1940 U.S. Census Released, Now Live on the Web
UPDATE: NYPL Labs Launches Web Tool to Assist in Finding New Yorkers in the 1940s Census
The service is named Direct Me: NYC.
MAJOR Kudos to the NYPL Lab Team!
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With the massive amount of attention the release of the 1940s census has received be prepared for slow connections.
Note: At this time the 1940 Census IS NOT Searchable By Name.
From the NARA Web Site:
The 1940 census has not yet been indexed by name, so you must search the census by location or enumeration district. There are initiatives underway to make the 1940 census searchable by name, including a community volunteer project. If you’d like to help make the 1940 census name-index available for free you can sign-up as a volunteer at the1940census.com.
Key Links
- Direct to 1940 Census Homepage
- Direct to Getting Started Page (VERY USEFUL)
- Direct to 1940 Census Search Interface
- Direct to 1940 Census Glossary
- Direct to 1940 Census FAQ
1940 Census Fast Facts:
- 3.8 Million Page Images from 4,000 Rolls of Microfilm
- 16th Decennial Census, Marking the 150th Anniversary of the Census.
Video
NARA’s 1940 Census Introductory Video (via YouTube)
See Also: Official NARA News Release
Filed under: News, Video Recordings

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.