FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1997 Public Information Office CB97-58 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Customer Services Branch 301-763-INFO(4636)/301-457-3842 (fax) e-mail: CenStats@census.gov Census Bureau Launches New Internet Subscription Service Something new has been added to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau Internet site--a fee-based subscription service that offers enhanced access to selected databases. You can find out about this exciting new service by clicking on the CenStats button on the Census Bureau's home page. "We believe that this new service achieves a balance between our twin goals of maximizing the usefulness of our data for the widest possible audience while recovering some of the costs incurred in developing software to access these specialized databases," said Census Bureau Director Martha Farnsworth Riche. CenStats provides users with easy, point-and-click Web access to several popular databases, including some sold on CD-ROMs. It also provides direct links between several databases that have common geography such as county, ZIP code, and census tract. CenStats currently consists of separate databases that contain: - "Census Tract Locator"--a nationwide reference that enables you to link street addresses to census tracts; - "1994 ZIP Code Business Patterns"--a product that highlights business statistics including number of establishments and employment by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code and by ZIP code; - "1994 County Business Patterns"--a county-level product that highlights business statistics including number of establishments and employment by Standard Industrial Classification; - "USA Counties 1996"--a collection of data from various sources at the county level; and - "U.S. International Trade Statistics"--imports and exports by Standard International Trade Classification for current month and year to date for country of destination (exports) and country of origin (imports). Individual users who want to access the currently available and planned databases on CenStats can subscribe for $40 for three months or $125 for one year. The Census Bureau also offers site licenses for multiple concurrent users, ranging in cost from $750 to $2,500. Also available through CenStats at no cost are .pdf versions of all of the Census Bureau's publications issued since January 1996. Riche noted that the Census Bureau previously announced its primary means of data dissemination in the future would be via the Internet. Free information now available on the Census Bureau's site http://www.census.gov-- making up more than 95 percent of its total offerings--receives an average of 2 million hits per week, she said. Riche said the Census Bureau was looking at other databases, particularly those from its vast storehouse of current economic data, as possible future additions to CenStats. For further information about subscriptions, data users should contact the Census Bureau's Customer Services Branch on 301-763-INFO(4636) (fax: 301-457-3842; e-mail: CenStats@census.gov). The URL for CenStats is: http://www.census.gov/apsd/www/censtats.html-X-Editor's note: Media representatives wishing to access CenStats should contact the Public Information Office to register and obtain a password. Telephone: 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; e-mail: pio@census.gov. The Census Bureau--pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries, and institutions.
