Get ready for the 2010 Census with a special half-day workshop devoted to the big national count. Session leaders and Census experts Paul Overberg of USA Today and Steve Doig of Arizona State University get you up to speed on everything you'll need to know, from covering the Census gathering process to working with the data when it's released. Learn how the American Community Survey is coming to play a crucial role in understanding the demographics of your town, and get enough story ideas to last the next 10 years.

The workshop begins at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 11, and the sessions are free to everyone attending the conference.

Here's a breakdown of the sessions:

Covering the Taking of the Census, or Watching the Sausage Get Made. to understand the data you'll get next year, it's best to understand how it's gathered and edited. But it's also a watchdog's job. How to keep daily track of response rates for each neighborhood (and how they are different from participation rates and mail return rates). How to audit the Census Bureau's media plan in your area and its plan for each neighborhood to boost response.

Nuts and Bolts. Gain a better understanding of the 2010 Census data itself: its form layout and question list (and what's not asked) The data editing routines, geographical hierarchy, file formats, table structures, product plan and schedule — and how they shape stories. How to start your coverage plan and build what you need to get it done.

The Rise of the American Community Survey. Explore the crucial and still-changing role of the ACS now that the long census form is gone. How it's better — and worse — than the long form. How to use census and ACS data for what they do best — and not confuse readers. How to use new tools, from IPUMS to ESRI's Business Analyst Online, to drill deeper into local demographics.

Writing up the 2010 Census. What stories can and should be explored: reapportionment and redistricting, segregation and diversity, growth and sprawl, cohesion and displacement.