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 May 2026.
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) (REVISED May 2026)
- LCDGT Proposal Form (PDF)
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)
- L 400 Ethics and Demographic Group Terms (PDF)
Understanding the structure of the LCDGT vocabulary
- L 405 Categories of Terms (PDF)
- L 410 Broader and Narrower Term References (PDF)
- L 415 Related Term References (PDF)
- L 420 “Used for” References (PDF)
- L 425 History Notes (PDF)
- L 430 Scope Notes (PDF)
Making a proposal to add or change a term
- L 435 When to Propose a New Demographic Term (PDF)
- L 440 Authority Research and Citations for LCDGT Proposals (PDF)
- L 445 Form of Authorized Term (PDF)
- L 450 Parenthetical Qualifiers (PDF)
- L 455 Submitting New LCDGT Proposals (PDF)
- L 460 Changing References in Demographic Group Authority Records (PDF)
- L 465 Changing or Deleting an Authorized Term (PDF)
Managing LCDGT
Using a term in cataloging
- L 480 Assignment of Terms: Audience Characteristics (PDF)
- L 485 Assignment of Terms: Creator Characteristics (PDF)
- L 490 Assignment of Terms: Entity Attributes for Persons (PDF)
- L 495 Order of Demographic Group Terms (PDF)
Understanding the LCDGT categories
- L 500 Age Category (PDF)
- L 505 Educational Level Category (PDF)
- L 510 Ethnic/Cultural Category (PDF)
- L 515 Language Category (PDF)
- L 520 Medical, Psychological, and Disability Category (PDF)
- L 525 National/Regional Category (PDF)
- L 530 Occupation/Field of Activity Category (PDF)
- L 535 Religion Category (PDF)
- L 540 Social Category (PDF)
Understanding LCDGT records in MARC
- L 545 MARC Authority Records for LC Demographic Group Terms (PDF)
- L 550 MARC Coding for Audience in Bibliographic and Work Authority Records (PDF)
- L 555 MARC Coding for Creators in Bibliographic and Work Authority Records (PDF)
- L 560 MARC Coding for Entity Attributes in Personal Name Authority Records (PDF)
Appendices
- Appendix A Abbreviations (PDF)
- Appendix B Capitalization (PDF)
- Appendix C Diacritics and Special Characters (PDF)
- Appendix D Punctuation (PDF)
- Appendix E History of LCDGT (PDF)
- Appendix F Extended Examples (PDF)
