The following items include news about the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate and announcements about new information on this site.
2023 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001
2023
August
- Announcement: Temporary Limit on Number of Proposals on LCSH Monthly Lists
Due to the high volume of subject proposals received and an increasingly heavy workload, the Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division (PTCP) has decided temporarily to limit the number of proposals that can be scheduled to each LCSH monthly list, effective immediately. The limit will be 200 proposals. Once that cap is reached each month, only proposals associated with CIP cataloging will continue to be scheduled for the list; other proposals will be held until the following list. (There will be no limit on classification proposals unless they have corresponding LCSH proposals.) We regret that this will result in a delay in scheduling some proposals for a list, but we hope at least it will result in a faster turnaround time for processing each list. PTCP appreciates the community’s support and patience. If you have questions or comments about this temporary measure, please contact [email protected].
July
- 07/26/2023: Following the announcement about the Evaluation of Headings for Indigenous Peoples, the Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division (PTCP) immediately recognized the need for interim guidelines to assist catalogers who wish to make proposals for LCSH and LCDGT headings. PTCP has prepared those guidelines and a webpage on Subject Headings for Indigenous peoples to share both the guidelines and ongoing information about this project. The guidelines minimize the need for direct contact with tribal nations to prevent multiple people from contacting them with the same questions. We welcome feedback to improve these guidelines and suggestions for the future.
An email link has been provided on the webpages being published. - 07/21/2023: The Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division (PTCP) at the Library of Congress maintains policy documentation that is posted in various locations for use by Library of Congress staff and members of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC). In August 2023, PTCP will provide consolidated access through Classification Web Plus to this documentation. In preparation for this, PTCP would like to announce new procedures for maintaining this documentation:
- Updates to documentation will be made as needed and will not necessarily conform to a set schedule
- A spreadsheet for each type of documentation will include information about the latest updates
- These spreadsheets will be posted in PDF on the Library of Congress Cataloging and Acquisitions website (under "Products Available for Download") and be available for searching via Classification Web Plus (see the announcement regarding Classification Web Plus)
- 07/06/2023: As of June 2023, the Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division (PTCP) will be in the process of releasing newly revised instruction sheets for LC Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) Manual.
May
- 05/16/2023: Announcement: Expanding Inclusion of Armenian and Thai Scripts in Bibliographic Records (PDF, 84 KB)
05/05/2023: At the urging of a member of the library community, the Library of Congress (LC) examined the current standard practice for capitalization of the word "indigenous." The Chicago Manual of Style, amongst others, capitalizes the word indigenous when referring to peoples and cultures, similar to the treatment of the word black. As a result, the Library has decided to change its current practice in the Library of Congress Subject Headings and the Library of Congress Classification for indigenous in order to be in alignment with its own change of practice for black. When referring to things other than people and culture, such as plants or animals, usage will continue to be lowercase.
This change will not occur as a tentative list, as it entails no change of meaning or spelling, but will be available as soon as the edits are made. Due to normalization, there should be little or no impact on a system’s ability to control the headings, which will give libraries time to make this change without impacting access.
We anticipate that the changes in LCSH will be completed by May 30, 2023; and those in LCC will be completed by June 30, 2023. The majority of the changes in LCSH are in scope notes, so the number of headings that are directly impacted is fairly small, and are listed here:
- Internet and Indigenous peoples
- Libraries and Indigenous peoples
- Museums and Indigenous peoples
- Racism against Indigenous peoples
- Social work with Indigenous peoples
- Urban Indigenous peoples
April
- 04/03/2023: Announcement: Incoming LCSH Proposals: Expedited List Experiment Ended (PDF : 75 KB)
March
- 03/27/2023: Evaluation of Headings for Indigenous Peoples (PDF : 74 KB)
- 03/24/2023: The Library of Congress has reviewed the feedback regarding the proposed change in practice to allow family names established in RDA name authority records to be used as subject access points in bibliographic records. The feedback was uniformly positive, and in our discussion we were able to resolve all questions presented. Therefore, the Library will proceed with implementing this change. Two tasks are required: 1) name authority records for families will have the relevant 008 fields updated and the 667 deleted and 2) the SHM H 1631 will be updated to give guidance in the implementation of this policy. OCLC will be kindly making the required changes to the authority records. We are already working on the instruction sheet. Once these two changes are completed, we will make an announcement, and then all institutions will be free to implement the change.
