Need Census information? You can count on the Web!

It's that time of the decade again. In the beginning of March, U.S. Census 2000 forms will begin to arrive. Now might be the right time to further your understanding of some of the specifics and controversies regarding the upcoming census. What better place to begin than on the Web?

A logical starting place is with the U.S. Bureau of the Census site devoted to Census 2000 http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/c2khomenew.htm. In addition to providing overviews and FAQ information, the site also addresses apportionment, redistricting, census partnering and promotional plans. It also features newer technologies, such as Web casts and radio broadcast files. For New York State related information, you can visit its census site http://www.census2000.state.ny.us/.

Non-governmental sites also may be of interest. Policy.com has a site devoted to policy analyses of Census 2000 http://www.policy.com/issuewk/1999/0712_82/index.html, which includes coverage of the debates surrounding sampling vs. actual counting, and the multiracial designation on census forms. For media-oriented coverage, you can consult Yahoo News http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full%5FCoverage/US/Census/ for news article and editorial texts, and National Public Radio audio reports on Census 2000.

The University Libraries offer further avenues to assist you in researching the Census. Lockwood Library's Bureau of the Census guide http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/lml/govdocsubj/census.html offers links to guides, population statistics, profile maps and other data. Through the UB Libraries Catalog http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/bison/ you can enter "census 2000" as a keyword search to retrieve library materials. The UB community can search for Census 2000 information in the CIS Congressional Universe database http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/lml/e-resources/cis.html. By clicking on CIS Index and then Subject, enter "census" in the subject box to retrieve summarized citations to pertinent Congressional documents, hearings, legislative histories and reports.

For assistance connecting to the World Wide Web via UB computer accounts, contact the Computing Center Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Deborah Husted Koshinsky and Richard McRae,

University Libraries