The 1970 Census User's Guide has been designed to serve data users as the principal resource for information about the 1970 Census of Population and Housing. Procedures for collecting and processing census data are complex; data products and services are numerous and greatly varied in their characteristics; terminology is often uniquely associated with census programs or tabulations. The Users' Guide furnishes the information which data users need in order to effectively deal with these and other potential barriers to understanding and using the census to best advantage.

The Guide is organized into two separately bound sections:

Part I, including the text and three appendixes--1970 Census Users Dictionary, Comparison of Printed Reports and Summary Tapes, and Glossary.

Part II, including seven appendixes--Technical Conventions, Character Set, First through Fourth Count Technical Documentation, and Address Coding Guide Technical Documentation.

Both parts will be valuable to anyone who expects to make substantial use of census data. Part I is relevant to the use of all census data products, whether printed reports, computer tape, or microform. Part II deals exclusively with data files on computer tape; however, even data users who expect to deal strictly with printed reports may find it helpful to know what additional data are on tape.

The completeness and accuracy of the 1970 Census User's Guide are necessarily affected by the Guides preparation in advance of the release of any final decennial data products. There are descriptive materials, such as technical documentation for the Fifth and Sixth Counts, which are not yet ready for release. Also, conditions may arise which require modifications in the plans described here, including specifications contained in the technical documentation. Information about new materials and program changes will appear in Small-Area Data Notes, Summary Tape User Memoranda, and other publications of the Census Bureau. In contrast with the earlier, second draft version of this Guide, no additional appendixes will be issued to purchasers.

Questions and comments concerning the 1970 Census Users Guide, programs and procedures which it describes, or other aspects of the decennial census are welcomed and may be directed to the Data Access and Use Laboratory, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. 20233.