February
- 02/03/2023: LCSH Policy Change Proposal to Allow the Use of RDA Family Name Authorized Access Points as Subject Access Points (PDF : 170 KB)
2022
August
- 08/19/2022: ADLaM Romanization Table: Proposed table (PDF : 236 KB) ADLaM Romanization Table: Details (PDF : 103 KB) ADLaM Romanization Table: Request for community comment (PDF : 47 KB)
- 08/16/2022: Announcement: Incoming LCSH Proposals: Expedited List Experiment (PDF : 172 KB)
May
- 05/03/2022: Meetei Mayek Romanization Table (PDF : 926 KB) New Romanization Table
March
- 03/21/2022: CYAC Cataloging Manual Instruction Sheets Posted
- 03/14/2022: Official RDA Metadata Guidance Documentation (MGD) Posted (PDF : 84 KB)
- 03/07/2022: LCSH heading Slaves changing to Enslaved persons (PDF : 77 KB)
- 03/04/2022: Library of Congress Releases Subclass KIR, Indigenous Law of Brazil (PDF : 95 KB)
- 03/04/2022: History Notes to be Implemented in Authority Records for LCSH, LCGFT, LCDGT, LCMPT, and CYAC (PDF : 140 KB)
2021
September
- 09/21/2021: Japanese Romanization Table: Proposed updated table (PDF : 406 KB) Japanese Romanization Table: Proposed revisions (description of changes) (PDF : 57 KB) Review Subcommittee report (Word : 28 KB)
- 09/17/2021: Macedonian Romanization Table: Proposed updated table (PDF : 30 KB) Macedonian Romanization Table: Proposed revisions (description of changes) (PDF : 141 KB) Review Subcommittee report (Word : 24 KB)
- 09/09/2021: New Email Address for Comments on Tentative Monthly Lists
August
- 08/26/2021: Armenian Romanization Table: Proposed updated table (PDF : 704 KB) Armenian Romanization Table: Proposed revisions (description of changes) (PDF : 130 KB) Review Subcommittee report (Word : 29 KB)
- 08/05/2021: Library of Congress Subject Editorial Meetings: Description and calendar for 2021
2020
June
2019
August
- 08/15/2019: Classification Web Interface to be Upgraded
April
2018
November
October
- 10/01/2018: Descriptive Cataloging Manual Section Z12
July
February
2017
December
November
August
-
08/29/17: New Uzbek Romanization Table Approved
- 08/17/17: Proposal for revised Azerbaijani Romanization Table
May
- 05/10/17: Proposal for new Uzbek Romanization Table (PDF, 701 KB)
2016
September
- 09/01/16: The Library now accepting proposals for Literature, Religion, and General Genre/Form Terms (PDF, 110 KB)
August
- 08/19/16: The Library has extended the comment period on its proposal to replace the subject heading “Illegal aliens” to September 20, 2016. No additional extensions of the survey period will be made. All those wishing to comment on the proposed changes are urged to do so before September 20, 2016. The survey will remain open for comment through that date. Visit the survey now »
- 08/08/16: LC-PCC PS Updates for August 8, 2016 Release of RDA Toolkit
July
- 07/22/16: The Library has extended the comment period on its proposal to replace the subject heading “Illegal aliens” to Saturday, August 20, 2016. The survey will remain open for comment through that date. Visit the survey now »
- 07/12/16: Library of Congress Releases New Law of Hawaii (to 1900) Subclass KVJ (PDF, 37 KB)
June
May
- 05/20/16: Library of Congress Accepts Public Comments on Proposed Changes to the LC Subject Headings Aliens and Illegal Aliens (PDF, 162 KB)
April
March
February
- 02/24/16: Changes to MDS-Serials File (PDF, 35 KB)
- 02/24/16: Deseret Romanization Table Revision Approved
January
- 01/06/16: Library of Congress Accepts Demographic Group Term Proposals, Publishes Draft Demographic Group Terms Manual
- 01/06/16: Library of Congress Publishes Draft Genre/Form Terms Manual
2015
November
October
August
June
- 06/26/15: Library of Congress Approves Initial Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT)
