FAST and simple:
faceted subject headings
Jorge A. González P.
July 13, 2015
Technical Services
Standing Committee
meeting
What is FAST?
Faceted Application of
Subject Terminology
 A rich controlled vocabulary based on the
terminology of Library of Congress Subject
Headings (LCSH)
 A simplified application syntax
 Easy for non-catalogers to assign
 Flexible enough across disciplines and access
environments
Why so FAST? You might ask–
Need for New Approach





Growth of electronic resources
Emergence of countless metadata
schemes
Need for controlled vocabulary access
Need to make LC subject headings
more flexible to faceting
Increase in number of less skilled
subject catalogers supplying
headings
All Headings Are
Established*…
…because they come from LCSH and
NACO

Assigning FAST headings doesn’t require
an understanding of the rules for
constructing headings
…*”mostly”

Automatic and/or machine assisted
assignment possible

Attributes of FAST
Easy to use, easy to learn, and easy
to implement


Simple syntax

Linked data and headings

Faceted navigation

Uniform indexing
Why not so……..FAST
for some

Absence of customer support
(Open source)

Funding, administrative reasons

Better disclosure of user base
(16 identified so far…)
FAST – Examples of 8 Facets
Topical
(650:Marc)
Lawyers
Organized Crime
Geographic (651)
Florida
― Crescent Beach
Personal Names (600)
Kilgour, Frederick G.
Corporate Names (610)
Ohio Library Association
MERCOSUR (Organization)
Form (Genre) (655)
Guidebooks, Maps
Events
(611)
Olympic Games
Chronological (648)
1939(June)-1945(May)
To 1500
Uniform Titles (630)
Dead Sea scrolls
FAST Converter
a Web interface for the conversion of LCSH to FAST headings and provide a
learning tool to familiarize with FAST and differences between FAST and LCSH
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Example of
Faceting/Conversion
LCSH Topical Heading:
650 Architecture, Modern $y 20th century
$z Illinois $z Chicago $v Guidebooks.
VS.
Derived FAST Headings:
Architecture, Modern
(Topical; 650)
Illinois $z Chicago
(Geographic; 651)
1900-1999
(Chronological; 648)
Guidebooks
(Form; 655)
FAST
LCSH
LCSH to FAST Comparison
600 Lincoln, Abraham, $d 1809-1865
650 Political leadership $z United States $v Case studies
650 Genius $v Case studies
600 Lincoln, Abraham, $d 1809-1865 $x Friends
and associates
650 Presidents $z United States $v Biography
651 United States $x Politics and government $y 1861-1865
600 Lincoln, Abraham, $d 1809-1865
648 1861 - 1865
650 Political leadership
650 Genius
650 Friendship
650 Presidents
650 Political science
651 United States
655 Case studies
655 Biography
searchFAST or assignFAST
Start typing, and See also and Authorized
headings will appear. Your result in common,
Marc, or Connexion format.
The interface
combines search
box, brief results list,
and full view of a
selected record on
one page.
The default ranking
is by usage, giving
most likely candidate
heading near the top
of the result;
alphabetic and facet
order options are
available.
An autosuggest is
also available.
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mapFAST
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Project application: Florida
History Newspapers
Geographical -- 651
Florida.
Florida ǂz Amelia Island. ǂ2 fast
Florida ǂz Pensacola. ǂ2 fast
Chronological -- 648
1812 (May 18)
*date issue
Genre/Form -- 655
Sources.
Cheat Sheet
650 7
History ǂ2 fast
655 7
Sources ǂ2 fast
651 7
Florida ǂ2 fast
648 7
[Chronological: ex., 1818 (May)]
65017
[consult topic name entry in
fast.oclc.org]
611 7
[Event, as in War of 1812, etc.]
Records and correspondence. ǂ2 fast
Statutes and codes. ǂ2 fast
Personal name -- 600
Gaines, Edmund Pendleton, ǂd 1777-1849. ǂ2 fast
Jackson, Andrew, ǂd 1767-1845. ǂ2 fast
Event -- 611
War of 1812. ǂ2 fast
Cession of Florida to the United States (1819)
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Fast and linked data
Linked Data
authorities
are
formatted
using
SKOS.
Linked Data
of FAST
authorities
incorporate
links to
corresponding
LCSH
authorities
*updated
twice
a year
Linked data  FAST
Linked Data is the effort to make the meaning of information on the
Web more understandable to computers. These Linked Data authorities
are formatted using SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System).
To download FAST data in RDF (linked data format N-triples)
files (.zip: 250MB) at http://www.oclc.org/research/themes/datascience/fast/download.html
Also available by individual facets.
*****
Heading: Seminole War, 2nd (1835-1842)
Controlled Heading Identifier: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1112331
611 2 7 Seminole War, 1st ǂd (1817-1818) ǂ2 fast ǂ0 (OCoLC)fst01112330
Cornell – ahead of the game
CUL Discovery and Access – Release notes at:
http://blogs.cornell.edu/discoveryandaccess/
Summary
 LCSH Vocabulary/Compatibility
 Faceted
 Hierarchical
 Fully established
 Linked!