Subject Analysis in the 21st Century
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Presented at SCIUG 2015 on October 21, 2015
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Subject Analysis in the 21st Century
- 1. SUBJECT ANALYSIS IN THE 21ST CENTURY A Faster Way Bethany R. Levrault Cataloging and Metadata Librarian University of California Irvine SCIUG Conference, October 21, 2015
- 2. WHAT IS FAST? • FAST is a subject heading schema developed by OCLC and the Library of Congress (with input from ALCTS) • CORC Project: cataloging of Web resources • Simple, low-cost, easy to learn subject vocabulary identified as a need 2
- 3. WHAT IS FAST? • Derived from Library of Congress Subject Headings, but it is: • Simple to learn and apply • Faceted navigation-friendly • Modern” in its design (useable as linked data) 3
- 4. HOW IS FAST DIFFERENT FROM LCSH? Faceted: Terms are consistently divided into categories (facets) such as topics, places, time, form/genre • LCSH: Church and state—Catholic Church—Austria—18th century • FAST: Church and state—Catholic Church (Topic) Austria (Place) 18th century (Period)
- 5. 8 CATEGORIES OF FACETS FAST Facet MARC 21 field Chronological 648 Corporate Names 610 Events 611 Form/Genre 655 Geographic Names 651 Personal Names 600 Titles 630 Topics 650
- 6. HOW IS FAST DIFFERENT FROM LCSH? Enumerative: All subject headings or terms for compound or complex subjects are listed, making complex rules for their coordination not necessary • In LCSH, multiple rules were used by the cataloger to create this string: Church and state—Catholic Church—Austria—18th century • In FAST, all strings are already created for the cataloger: Church and state—Catholic Church (Topic) Austria (Place) 18th century (Period)
- 7. HOW IS FAST DIFFERENT FROM LCSH? Post-Coordinated: A system where the cataloger describes complex subjects by assigning separate single concept terms • In LCSH, the user could (theoretically) click on this one heading to get all works about this concept: Church and state—Catholic Church—Austria—18th century • In FAST, the user must combine all these terms at the search stage: Church and state—Catholic Church (Topic) Austria (Place) 18th century (Period)
- 8. DISADVANTAGE: SOME CONTEXT LOST • In LCSH, the structure of the heading provides context: Bengal (India)—History—18th century Great Britain—Colonies—Asia—Administration • In FAST, the user must combine all these terms at the search stage: Chronological: 1700-1799 Topical: Colonies—Administration Geographic: India—Bengal, Asia, Great Britain Form: History
- 9. PRESENCE OF FAST • Since 2013, OCLC has been adding FAST headings to a subset of WorldCat records • Headings appear in 600, 610, 611, 630, 648, 650, 651, and 655 with second indicator 7 $2 fast and $0 • You may have noticed these in OCLC and wondered why they were present, since duplication with LCSH is apparent 9
- 10. SO WHY SHOULD WE CARE? • Eliminates the necessity of learning a complex set of rules as in LCSH • Can be used and applied more easily • Hidden collections can be unhidden faster • Digital collections can retain the richness of LCSH but with ease of use • Available as linked data
- 11. MILLENNIUM • Traditional WebPac • Discovery systems • How the headings are treated may vary: • Load them? Load all of them? • Display them? Display some of them? • Index them? 11
- 12. HOW CAN WE USE FAST? •searchFAST: http://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/ •assignFAST: • http://experimental.worldcat.org/fast/assignfast/ •FASTConverter •FAST Linked Data API •WorldShare Record Manager
- 13. A FEW CURRENT USES OF FAST • Columbia University: FAST replaced LCSH for digital collections • Cornell University Library: minimal-level cataloging pilot • Australian Policy Online: used in catalog search • British Library: testing FAST • National Library of New Zealand • University of North Dakota • OCLC’s own projects, like OCLC Classify, WorldCat Genres, and WorldCat Identities
- 14. SELECTED REFERENCES • Enriching WorldCat with FAST. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.oclc.org/news/announcements/2013/enriching-worldcat-with- fast.en.html • Mixter, J. and Childress, E. R. (2013). FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) Users: Summary and Case Studies. (OCLC Research). Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/ozk5y7u • Proffitt, M., Washburn, B., Vizine-Goetz, D., & Tennant, R. (2015). OCLC Research Update, ALA Annual 2015. • Qiang, J. (2009). Is FAST the Right Direction for a New System of Subject Cataloging and Metadata? Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, 45(3), 91-110. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J104v45n03_08
Editor's Notes
- -FAST is a collaboration of OCLC and the Library of Congress. Not a new project – work has been going on at OCLC since late 1998, incidentally 100 years after LCSH began to be used. -The origin of FAST can be traced to observations by OCLC Research staff involved with the OCLC Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) project, which focused on the cataloging of Web resources. CORC participants typically wanted to be able to adopt simple, low-cost, low-effort approaches to describing Web resources (e.g., using Dublin Core). In the course of the CORC project, it became clear that a significant barrier to minimal-effort resource description was the lack of an easy-to-learn and -apply general subject vocabulary.
