[Message cross-posted to multiple lists, please excuse the duplication. Feel free to forward to other groups or individuals with an interest in demographic terms for cataloging records.]

This message may also be found on the Library of Congress' website at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcdgt-feedback.html.

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As part of its ongoing effort to provide effective access to library materials, the Library of Congress is developing a new vocabulary, entitled Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT). This vocabulary will be used to describe the creators of, and contributors to, resources, and also the intended audience of resources.  It will be created and maintained by the Policy and Standards Division (PSD), and be distinct from the other vocabularies that are maintained by that division: Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (LCGFT), and the Library of Congress Medium of Performance Thesaurus for Music (LCMPT). This announcement describes the status of the project and solicits feedback on it from the library community.

The development of the pilot vocabulary is being undertaken in phases.  Phase 1 constituted approximately 400 terms that were approved in June 2015. PSD also drafted a "guiding principles" document and requested feedback on it from the library community as part of Phase 1.

For Phase 2 of the pilot, PSD enhanced the breadth and depth of LCDGT by continuing to add terminology based on LC subject headings and comments that members of the library community made during the feedback period for Phase 1.  PSD also explored relationships and further tested the guiding principles laid out in the first phase of the pilot.  Tentative List 1519 (https://classificationweb.net/tentative-subjects/1519.html) consists of approximately 480 proposals for new and revised terms.

PSD has also revised "Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms: Introduction and Guiding Principles for the Pilot" (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcdgt-principles.pdf), which provides details about the scope of the pilot vocabulary and also explains the guiding principles under which the proposals for terms were developed.

One of the most significant revisions to the guiding principles concerns a change in the breadth of demonyms eligible for inclusion in LCDGT.  Phase 1 included demonyms for continents, supra-national regions, countries, first-level administrative subdivisions, and sub-national regions that span two or more first-level administrative subdivisions.  PSD has now decided that demonyms at all regional and jurisdictional levels should be eligible, including those for regions entirely within first-level administrative subdivisions; second-level and further administrative subdivisions; cities; city sections, etc. Several philosophical and practical problems related to disambiguation and qualification of demonyms for local places must be resolved before those demonyms can be added to LCDGT, though.  Those issues are laid out in "Demonyms for Local Places in LC Demographic Group Terms: Analysis of the Issues" (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcdgt-demonyms.pdf).

PSD welcomes comments on the revised guiding principles and on the proposed terms that appear on Tentative List 1519 through December 1, 2015. Responses to "Demonyms for Local Places in LC Demographic Group Terms: Analysis of the Issues" are welcomed through January 30, 2016.  All feedback should be sent to Janis L. Young at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

The Library of Congress' cataloging units have not yet decided when they will implement the demographic terms in new cataloging, and PSD is not yet accepting proposals for new and revised demographic group terms.



Janis L. Young
Policy and Standards Division
Library of Congress