Lexicons
MaRMAT uses specialized lexicons—carefully curated lists of terms—to identify potentially harmful, outdated, or problematic language within metadata records. These lexicons include pre-curated sets created by our team of librarians as well as the ability for users to build and incorporate custom term lists tailored to their specific assessment goals. By leveraging these lexicons, MaRMAT empowers metadata practitioners to conduct thorough and thoughtful reviews of their collections, supporting more inclusive and accurate descriptions.
We also welcome user-contributed terms or full lexicons for review and consideration by our advisory board, with the opportunity for approved contributions to become part of the pre-curated lexicons available on our site.
We invite you to explore our lexicons below or contribute terms or lexicons to help strengthen this resource for the metadata community.
Reparative Metadata Lexicon
The Reparative Metadata Lexicon includes potentially harmful terminology organized according to category (e.g., aggrandizement, ability, gender, LGBTQ, mental health, race, slavery, US Japanese Incarceration). This lexicon is best suited for use on uncontrolled metadata fields (e.g., title, description). The Inclusive Metadata Toolkit and its associated Resource Directory, developed by the Digital Library Federation’s Cultural Assessment Working Group, provides additional resources for reparative metadata practice.
Note: If you are running this lexicon against a large set of metadata, processing times may be delayed. To improve processing speed, we recommend selecting a subset of these categories in MaRMAT’s interface rather than assessing for all categories at once.
Last Updated: July 30, 2025
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) Lexicon
The LCSH Lexicon includes selected changed and canceled Library of Congress Subject Headings as well as headings that have been identified on The Cataloging Lab. Select changed and canceled headings, mostly relating to people and places, were mined from the Library of Congress Subject Heading Approved Monthly Lists for 2023-2024, along with a few notable changes from 2025. The LCSH Lexicon is best suited for use against metadata fields that use LCSH as a controlled vocabulary (e.g., subject).
Last Updated: June 5, 2025
Sensitive Content Lexicon
The Sensitive Content Lexicon includes terms may be used to identify records with sensitive content that may be eligible for either a sensitive content viewer or removal from public display. Sensitive topics identified include deceased people, nudity, and graphic, violent, or sexual content. It also includes Indigenous American material that may need restriction or removal due to cultural sensitivity or potential violation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Each organization has their own set of parameters for implementing content warnings and criteria for sensitive content. Please use this lexicon directionally and adhere to your organization’s established policies or guidelines.
Last Updated: June 5, 2025
Contact us
Have questions? We’re always open to talk about how you’re using MaRMAT, new lexicons, ideas for improvements, and how we can help with your metadata assessment projects!