U.S. Government Documents 

Since the stated purpose of the U.S. Census since its inception in 1790 has been to create equitable legislative representation, maps have been an important part of Census work. In later years, when block and census tracks formed the boundaries of statistical reports, census geography became critical to relate to political geography.

• 1790-1970: Block maps were printed and bound into the Census Report volumes by the Census Bureau. These volumes are shelved at: HA201 .[year] in the Decennial Census area of the Social Science Reference Center.
• 1980: Block maps were printed as a separate set. These are shelved in the Decennial Census area of the Social Science Reference Center.
• 1990: Block maps were not issued as part of the depository library program, but were available for purchase. If we do not have the block maps necessary for your research, earlier maps can be used. These maps are available on cd-rom and shelved at: (LEWIS) COMPUTER FILE 72, and available online through ICPSR (Princeton students, faculty, and staff only) Consult a reference librarian in the Social Science Reference Center for assistance.
• 2000: Block maps are available on cd-rom and shelved at: (DOCS) C 3.275:B 62/VI-T 00-BLCK-14-001--006/DVD. These maps are also available online from the Census Bureau.
  

When postal zip codes were introduced in the United States in 1963 , the correlation between census geography and civil grography became more important. Correlations between zip codes and census reports are easily found on the Census Bureau's web site. For assistance in using maps or making correlations between census geography and civil or political geography, please consult the map librarian and GIS specialist: Tsering W. Shawa in the Geosciences and Map Library, 258-6804, shawatw@princeton.edu.

The general public is welcome to use depository materials free of charge. For access information and hours, please consult the the online hours (choose "Firestone Library - Depository Access" from the drop down menu), Access Information Page, and the Firestone Access Office. 

PLEASE NOTE:  While the general public is welcome to use depository materials free of charge, many of our U.S. Government resources, including many of the resources listed in this research guide, are not depository materials and may only be used by Princeton University students, faculty, and staff.  This includes most of the electronic resources such as Lexis Congressional and Hein Online.

Princeton University Library adheres to the following policies set by the Goverment Printing Office: FDLP Internet Use Policy Guidelines and Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government Information in Electronic Formats.