- 06/19/15: Library of Congress to Approve Genre/Form Terms for Religious Works
May
April
March
February
- 02/27/15: Increased Bibliographic Record Distribution Notice for March 2015 (PDF, 23 KB)
- 02/11/15: ALA-LC Romanization Tables Approved
2014
December
- 12/11/14: Library of Congress to Approve Genre/Form Terms for Musical Works
- 12/04/14: Library of Congress to Approve Genre/Form Terms for Literary Works
- 12/03/14: Library of Congress to Approve General Genre/Form Terms
- 12/02/14: Proposal for Revision of Tibetan Romanization Table
November
- 11/05/14: Proposal for Cham Romanization Table
- 11/05/14: Proposal for Revision of Uighur Romanization Table
October
August
July
June
- 6/12/14: Library of Congress to Approve New Classification Number for Juvenile Fiction
- 6/6/14: Update on Subject and Classification Documentation Plans
May
- 5/23/14: Library of Congress Soft-Releases New American Indian Law Schedules
- 5/7/14: Descriptive Cataloging of East Asian Material: CJK Examples of AACR2 and Library of Congress Rule Interpretations
- 5/5/14: Romanian (in Cyrillic) Romanization Table Approved
April
- 4/30/14: Revised Files for Descriptive Cataloging of East Asian Material Posted
- 4/22/14: Update to RDA News Items
- 4/16/14: Draft of KF8200 through KF8578 Expansion Available for Comment
February
- 2/21/14: Library of Congress Launches Medium of Performance Thesaurus for Music
- 2/5/14: Library of Congress ILS Upgrade Impact on MARC Distribution Service Subscribers (PDF, 20 KB)
January
- 1/29/14: Proposal for Romanian in Cyrillic Romanization Table
- 1/29/14: Coptic Romanization Table Approved
- 1/23/14: Library of Congress Considers Revision to Call Number Policy for Children’s and Young Adults’ Literature
2013
December
October
August
July
June
- 6/28/13: Library of Congress Transitions to Free, Online-Only Cataloging Publications
- 6/19/13: Proposal for Rusyn / Carpatho-Rusyn Romanization Table
- 6/11/13: Urdu (in Arabic Script), Pushto, and Sindhi (in Arabic script) Romanization Tables Revision Approved
- 6/4/13: Revised Classification and Shelflisting Manual Instruction Sheet posted
April
- 4/29/13: Revised Classification and Shelflisting Manual Instruction Sheets
- 4/25/13: Library of Congress Completes Revisions to LCSH Prompted by RDA Phase 2
- 4/24/13: LC Policy and Standards Division to authorize use of the subdivision --Law and legislation under LCSH headings for crimes (PDF, 30 KB)
- 4/17/13: Revised Classification and Shelflisting Manual Instruction Sheet posted
- 4/12/13: Proposal for Revision of the Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian Romanization Tables
March
- 3/28/13: Revised Classification and Shelflisting Manual Instruction Sheets posted
- 3/25/13: Genre/Form Terms for Musical Works and Medium of Performance Thesaurus page has new updates
- 3/20/13: Proposal for Tamashek Romanization Table
February
January
- 1/10/13: Implementation Update from the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee Posted
- 1/08/13: Treatment of Globes in LCSH and LCGFT to be revised (PDF, 25 KB)
- 1/08/13: Jawi-Pegon (formerly Malay) Romanization Table Revision Approved
2012
December
- 12/05/12: Subclass G (Cartographic Materials): Geographic Cutter Numbers (Tables G1548-G9804)
- 12/05/12: Japanese Romanization Table Revision Approved
November
- 11/28/12: Updated Proposal for Revision of the Malay Romanization Table
- 11/15/12: Arabic Romanization Table Revision Approved
- 11/06/12: Belarusian Romanization Table Approved
October
- 10/24/12: Tod-Oirat-Old Kalmyk Romanization Table Approved
- 10/9/12: The Library of Congress Policy Statements have a new name--the Library of Congress-Program for Cooperative Cataloging Policy Statements!
