planning

The 1950 Census Training Timetable

clairekluskens census, NARA--RG 29 , , , ,

Successful accomplishment of a project requires a plan. If that project involves other people, they need to be trained to do the task correctly the first time. No do-overs, please!

The Bureau of the Census needed to hire and train 140,000 enumerators (all temporary workers) to count 152.3 million people during the course of the 1950 census. A four-month training plan was devised beginning with “Chief Instructors” who taught “Instructors” who taught “Crew Leaders” who then taught the Enumerators. The time schedule was tight for a reason. If you train people too far in advance of when before they need the information, they will forget important details. Adapted from 1950 Census: It Took More Than 148,000 People to Make it Happen!

Item, “Technical Training Program – 1950 Census” from “[Folder 2] Flow Charts, 17th Decennial Census, 1950” (NAID 195980236), in series “Narrative Histories, Committee Minutes, and Procedural Manuals Primarily Relating to the 17th Decennial Census” (NAID 5634057).

Counting Down to the Opening of the 1950 Census!

clairekluskens census, NARA--RG 29 , , , , , ,

The “countdown clock” to the right shows you how many days remain until the digital opening of the 1950 census on 1 April 2022. It will be here faster than you think! Time to get ready!

Therefore, I’ve started writing about the 1950 census on the History Hub website with the first installment today: “1950 Census: How the Census Forms and Procedures Were Developed.”