Newsroom Archive

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to the U.S. Census Bureau for the Statistical Abstract of the United States — acknowledging the abstract's role as one of the premier reference sources for the past 133 years.

RUSA, a division of the American Library Association, initially announced the award at its Midwinter Book and Media Awards Reception in Dallas earlier this year while recognizing the top reading and reference titles as selected by expert librarians.

RUSA President Mary Popp said the Statistical Abstract has been indispensable for librarians.

“For the student who needs to know how many rural adults play online games to include in a paper, the business owner trying to identify the number of adults 25 to 34 who purchased sporting goods to plan targeted marketing, the state official who needs to learn about how much air pollution is generated by chemical manufacturing, and many others — along with the reference librarians who work with them — the Statistical Abstract of the United States has been one of our most useful and trusted resources about American life,” Popp said. "RUSA and its members celebrate the staff of the Census Bureau and the Statistical Abstract for the rich resource made available for so many years.”

The Statistical Abstract gathers information from multiple government and nongovernment sources. The Census Bureau announced in March 2011 that it would cease production of the Statistical Abstract after the 2012 edition because of budget constraints and a major investment in digital dissemination of Census Bureau statistics. However, Bernan Press and ProQuest have taken over the Statistical Abstract and have announced that they will produce a 2013 edition.

The Statistical Abstract, published since 1878, has been the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic organization of the United States. It has been a convenient volume for statistical reference and a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web.

For more information about the Statistical Abstract, view the 2012 edition online, and view ordering information, go to <https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>.