13. Why FAST?
• Makes it easier to assign subject
headings
• FAST headings are used differently in
online catalogs
14. What’s so difficult
about subject
headings, anyway?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sybrenstuvel/2468506922/
15. Order of Subdivisions
650 _0 $a Indians of North America $z
New England $x Religion.
650 _0 $a Indians of North America $x
Missions $z New England.
650 _0 $a Indians of North America $z
New England $x Ethnic identity.
29. Library of Congress Subject
Headings
Enumerated = 8%
Created by catalogers = 92%
Source: Chan, Lois Mai and Edward T. O’Neill. FAST: Faceted
Application of Subject Technology: Principles and Application.
Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
30. MARC Fields for FAST Headings
• Topics = 650
• Geographic Names = 651
• Personal Names = 600
• Corporate Names = 610
• Time Periods =648
• Events = 611
• Titles = 630
• Form (Genre) = 655
31. MARC Fields for FAST Headings
650 _7 $a Political science $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01069781
651 _7 $a Europe $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01245064
32. Tools for working with
FAST
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/95248808@N00/178177044/
38. Is anyone using FAST?
University of North Dakota
http://digital.library.und.edu/
National Library of New Zealand
http://innz.natlib.govt.nz/
39. How does FAST help with
intellectual freedom issues?
Lower barrier to entry =
more accurate subject
heading assignment
More understandable to
catalog users = easier
access to information
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40. Resources
Chan, Lois Mai and Edward T. O’Neill. FAST:
Faceted Application of Subject Terminology:
Principles and Applications. Santa Barbara,
CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
OCLC’s FAST web page
http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/fast.ht
ml (Outputs section has many presentations
and articles)
ALCTS E-Forum: FAST for Cataloging and
Discovery
http://lists.ala.org/sympa/arc/alcts-
eforum/2013-12/thrd1.html