Census 2020

“A census is a complete count of a population, generally a nation, conducted by government, as of a fixed date.”

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd Edition), 2015, Page 302

The Census was included in the Constitution by the founding fathers  who recognized its importance to sustaining democracy.  The Census Bureau’s count of the population, conducted every ten years, is used to apportion representation in Congress among the various states and is inseparable from representative government.  In 2020 the Census will be conducted for only the 2^4th time in U.S. history, and both the stakes and the challenges may never have been greater.  This exhibit will explore just a few themes related to the Census which we hope will answer common questions about, and encourage your participation, in the 2020 Census.

This exhibit was created by Anne Zald, Government Information Librarian, Northwestern University Libraries, and features information produced by various federal government agencies. Federal government information is made freely available to the public both online and in tangible formats (print, microfiche, CD/DVD, etc) in Federal Depository Libraries nationwide. The Northwestern University Libraries have been a Federal Depository Library since 1876 and house a historically deep collection of federal agency publications.

This exhibit will be available online March – December, 2020. 

Northwestern University Libraries is dedicated to the fair and ethical preservation, digitization, curation, and use of its collections. This exhibit is made available to the public under Fair Use (Section 107 of the Copyright Act) for learning and teaching purposes, as well as to promote the mission and activities of Northwestern University Libraries (ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use). Northwestern University Libraries does not claim the copyright of any materials in this collection. If you are the copyright holder of any item(s) in this collection or have questions, comments or concerns about this exhibit, please contact us via email at library@northwestern.edu.