The Census Catalog and Guide: 1997, the 51st edition of the publication, is both a comprehensive catalog and a substantial guide to the programs and services of the Census Bureau. As a catalog, it describes or lists the products (such as reports and machine-readable files) issued from mid-1993 through 1996.

• Product overview and indexes
• Abstracts of products since mid-1993
• Directories of sources of assistance
• Descriptions of Census Bureau programs
• Information on other Federal data reports

1. "Introduction" and "Product Overview" chapters—the former giving basics about obtaining data products and special services; the latter describing each product series and giving the abstract number for more information.
   
   
2. Chapters on such subjects as business, foreign trade, and population, with information about products issued from mid-1993 through December 1996.
   
   
3. A title index and a subject index.
   
   
4. A "Sources of Assistance" appendix that lists thousands of data specialists and organizations offering guidance, reference resources, processing, and other services. It also includes sections describing key reports from other Federal statistical agencies and listing addresses and phone numbers of numerous Federal agencies.