September
- 9/14/12: Kazakh, Lepcha, and Manchu Romanization Tables Approved
- 9/13/12: Revision to Descriptive Cataloging Guidelines for Pre-Meiji Japanese from the CEAL Subcommittee on Japanese Rare Books posted
- 9/13/12: Proposal for Revision of the Malay Romanization Table
July
- 7/31/12: Summary of LC/NACO Programmatic Changes for RDA Posted
- 7/20/12: Subclasses KBM (Jewish Law) and KBP (Islamic Law): Notes on Design and Suggested Use of the Schedules
- 7/19/12: New Draft Guide to Subclass KIA-KIX Available
- 7/16/12: Cherokee Romanization Table Approved
- 7/11/12: Proposal for Tod-Oirat-Old Kalmyk Romanization Table
June
- 6/21/12: Implementation Update from the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee Posted
- 6/19/12: Bulgarian, Russian, and Shan Romanization Tables
- 6/11/12: Proposal for Kazakh Romanization Table
- 6/11/12: Proposal for Revision of the Arabic Romanization Table
- 6/7/12: Proposal for Revision of the Lepcha Romanization Table
- 6/7/12: Proposal for Manchu Romanization Table
- 6/4/12: Subject Category Codes to be Added to Selected Subject Authority Records (PDF, 123 KB)
May
- 5/24/12: Proposed Treatment of Globes in the LCGFT Environment (PDF, 67 KB)
- 5/22/12: Proposal for Revision of the Belarusian Romanization Table
April
- 4/24/12: Cancellation of LCGFT Sport-Specific Terms for Moving Images (PDF, 32 KB)
- 4/11/12: Subclass KIA-KIX Final Drafts Available for Discussion
- 4/3/12: Proposal for Changes to the Bulgarian and Russian Romanization Tables
March
- 3/26/12: Library of Congress to develop Medium of Performance Thesaurus for Music in cooperation with the Music Library Association
- 3/23/12: Proposal for Shan Romanization Table
- 3/21/12: Implementation of Apostrophes in Japanese Romanized Cataloging and Proposed Revision of the ALA-LC Japanese Romanization Table
- 3/2/12: Target Date for Implementing RDA Announced to Library of Congress staff and other affected communities (Updated March 2, 2012)
February
- 2/14/12: New and updated files for Music Genre/form Terms and Medium of Performance Terms for Music have been posted for the annual meeting of the Music Library Association
- 2/3/12: Khmer, Moroccan Tamazight, and Syriac Romanization Tables
- 2/2/12: Proposal for Cherokee Romanization Table
January
- 1/16/12: Quarterly Implementation Update from the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee Posted
- 1/19/12: Updated Library of Congress Documentation Links
- 1/13/12: Update to Proposed Tamazight Romanization Table Posted
2011
December
November
- 11/23/11: Decision on Cancellation of LCGFT Character- and Franchise-Based Terms for Moving Images (PDF, 484 KB)
- 11/07/11: Romanization Landscape statement released
- 11/04/11: Proposal for Syriac Romanization Table
October
- 10/31/11: The Library of Congress Issues Next Steps in the Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative
- 10/21/11: LC Cataloging Staff Involved in US RDA Test to Resume RDA Cataloging in November 2011
- 10/21/11: The Library of Congress to Issue Next Steps in the Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative
- 10/21/11: Planning for Future Distribution of Cataloging Data and Products
- 10/20/11: Proposals for Tamazight and Khmer Romanization Tables
September
- 9/15/11: Headings for Indian Tribes Recognized by the U.S. Government
- 9/9/11: Policy and Standards Division Prepares for RDA
- 9/7/11: Draft revision of LCRI 22.1B on Determining the Name by Which a Person is Commonly Known
