# /research/projects/fast/default.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/fast/default.htm

# FAST: Faceted Application of Subject Terminology

## Overview

The Library of Congress Subject Headings schema (LCSH) is by far the most commonly used and widely accepted subject vocabulary for general application. It is the de facto universal controlled vocabulary and has been a model for developing subject heading systems by many countries. However, LCSH's complex syntax and rules for constructing headings restrict its application by requiring highly skilled personnel and limit the effectiveness of automated authority control.

Recent trends, driven to a large extent by the rapid growth of the Web, are forcing changes in bibliographic control systems to make them easier to use, understand, and apply, and subject headings are no exception. The purpose of adapting the LCSH with a simplified syntax to create FAST is to retain the very rich vocabulary of LCSH while making the schema easier to understand, control, apply, and use. The schema maintains upward compatibility with LCSH, and any valid set of LC subject headings can be converted to FAST headings

## Status

The headings have been built into FAST authority records, and are undergoing validation.

An interface to the current draft FAST Authority File is available.

## Publications

FAST: Development of Simplified Headings for Metadata, by Rebecca Dean. [Paper presented at Authority Control: Definition and International Experiences conference, 10-12 February 2003, Florence (Italy)]
English Version | Word (Word:113K/17pp.) | Acrobat (PDF:211K/15pp.)
Italian Version | Word (Word:148K/16pp.) | Acrobat (PDF:356K/16pp.)

Forms Paper
(Word:1.9MB/20pp.)

FAST Paper Presented at IFLA Pre-Conference (14-16 August 2001)
(Word:63K/7pp.)

## Presentations

Shannon Hoffman (Brigham Young University)
Looking Deeper into Using FAST: Report on three projects using the FAST Authority File
(.ppt:97K/13 slides)
ALA Annual Conference, 24 June 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

Arlene G. Taylor (Pittsburgh)
Comparison of Keyword Searching Using FAST vs. Using LCSH
(.ppt:103K/39 slides)
ALA Annual Conference, 24 June 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

Ed O'Neill and Lois Mai Chan (Kentucky)
FAST: A Faceted LCSH-Based Subject Vocabulary
(.ppt:2.0MB/35 slides)
ALA Annual Conference, 24 June 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

Ed O'Neill and Lois Mai Chan (Kentucky)
LITA/ACIG Presentation at ALA Annual 2004
(.ppt:499K/31 slides)
27 June 2004, Orlando, Florida (USA)

Edward T. O'Neill
ASIST Presentation
(.ppt:773K/17 slides)
21 November 2002, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA)

Ed O'Neill
Joint Conference on Digital Libraries Presentation
(.ppt:9.1MB/29 slides)
28 June 2001, Roanoke, Virginia (USA)

## Other Resources

List of Valid Forms Subdivisions
(.xls:383K/1 sheet, 2379 entries)
Revised 9 November 2001

## Research team

- OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Dublin, Ohio, USA:
  - Edward T. O'Neill (Lead)
  - Rick Bennett
  - Eric Childress
  - Rebecca Dean
  - Anya Dyer
  - Kerre Kammerer
  - Diane Vizine-Goetz
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
  - Lois Mai Chan
- Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA
  - Lynn El-Hoshy