By Merrill Stein

Information about the U.S. Census can be obtained at https://2020census.gov. Beginning on March 12, 2020, you’ll be invited to respond to the 2020 Census. You can return to my2020census.gov to complete your questionnaire. To help you answer the census, the US Census Bureau provides translated web pages and guides in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, as well as guides in braille and large print.

Be counted — Join the conversation!

• By phone: Get assistance or respond by phone, starting March 9.
• Online: Respond online at my2020census.gov, starting March 12.
• By mail: Households will receive a paper questionnaire April 8–16.
• At home: Census takers will visit households in person, beginning May 13.

What is the importance of census data? The 2020 Census will determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade.

Shape your future, impact your community. The results of the 2020 Census will help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into communities every year for the next decade. That funding shapes many different aspects of every community, no matter the size, no matter the location.

Regional Census centers are available to help. Contact your regional census center to speak with U.S. Census Bureau staff in your area. Regional staff can help you verify the identity of a local census taker or connect you with your partnership specialist.

Want to dig deeper?

• Examine What Census Calls Us: A Historical Timeline from the Pew Research Center.
• See some of your faculty address topics about the census in a YouTube video panel presented Oct. 23, 2019, at Falvey Library.
• Censusin SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development
• Review a History of the Censusin Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia of the U.S. census: from the constitution to the American community survey
• Census 2020: examining the readiness of key aspects of the Census Bureau’s 2020 census preparation: hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, second session, June 9, 2016
• Social Explorer (Falvey Library database)
• Data-Planet (Sage) (Falvey Library database)
• ESRI Tapestry Segmentation. Explore Your Neighborhood
• AncestryLibrary (ProQuest) (Falvey Library database)
• PolicyMap (Falvey Library database)
• Census Bureau Genealogy
• National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS)– The IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides free online access to summary statistics and GIS boundary files for U.S. censuses and other nationwide surveys from 1790 through the present. (Using NHGIS: An Introduction)
• Longitudinal Tract Database

Merrill Stein is Political Science Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m., in Falvey’s Speakers’ Corner, join a faculty panel for conversation and questions about the upcoming decennial census on April 1, 2020. Discussion will aim to provide context and insight into the history of the Census, its use in research and policy-making, and issues particular to the 2020 Census. Faculty panelists include Camille Burge, PhD, Political Science; Judith Giesberg, PhD, History; Rory Kramer, PhD, Sociology and Criminology; and Stephen Strader, PhD, Geography and the Environment. This ACS approved event, sponsored by Falvey Memorial Library with support from librarians Deborah Bishov and Merrill Stein, is free and open to the public.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the populations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Mandated by the Constitution, the results determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives and provide helpful data for public service/administration members and local communities.

Traditionally, Census respondents completed a short questionnaire by phone or mail. This year, individuals will be able to complete the questionnaire online or through their mobile device. For additional information and ways in which you can get involved, visit the United States Census Bureau website.

Dig deeper: Check out the links below to learn more about the Census. Resources courtesy of Librarian Merrill Stein.

• Census Bureau Library
• Explore Census Data
• U.S. Census Data and Statistics
• Standard Hierarchy of Census Geographic Entities
• US Census Bureau Geographic Entities and Concept
• What Census Calls Us: A Historical Timeline (Pew Research Center)
• Census in SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development
• History of the Census in Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia of the U.S. census: from the constitution to the American community survey
• Census 2020: examining the readiness of key aspects of the Census Bureau’s 2020 census preparation: hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, second session, June 9, 2016
• Social Explorer (Falvey Library database)
• Data-Planet (Sage) (Falvey Library database)
• ESRI Tapestry Segmentation. Explore Your Neighborhood
• AncestryLibrary (ProQuest) (Falvey Library database)
• Census Bureau Genealogy
• National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) – The IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides free online access to summary statistics and GIS boundary files for U.S. censuses and other nationwide surveys from 1790 through the present. (Using NHGIS: An Introduction)
• Longitudinal Tract Database
  

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  Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.