- 9/6/11: CONSER Standard Record Updated
- 9/6/11: Resources for Arabic Cataloging
May
- 5/16/11: Frequency Change for Subject and Classification Lists
- 5/10/11: MARC Coding for Genre/Form Terms in LCGFT Database to Change May 24, 2011
2010
December
- 12/22/10: LC Actions When Finishing/Using RDA Records for the Interim Period Before an RDA Implementation Decision (PDF - 3 p.; 24 KB)
- 12/21/10: Library of Congress Will Not Change "Dept." to "Department" at This Time
- 12/17/10: Library of Congress Classes JZ and KZ: Historical Notes and Introduction to Application Errata
October
July
- 07/20/10: Library of Congress to Implement Cartographic Genre/Form Headings (PDF - 1 p.; 18 KB)
- 07/15/10: LC to Implement BIBCO Standard Record for Textual Monographs
June
- 06/24/10: Revision of Subject Headings Manual H 1475 for Cooking and Cookbooks
- 06/21/10: Textual Monograph MAP (Supplement for LC Catalogers)
- 06/17/10: Library of Congress to Formally Separate LC Genre/Form Thesaurus from LCSH
- 06/10/10: Korean Bibliographic File Maintenance
- 06/08/10: The Library of Congress at ALA Annual 2010
May
- 05/20/10: Policy and Standards Division’s Progress on the Recommendations Made in “Library of Congress Subject Headings: Pre- vs. Post-Coordination and Related Issues” (PDF, 89 KB)
- 05/12/10: Cataloger’s Desktop and Classification Web Training and Presentations at ALA Annual Meeting
- 05/10/10: Greek Romanization
April
- 04/27/10: U.S. International Exchange Service Findings from Survey of Partners (PDF - 15 p.; 141 KB)
- 04/27/10: Library of Congress to Approve Genre/Form Headings for Cartographic Materials (PDF - 1 p.; 18 KB)
- 04/27/10: Decision Regarding the Proposed Revision to the Hierarchies of Moving Image Genre/Form Headings (PDF - 2 p.; 21 KB)
- 04/21/10: Library of Congress Documentation for the RDA (Resource Description and Access) Test
January
- 01/28/10: Revision to the Classification Span for the Iraq War
- 01/11/10: PCC Guidelines on Punctuation Used in $3 and $x in 260, 490, 8XX Fields (PDF, 15 KB)
- 01/08/10: Korean Transliteration and Word Division Guidelines
- 01/08/10: Revision of Headings for Cooking and Cookbooks: Library of Congress Decisions (PDF, 22 KB)
- 01/04/10: Follow-Up: Revision of Headings for Cooking and Cookbooks (PDF, 20 KB)
2009
December
- 12/23/09: Follow-Up: Revision of Headings for Cooking and Cookbooks (PDF - 2 p.; 20 KB)
November
- 11/18/2009: Library of Congress to Modify Structure of Form Subdivisions used for Cartographic Materials (PDF, 16 KB)
- 11/09/09: Decision Regarding the Final Disposition of LCSH Headings for Video Recordings (PDF, 21 KB)
September
- 09/29/09: Revision of Headings for Cooking and Cookbooks (PDF, 30 KB)
- 09/09/09: Implementing the Repeatability of the MARC 21 260 Field
August
July
- 07/28/09: Implementing the Repeatability of the MARC 21 260 Field
- 07/28/09: Korean Transliteration and Word Division Guidelines
- 07/28/09: Spacing in Korean Serials
June
- 06/10/09: Proposed Changes to the Structure of LCSH Subdivisons Used for Cartographic Materials (PDF, 48 KB)
May
- 05/28/09:Testing Resource Description and Access (RDA)
- 05/28/09: Disposition of LCSH Video Recording Headings in the New Genre/Form Environment (PDF, 63 KB)
- 05/13/09: Modes of Cataloging Employed in the ABA Directorate (PDF, 78 KB)
March
February
- 02/19/09: New Edition of Classification and Shelflisting Manual
- 02/17/09: News from the Library of Congress - MOUG/MLA 2009 (Word File; 135KB)
