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 March 2025.
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 Plus. 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/.
Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms
- Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 10,494 KB) (REVISED March 2025)
- LCDGT Proposal Form (PDF, 108 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, 163 KB)
- L 400 Ethics and Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 136 KB)
Understanding the structure of the LCDGT vocabulary
- L 405 Categories of Terms (PDF, 199 KB)
- L 410 Broader and Narrower Term References (PDF, 317 KB)
- L 415 Related Term References (PDF, 142 KB)
- L 420 “Used for” References (PDF, 266 KB)
- L 425 History Notes (PDF, 176 KB)
- L 430 Scope Notes (PDF, 186 KB)
Making a proposal to add or change a term
- L 435 When to Propose a New Demographic Term (PDF, 122 KB)
- L 440 Authority Research and Citations for LCDGT Proposals (PDF, 180 KB)
- L 445 Form of Authorized Term (PDF, 185 KB)
- L 450 Parenthetical Qualifiers (PDF, 195 KB)
- L 455 Submitting New LCDGT Proposals (PDF, 336 KB)
- L 460 Changing References in Demographic Group Authority Records (PDF, 539 KB)
- L 465 Changing or Deleting an Authorized Term (PDF, 230 KB)
Managing LCDGT
Using a term in cataloging
- L 480 Assignment of Terms: Audience Characteristics (PDF, 237 KB)
- L 485 Assignment of Terms: Creator Characteristics (PDF, 281 KB)
- L 490 Assignment of Terms: Entity Attributes for Persons (PDF, 216 KB)
- L 495 Order of Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 215 KB)
Understanding the LCDGT categories
- L 500 Age Category (PDF, 223 KB)
- L 505 Educational Level Category (PDF, 259 KB)
- L 510 Ethnic/Cultural Category (PDF, 263 KB)
- L 515 Language Category (PDF, 296 KB)
- L 520 Medical, Psychological, and Disability Category (PDF, 116 KB)
- L 525 National/Regional Category (PDF, 359 KB)
- L 530 Occupation/Field of Activity Category (PDF, 190 KB)
- L 535 Religion Category (PDF, 229 KB)
- L 540 Social Category (PDF, 249 KB)
Understanding LCDGT records in MARC
- L 545 MARC Authority Records for LC Demographic Group Terms (PDF, 183 KB)
- L 550 MARC Coding for Audience in Bibliographic and Work Authority Records (PDF, 170 KB)
- L 555 MARC Coding for Creators in Bibliographic and Work Authority Records (PDF, 192 KB)
- L 560 MARC Coding for Entity Attributes in Personal Name Authority Records (PDF, 162 KB)
Appendices
- Appendix A Abbreviations (PDF, 84 KB)
- Appendix B Capitalization (PDF, 157 KB)
- Appendix C Diacritics and Special Characters (PDF, 320 KB)
- Appendix D Punctuation (PDF, 84 KB)
- Appendix E History of LCDGT (PDF, 237 KB)
- Appendix F Extended Examples (PDF, 223 KB)
