Federal Government Resources: Census Finding Aids
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Census Call Numbers:
- NOTE: the call number listing below is basic only, particularly for the
decennial census from 1960 to the present. More detailed listings for
call numbers and volumes can be found at the following:
Population and Housing Census Guide (North Carolina State University) There may be occasional differences in call numbers between NCSU and CSU.
Guide to US Government Publications (Z1223.27 .A574 Ref Desk)
- Summaries of statistics from early censuses can be found in the
following:
Historical Census Browser (University of Virginia)
(Allows for searching and mapping of data 1790-1960.)
A Statistical View of the United States, 1790-1850. I8 Doc
(also online )
A Century of Population Growth in the United States 1790-1900. C3.2: P81 Doc
People of the United States in the 20th Century [1900-1960]. C3.30:P39 Doc Ref
Historical Statistics of the United States HA202 .H57 2006 Ref
(A thorough update of the item below.)
Historical Statistics of the United States. HA202 .U45 1975 Ref and
C3 134/2 H62 Doc Ref
Community Information by ZIP Code (Cal State Northridge)
(Census Bureau and other resources for ZIP code information.)
- Basic call numbers for the decennial census:
1790: I2.5 Doc
1800: I3 Doc Oversize
1810: I4 Doc Oversize
1820: I5 Doc Oversize
1830: I6 Doc
1840: I7 Doc Oversize
1850: I8 Doc
1860: I9 Doc
1870: I10 Doc
1880: I11 Doc
1890: I12 Doc
1900: C3.13/5 Doc
1910: C3.16 Doc
1920: C3.28/5 Doc
1930: C3.37/5 Doc
1940: C3.940 Doc
1950: C3.950 Doc
(Call numbers for 1960 through 1990 are complex. The listings below are for major sequences only. Base call numbers are followed by the year of the census; i.e. "C3.223/9 1980." In general, 223/9 and 223/10 represent the Census of Population while 223/11 represents the Census of Population and Housing. But consult the NOTE at the top of this page for details on individual publications and call numbers.)
1960: C3.223/9 Doc; C3.223/10 Doc; C3.223/11 Doc
1970: C3.223/9 Doc; C3.223/10 Doc; C3.223/11 Doc
1980: C3.223/9 Doc; C3.223/10 Doc; C3.223/11 Doc
1990: C3.223/5 Doc; C3.223/6 Doc; C3.223/7 Doc; C3.223/11 Doc
(Individual publications for 1980 and 1990 can be found on Sage.)
2000: online only.
For 1960 through 1990 many other specialized census reports can be found in the sequence C3.223/12 through C3.224/13.
The decennial census from 1790 through 2000 is also online at the Census Bureau.
- Census of Agriculture call numbers:
1925 and 1935 at: C3.31 Doc
1945, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1970, 1982, 1987, 1992 at: C3.31/4 Doc
1997 at: A92/53/1 Doc
1992, 1997, 2002 also online at the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Census Definitions, Parameters, History:
- Census Bureau Catalog of Publications, 1790-1972. C3.2:
P96/8 Doc Ref
A bibliographic listing. - Encyclopedia of the US Census. HA37 .U55E53 2000 Ref
Useful for article-length information. - Guide to State and Local Census Geography [1990] . C3.6/2: G29/3
Doc Ref
Describes geographic terminology and provides a page of information for each state. - Geographic Areas Reference Manual [1994]. C3.6/2: G29/4
Doc Ref
Thorough explanations of definitions and classifications. - Major US Statistical Series. HA37 .U55S77 1992 Ref
Describes population, labor force, economic indicators, price indexes and inflation, GNP, foreign trade, and federal government finance. - Map Guide to the US Federal Censuses, 1790-1920. G1201
.F7T5 1992 Map
Very useful for county boundaries. - Maps and More. C3.2:G29/4 1994 Doc Ref
a guide to census geography terminology. - Measuring America: the Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000.
C3.2:M46/2 Doc Ref Also online
Includes reproductions of questionnaires, definitions, and instructions to Census workers. - Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990.
C3.2:P81/26 Doc Ref
Population totals for each state and county for each census. - Population of the United States. HB3505 .B63 1997 Ref
Includes chapters on census topics such as race, household, and labor force. - Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Racial and Ethnic Definitions
[1975].
Y3.ED8:2 R11 Doc Ref
Useful for understanding the racial/ethnic definitions used by the federal government in the 1970s. - Twenty Censuses. C3.2 C33/33 Doc Ref
Population and housing questions 1790-1980. - Understanding the Census. HA201 1990 .L38 1996 Ref
Geared to the 1990 census but useful for other census topics as well.
The Manuscript Census:
- The manuscript census consists of the complete forms filled out by
census enumerators or by individuals themselves. For privacy reasons
it is released only after 70 years have passed. At present 1930 is the
most recent available. The manuscript census is of interest to
historians and genealogists.
- The complete manuscript census from 1790 through 1930 is available
electronically at the Fort Collins Public Library through the
"HeritageQuest" database. You must have a borrower's card from the
public library to gain access.
- At the CSU library we have the manuscript census on MICROFILM for
Colorado only:
LC call numbers:
HA381.5 1860 (Colorado was part of Kansas in 1860)
HA271.5 1870
HA271.5 1880
(99% of the 1890 manuscript census was destroyed in a fire in 1921. It is not available anywhere.)
HA271.5 1900
HA271.5 1910
HA271.5 1920
HA271.5 1930
Content: Doug Ernest