-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        OFFICIAL: OCLC is enriching WorldCat records with FAST headings
Date:   Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:54:03 +0000
From:   Weitz,Jay <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>



OCLC is systematically adding FAST headings to selected WorldCat records.

This message provides a brief description of the FAST enrichment activity.

For more detailed information, please see information posted at the URL
listed below (“More detailed information about this enrichment….”)

**

*What is FAST?*

FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) is a fully enumerative
faceted subject heading schema derived from the Library of Congress
Subject Headings (LCSH), a widely-used subject-access vocabulary
published and maintained by the Library of Congress. The development of
FAST has been a collaboration of OCLC and the Library of Congress with
advice from members of the ALCTS/SAC/Subcommittee on FAST.

*Enriching WorldCat records with FAST headings*

Beginning in September 2013, OCLC is systematically adding FAST headings
to WorldCat bibliographic records. The records affected will already
have LCSH assigned, and the routines will be applied only to records
that are attributed as being English-language-of-cataloging.

FAST-enriched WorldCat records will include “OCLCF” in the MARC 040
subfield “d” (ǂd), have one or  –- more likely -- several 6xx fields
with a second indicator of “7” and subfield “2” (ǂ2) that contains the
string, “fast.” Additionally, subfield “zero” (ǂ0) will be present in
the machine-process-added FAST headings -- this provides the FAST
authority record number.

The processes performing this FAST enrichment work in WorldCat will run
as background processes and should not adversely impact system
performance. OCLC will initially prioritize the enriching records
originally created by the Library of Congress and then will apply the
FAST enrichment process to records from other sources. For the initial
run, records will be excluded from FAST enrichment until at least six
months from date of entry have elapsed.

*Why is OCLC systematically adding FAST to WorldCat Records?*

OCLC Research and other agencies  have been experimenting with using
FAST for a variety of purposes and in a range of application for many
years. FAST has repeatedly proven itself to be remarkably effective for
clustering, indexing, analysis, and navigation of WorldCat data.

The FAST headings have been drawn from a non-production, enriched copy
of WorldCat maintained by OCLC Research. And as such, these FAST
enrichments have not been easily available to many OCLC applications and
also to interested third parties. This enrichment of WorldCat will
permit more applications and agencies to take advantage of FAST.

Going forward OCLC has plans to make FAST available in its cataloging
tools. In particular, a FAST assignment feature will be released in
early 2014 in an updated version of OCLC WorldShare Metadata Record
Manager, which is currently available to WMS libraries and will be
available to all cataloging subscribers in the future.

*More information:*

More detailed information about this enrichment of WorldCat is available
here:
http://www.oclc.org/en-US/news/announcements/2013/enriching-worldcat-with-fast.html

Please contact OCLC-Support at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]:[log in to unmask]>> with any questions
or concerns related to this announcement.

Eric Childress

OCLC Research