- 02/17/09: Resource Description and Access (RDA) Webcasts
- 02/17/09: SACO Proposals for Moving Image and Radio Program Genre/Form Headings
- 02/10/09: Genre/Form Headings for Cartographic Materials
2008
December
- 12/10/08: Timeline and Plan for the Next Five Library of Congress Genre/Form Projects
- 12/10/08: Library of Congress to Implement Moving Image and Radio Program Genre/Form Headings in New Cataloging
October
- 10/24/08: Genre/Form Headings at the Library of Congress
- 10/02/08: New Name and Email Address for CPSO
September
- 09/08/08: Genre/Form Headings: Frequently Asked Questions
- 09/02/08: Library of Congress Subject Headings: Pre- vs. Post-Coordination and Related Issues
July
May
April
- 04/30/08: Library of Congress Rare Book Team Now Using DCRM(B)
- 04/09/08: Genre/Form Headings for Radio Programs
February
- 02/19/08: Library of Congress Subject Headings: Pre- vs. Post-Coordination and Related Issues
- 02/05/08: Updates to Standard Citation Forms for Rare Book Cataloging
January
- 01/09/08: White Paper: Issues Related to Non-Latin Characters in Name Authority Records
- 01/03/07: Implementation of New Practice for Government-Designated Parks, Forests, etc.
- 01/03/08: What They Don't Teach in Library School: Competencies, Education, and Employer Expectations for a Career in Cataloging
- 01/03/08: LC Decisions on Application of Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) (PDF, 74 KB)
2007
October
August
- 08/21/07: LC Cataloging of Non-Roman Script Materials in a Post-RLIN World (PDF, 79 KB)
- 08/15/07: Genre/Form Authority Records
May
March
- 03/20/07: "AACR2 Compatible" Headings (PDF, 247 KB)
February
- 02/22/07: New Sound Recording Formats (PDF, 461 KB)
- 02/14/07: Revision of LCRI 22.2 for Composers and Perfomers
- 02/13/07: RSS Feeds for LCSH and LCC Weekly Lists
- 02/01/07: CONSER Standard Record Delayed
January
- 01/04/07: New Web Site for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access
- 01/03/07: Aboriginal Australians and Aboriginal Tasmanians
- 01/03/07: Library of Congress Policy on the Implementation of Revised LCRI 22.17 and Notice of OCLC RSS Feed for Local Bibliographic File Maintenance
2006
December
- 12/27/06: Addition of Dates to Existing Personal Name Headings
- 12/27/06: Addition of Dates to Existing Personal Name Headings: Original Proposal (June, 2005)
November
- 11/03/06: Subdivision Authority Records (18X)
- 11/03/06: Uniqueness of Call Numbers Assigned by the Library of Congress
- 11/03/06: Obsolete and Optional Numbers in the Library of Congress Classification
- 11/02/06: Free PDF Updates to Cataloging and MARC 21 Format Documentation
October
- 10/31/06: New Format for Classification Weekly Lists (PDF, 81KB)
- 10/30/06: Library of Congress Plan to Accomodate 13-digit ISBN
- 10/30/06: Music Cataloging Decisions (October 2006)
June
May
- 05/22/06: Revision of LCRI 22.1B
- 05/12/06: Descriptive Cataloging Guidelines for Pre-Meiji Japanese Books (PDF - 700KB)
- 05/04/06: Series Treatment Decision Delayed
March
February
- 02/27/06: Notes on the Design of Subclasses KBM and KBP
- 02/05/06: LC Policy on the Implementation of Revised LCRI 22.17
January
- 01/12/06: Headings for Tribes Recognized by the U.S. Government
- 01/02/06: Draft of LCRI 25.13 on Manuscripts and Manuscript Groups (PDF, 57 KB)
2005
September
- 09/26/05: Summary Analysis of Comments Received on "Dates in Personal Name Headings" Proposal and Corresponding Decisions (PDF, 139 KB)
