Library Guides: Constitution Day: Home

What is Constitution Day?

September 17 is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. "Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students." US Department of Education on Commemorating Constitution Day

In commemoration of this date and in keeping with the requirement above, RPI Libraries make efforts to provide materials and programming in celebration of this event. This guide provides details on the events and collections surrounding the day.

Access to the Constitution

Constitution Day 2022

This Constitution and Citizenship Day, RPI Libraries is celebrating the US Constitution as it relates to data and information. Our library workshops will highlight government information, the US Census, and locating found data with the Constitution as a source for analysis.

Getting Started with Library Research: Introduction to Quick Search and Databases (3:30 pm, Sept 26) The US Constitution formed the basis of US Government. This workshop will introduce starting points for accessing information that can be applied to research related to the US Constitution, including research starters, ebooks, streaming media, and periodicals.

Introduction to using Interlibrary Loan and accessing your library account (10:00 am, Oct 4) This workshop will explore ways to access resources owned by other institutions, including thousands of US Constitution resources.

Introduction to Gathering Found Data (1:00 pm, Oct 6) Every ten years, as mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, a full count of America’s population is conducted. Today, this work is completed by the Census Bureau within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Most government information is openly available but is not always intuitive to find. This workshop will enhance your data discovery skills and promote data literacy within resources that include data.gov. The skills demonstrated in this workshop can be applied to other government resources such as Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM). ROAM is an interactive mapping tool created in early 2018 that is enabling better resourcing decisions and outreach to increase self-response rates for the 2020 Census and many other surveys.

The US Constitution Origin Story (in two minutes)

In Untold: America Explained, Episode 132 (Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Makematic), 2 minutes

We all know what the US Constitution is – but do you know it’s origins story? Let’s delve into history and discover more about the most document in US history.