There are census indexes online, in books, on CD's and on microfilm. Ancestry.com has census indexes for some years, you won't be able to access the images though unless you have a subscription. Both Genealogy.com and Ancestry.com along with some commercial genealogy sites have census indexes that you can buy. LDS has the 1880 census on line for the US - UK - and Canada. Some state libaries have the index for 1870 for their state on line and many local libraries may have a printed index for one year. Also check with your local librarian to see if they have any available genealogy programs that you can access online through their computers. If you find a name on an index with the microfim roll #, you can request an interlibrary loan for that roll # or visit a LDS library near you and see if they have the roll if not, they can order it for you. US GenWeb has a Census Project. Rootsweb.com has a CENSUS-ANNOUNCE-L. There may be more, but this is all I can think of at the moment. Happy Hunting, Jane