Taken from GovDocs Archive - FYI
Dear Folks,
I couldn't take the uncertainty anymore so I called the Census Bureau
and spoke to Ian O'Brien who's the Chief of the Statistical Compendia
Branch. He said that the 2012 budget doesn't include funding for his
branch, which would mean the elimination of not only the Statistical
Abstract, but all titles produced by that branch (State and
Metropolitan Area Data Book, County and City Data Book, etc.). No
new editions would be produced in print or online.
I asked if there was any hope of changing this and he said that
there's always a chance that Congress could be convinced to continue
funding for the program. He said those who would like to save the
Statistical Compendia Branch could write to their Senators and
Representatives. I'm guessing this would go for the Federal
Financial Statistics Program as well.
So, start writing your letters and encourage others to do the same.
Jim Jacobs
data services librarian, emeritus
university of california san diego
