About LCDGT Files - LCDGT Terms - LCDGT Manual
About the Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms PDF Files
This page provides PDF files for the new Edition of the Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT) as well as the Demographic Group Terms Manual. The LCDGT vocabulary should be used in conjunction with the Manual, which provides guidelines and instructions for making proposals and for applying demographic group terms. Data for this edition was selected in July 2023.
LCDGT is also available in other formats. For users desiring enhanced functionality, LCDGT will continue to be part of LC’s web-based subscription product, Classification Web. Authority records in MARC UTF-8 format may be freely downloaded from https://classweb.org/LCDGT/, and they are also available for download in a variety of formats from LC’s Linked Data Service, https://id.loc.gov/.
Earlier editions are available here but should not be used for cataloging.
Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms
- Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 540 KB) (REVISED July 2023)
- LCDGT Proposal Form (PDF, 141 KB)
Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms Manual
The Demographic Group Terms Manual contains instructions that are essential for those who wish to understand and apply Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT) correctly. Each instruction sheet is named with the letter L and a three digit number.
Introduction and Ethics
- Introduction (PDF, 294 KB)
- L 400 Ethics and Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 194 KB)
Understanding the structure of the LCDGT vocabulary
- L 405 Categories of Terms (PDF, 283 KB)
- L 410 Broader and Narrower Term References (PDF, 397 KB)
- L 415 Related Term References (PDF, 172 KB)
- L 420 “Used for” References (PDF, 478 KB)
- L 425 History Notes (PDF, 257 KB)
- L 430 Scope Notes (PDF, 305 KB)
Making a proposal to add or change a term
- L 435 When to Propose a New Demographic Term (PDF, 194 KB)
- L 440 Authority Research and Citations for LCDGT Proposals (PDF, 222 KB)
- L 445 Form of Authorized Term (PDF, 192 KB)
- L 450 Parenthetical Qualifiers (PDF, 148 KB)
- L 455 Submitting New LCDGT Proposals (PDF, 381 KB)
- L 460 Changing References in Demographic Group Authority Records (PDF, 318 KB)
- L 465 Changing a Term or Deleting a Demographic Group Authority Record (PDF, 341 KB)
Managing LCDGT
Using a term in cataloging
- L 480 Assignment of Terms: Audience Characteristics (PDF, 325 KB)
- L 485 Assignment of Terms: Creator Characteristics (PDF, 339 KB)
- L 490 Assignment of Terms: Entity Attributes for Persons (PDF, 312 KB)
- L 495 Order of Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 162 KB)
Understanding the LCDGT categories
- L 500 Age Category (PDF, 253 KB)
- L 505 Educational Level Category (PDF, 316 KB)
- L 510 Ethnic/Cultural Category (PDF, 397 KB)
- L 515 Language Category (PDF, 334 KB)
- L 520 Medical, Psychological, and Disability Category (PDF, 193 KB)
- L 525 National/Regional Category (PDF, 397 KB)
- L 530 Occupation/Field of Activity Category (PDF, 420 KB)
- L 535 Religion Category (PDF, 315 KB)
- L 540 Social Category (PDF, 326 KB)
Understanding LCDGT records in MARC
- L 545 MARC Authority Records for LC Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 174 KB)
- L 550 MARC Coding for Audience in Bibliographic and Work Authority Records (PDF, 161 KB)
- L 555 MARC Coding for Creators in Bibliographic and Work Authority Records (PDF, 178 KB)
- L 560 MARC Coding for Entity Attributes in Personal Name Authority Records (PDF, 153 KB)
Appendices
- Appendix A Abbreviations (PDF, 76 KB)
- Appendix B Capitalization (PDF, 149 KB)
- Appendix C Diacritics and Special Characters (PDF, 310 KB)
- Appendix D Punctuation (PDF, 76 KB)
- Appendix E History of LCDGT (PDF, 228 KB)
- Appendix F Extended Examples (PDF, 214 KB)
