Kansas City, Mo. ? You might think the 1930 census was a new “Star Wars” movie, judging by the lines, and hoopla, surrounding its release today.

The Kansas City office of the National Archives plans to open at 12:01 a.m. today for the release.

Statistics from each census typically are released a year after the tally. Federal regulations put in place in 1952 required that personal details collected in each census be kept confidential for 72 years.

That makes each release a shot of adrenaline for genealogists and family historians.

Big crowds showed up in 1992 at the branch for the release of the 1920 census. Even bigger crowds were on hand in 1982 for the 1910 count.

The reason? “Roots.”

The television miniseries based on Alex Haley’s best selling book sparked a renaissance in family history in the late 1970s. In 1982, that meant long lines for opening day at the Archives.

“We had a waiting list for the microfilm readers,” said Diana Duff, the branch’s director of archival operations.

This time, the National Archives headquarters in Washington is bracing for a similar crowd. After a brief ceremony with U.S. Archivist John Carlin, staff will hand out tickets allowing users to reserve microfilm readers in three-hour blocks.

Thirteen regional National Archives branches were allowed to establish their own policies. Kansas City is one of three branches planning to open at 12:01 a.m. today.

The count was taken April 1, 1930, just over five months after the October 1929 stock market crash that plunged the country into depression. One question asked whether someone had worked the previous day; another asked what “class of worker” people were.

The 1930 census will be a challenge for novice family historians. Only 10 of the 48 states that existed in 1930 have indexed all of their material. Neither Kansas nor Missouri is among them.