Data dissemination for the population census

Recent developments in the data-dissemination system for census of population statistics are reviewed, with particular reference to Great Britain. Key issues discussed include: the expansion of census output and the need for summaries of census results; the significance of consultation with census users; the development and functions of guides for census users; the emergence of data-dissemination centres and archives offering new services; the functions of area typologies as a new type of census by-product; the demand for Public Use Samples and the problem of confidentiality; and the emergence of large-scale surveys as alternatives to the census. The review concludes with a re-assessment of the traditional role of the library, and of census users themselves, in the data-dissemination process.