- -Based on these observations, the FAST project was begun. -FAST is easy to learn and use, both by experienced as well as inexperienced catalogers. Whereas LCSH requires complex rules for its SH strings, FAST strips the guesswork out of that by establishing separate facets that can be applied on their own. The parsing is useful to ILS systems, particularly next-gen. types, because it allows elements like geographic name, time period, and form/genre, to stand alone. Allows post-coordination. It may increase interoperability between various systems as well as metadata schemes. OCLC is studying this as well as using it to power a few of its research products.
- With the data parsed in this manner, it is easier to use. It also has the potential to work better with the faceted systems in next-generation ILSs, such as how OCLC is using it on Worldcat.org. Separates topical data from non-topical data. *However, you lose some context. Catholic Church in another country or century, or a different type of church? Different centuries applying to different topical subjects.
- These are the MARC 21 tags in which FAST appears in bibliographic records. The faceted system allows a user to combine various aspects to customize a search (post-coordination). In addition, parsing data may make mapping to other metadata schemes easier. For example, the geographic facet can be mapped to the coverage element in the basic Dublin Core Metadata Element Set.
- Easier for non-catalogers to learn while maintaining interoperability with LCSH. This is the main benefit of FAST.
- From the user’s perspective, searches are post-coordinated. This is… You will notice that the first subject, “Church and state—Catholic Church” IS a string. This is because FAST has retained topics along with their subtopics that are present in LCSH. However, geographic (place) and time period subdivisions stand alone in their own facet.
- Deconstructed headings Worldcat.org: uses Form
- Where can FAST be found?
- Can be used by a student as well as an experienced cataloger. Low-cost and easy to use. Minimal subject analysis to get collections out there. Available as linked data. LCSH is too, but not all strings are validated.
- As Millennium users, we have several different options for handling the presence of FAST headings. Our choice obviously depends on our needs both in the traditional WebPac as well as what discovery/NextGen system we have. Load them, display them, index them? At UCI, we have chosen to load them, but not to display or index them. Many users on listservs have commented that they delete them. One thing I learned while working at a regional network is that you should never delete data you might use later, but suppress it instead. I think deleting them is a bad idea.
- searchFAST search interface to the FAST authority file that simplifies the process of heading selection assignFAST service that automates the manual selection of FAST Subjects based on autosuggest technology FASTConverter web application that converts LCSH headings to FAST headings; it helps users become familiar with FAST and see the differences between LCSH and FAST FAST Linked Data API Linked Data descriptions expressed using SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) and Schema.org WorldShare Record Manager uses assignFAST API in a feature to apply FAST headings
- Cornell: this procedure guides catalogers on how to search and apply FAST headings to E/L=7 records. It also explains how to add non-authorized headings. OCLC Classify
- -Demo Worldcat.org