A national census has been taken every decade since 1801, except 1941. From 1841, details of every individual were recorded including birthplace, age, family relationships and occupation. Those covering the censuses from 1841 to 1901 for the area covered by the present-day Harrogate Borough Council are available on microfilm at the Library. That of 1911 is only available commercially. The Library does offer free access to Ancestry and Find My Past, which also have those earlier censuses, although the use of the computer does incur a charge, which can make lengthy searches expensive. As their names suggest, the commercial providers are aimed principally at those tracing their family trees but can be used for historical research.