the Census Bureau’s strategy to get Census information out to the public. Information here is updated daily, and will always contain data for the lowest geographic level that the Census Bureau makes public. In addition, for the FIRST time ever, the Bureau will be making it’s Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) available on American Factfinder with an “advanced query” function.

DID SOMEONE SAY PUMS?

My temptation is to say that if you’ve never heard of PUMS until now, you don’t really need to know about it. PUMS are files that contain records for a sample of housing units with information on the characteristics of each unit and each person in it. While preserving confidentiality (by removing identifiers), these microdata files permit users with special needs to prepare virtually any tabulation. PUMS data is treasured by academia and until now has been hard and expensive to get. PUMS data for the 2000 Census SHOULD be available on American FactFinder DEC 2002 - MAR 2003, subject to policy decisions on access and confidentiality.

ALASKA ALERT

In addition, ALASKA ONLY information, can be retrieved from the Department of Labor’s web site at [http://www.labor.state.ak.us/census.htm]. If you are an Alaskan who wants Census information in a spreadsheet format, this is the place to go. In my experience, the download from the Dept of Labor was a lot cleaner than the download from American Factfinder. Be warned that the DOL site is heavily Java dependent and may ask you to install software and read your hard drive. While I feel that this makes the site somewhat impolite, I think the download capability may make it worthwhile for academic and business users.

HOW TO SEARCH AMERICAN FACTFINDER, OR THE LIMITATIONS OF PLAIN E-MAIL

1. There is a nice set of tutorials and PowerPoint training materials available on American FactFinder itself at [http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/epss/tutorials.html]. I used those materials to prepare an American Factfinder training for our reference staff.
2. Probably 80% of your Census Reference questions can be answered using the “Start with Basic Facts” box at the top of the American FactFinder home page.
• The “Show me” box contains a list of quick tables/maps from the 2000 and 1990 Censuses, as well as well as the 1997 Economic Census.
• The “for” box allows you to get a table or map for a State, County (Borough) or a Place. If you need information for ANY other type of geography, you will need to click on the “data sets” button on the left-hand side of the home page. Once you’ve chosen “for”, wait for the screen to give you more drop-down boxes. It’s fairly easy from there.
3. Need to get Census Information by Address? Now we can get this without having to know what census tract number someone lives in or having to pore over Census Maps. All you have to do is click on “street address” on the American FactFinder home page or go to the “advanced geography selection” screen at [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/AGSGeoAddressServlet?_lang=en&_programYear=50&_treeId=420] and type in the address. Your results screen will give you a list of EVERY single geographic level that your address belongs to. For anyone with a standardized addressing system, this is a TREMENDOUS boon. Your realtors and homebuyers will worship you, or at least offer some respect.

ALASKA/RURAL ALERT about those slow connection speeds.

While American FactFinder (AFF) performs decently well even over a 56K modem, many places in Alaska and in rural America have even slower connections. At one of the workshops I attended I heard the story of someone trying to walk a rural librarian through AFF to get a population table for their town. After 25 minutes went by, the librarian’s computer had loaded up the second page of a several page selection process. The person in Juneau then offered to print the table herself and fax it out to the rural librarian.

I think this is a good lesson for any library serving a constituency that has technological or skill problems with Internet connections. If they can’t get to table themselves, I personally feel comfortable printing the table and either faxing or mailing it out. If your patron lives within driving distance of the library, invite them over to use AFF on your public computer.

IF you are a LIBRARY IN ALASKA, and are cursed with a molasses like Internet connection, you can contact one of the agencies in the Census Geographic Information Network (CGIN). They can make printouts from American Factfinder and either fax or mail them to you or your patrons. Contact information for CGIN will be given out next week, when we search for help after we’ve exhausted our local resources. Help is on the way.

Until next week,

Daniel Cornwall, Member Alaska Library Association Government Documents Roundtable.

If you find any part of this tutorial useful, you may use it in training materials with proper attribution, and if you drop me a line at dan_cornwall@eed.state.ak.us telling me how you're going to use it. Thanks!

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This Page was last updated July 27, 2001.