• Cataloging and Acquisitions Home
• About the Organization
• Contact
• FAQs
• News

• Acquisitions
• Resources for Cataloging
• Catalogs, Authority Records
• Classification and Shelflisting
• Cooperative Cataloging Programs
• Descriptive Cataloging
• Products for Purchase
• Publications, Reports
• Subject Headings & Genre/Form Terms

Romanization Landscape and Guidelines

Romanization Landscape statement is now available.

Procedural Guidelines for Proposed New or Revised Romanization Tables have been approved and are now available.

• NEW Phase I Scripts-Used, October 1, 2025-Spring 2026

  The Library of Congress announced the expansion of non-Latin script input in bibliographic and authority records on September 18. Since then, the Library has been working closely with OCLC to ensure that LC records distributed to OCLC are correctly rendered in its original script including both bibliographic and authority records. We are pleased to share that we have started adding scripts in both bibliographic and authority records as indicated in the table at the link.
  
  Additionally, the expansion includes the following areas that were not part of the original announcement.

  • Armenian, Thai, and Mongolian input in authority records
  • The extended Cyrillic character set
  • All CJK Unicode characters
  • Indigenous North American languages
• Character Sets Used in Romanization
• Index to Languages  (Revised February 2012)

The 1997 edition of the tables is also available for purchase in book form from the Cataloging Distribution Service while supplies last.

Romanization Tables

Source documents are available. Specialized fonts may be required for proper display.

Earlier versions are provided here for reference only and are not to be used in current cataloging.

Important note: Please use the Source documents, not these PDF versions, when copying data.

                     A - B - C-F - G-I - J-K - L - M - N-Q - R-S - T - U-Z

A

• ADLaM Script Fula Language  (2023)
  • No earlier versions.
• Amharic   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Arabic   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Armenian   (2022)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Assamese   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Azerbaijani   (2017)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997

B

• Balinese   (2025)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 1997
• Batak   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2002
• Belarusian   (2013)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 2011, 1997
• Bengali   (2017)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 2011, 1997
• Bulgarian   (2013)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 2011, 1997
• Burmese   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997

C-F

• Cham   (2015)
  • No earlier versions.
• Cherokee   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.
• Chinese   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 2000
• Church Slavic   (2022)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Coptic   (2014)
  • No earlier versions.
• Deseret   (2016)
  • No earlier versions.
• Divehi   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.

G-I

• Georgian   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Greek   (2010)
  • No earlier versions.
• Gujarati   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Hebrew and Yiddish   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Hindi   
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Inuktitut   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 2007

J-K

• Japanese   (2022)
  • Earlier versions: 2016, 2012, 2011, 1997
• Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Jawi-Pegon   (2012)
  • Earler versions: see Malay (in Jawi-Arabic script)
• Judeo-Arabic   (2011)
  • No earlier versions.
• Kannada   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Kashmiri   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Kazakh (in Arabic script)   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.
• Khmer   (2013)
  • Earlier versions: October 2012, February 2012, 1997
• Korean   (2009, with minor revision in 2025)
  • No earlier versions.
• Kurdish   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2004, 2002

L

• Ladino   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 2005
• Lao   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Lepcha   (2012 September)
  • Earlier versions: June 2012, 1997
• Limbu   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997

M

• Macedonian   (2021)
  • Earlier versions: 2013, 2011, 1997 (2011 and 1997 versions with title: Serbian and Macedonian)
• Malay (in Jawi-Arabic script) (2011) Table renamed Jawi-Pegon in 2012
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Malayalam   (2014)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 2011, 1997
• Manchu   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.
• Mande languages (in N'ko script)   (2015)
  • No earlier versions.
• Manipuri, Modern (Meitei script)   (2022)
  • No earlier versions.
• Marathi   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Mongolian (1997)
  • No earlier versions.
• Moplah   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Moroccan Tamazight   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.

N-Q

• Non-Slavic Languages (in Cyrillic Script)  (2017)
  • Earlier versions: 2014, 2012, 1997
• Odia (Oriya)   (2024)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Ottoman Turkish   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Pali   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Panjabi   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Persian   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Pushto   (2013)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 1997

R-S

• Romanian (in Cyrillic script)    (2014)
  • No earlier versions.
• Russian   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Rusyn, Carpatho-Rusyn   (2013)
  • No earlier versions.
• Sanskrit and Prakrit   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Santali (in Ol script)   (2017)
  • Earlier versions: 2012, 1997
• Serbian   (2013)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997 (both versions with title: Serbian and Macedonian)
• Shan   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.
• Sindhi   (2024)
  • Earlier versions: 2013, 2012, 1997
• Sinhalese   (2012)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Syriac   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.

T

• Tamashek   (2013)
  • No earlier versions.
• Tamil   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Telugu   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Thai   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Tibetan   (2015)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Tigrinya   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Tod-Oirat-Old Kalmyk   (2012)
  • No earlier versions.

U-Z

• Uighur   (2015)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Ukrainian   (2011)
  • Earlier versions: 1997
• Urdu   (2013)
  • Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
• Uzbek (2017)
  • No earlier versions.
• Vai (2010)
  • No earlier versions.

The ALA-LC Romanization Tables: Transliteration Schemes for Non-Roman Scripts, is approved by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association. Links from tables followed by dates indicate when they were approved, revised, or newly produced from Word files. Tables that lack dates are scanned from the 1997 printed edition.