assignFAST: An Autosuggest based tool for FAST Subject Assignment

Subject assignment is really a three-phase task. The first phase is intellectual—reviewing the material and determining its topic. The second phase is more mechanical, identifying the correct subject heading(s).  The final phase is retyping or cutting and pasting the heading(s) into the cataloging i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Information technology and libraries Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 34 - 43
Main Authors: Bennett, Rick, O'Neill, Edward T., Kammerer, Kerre
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Chicago American Library Association 01.03.2014
Subjects:
Assignment
Authority
Automation
Cataloging
Cataloguing
Coding
Digital libraries
Documentary films
Error Correction
Hearing loss
Indexing
Interfaces
JavaScript
Libraries
Library cataloging
Library catalogs
Library catalogues
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Motion pictures
Music
Online information services
Orthographic symbols
Scripts
Studies
Subject heading schemes
Subject headings
Technology application
Terminology
Web browsers
United States
ISSN:0730-9295, 2163-5226
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Subject assignment is really a three-phase task. The first phase is intellectual—reviewing the material and determining its topic. The second phase is more mechanical, identifying the correct subject heading(s).  The final phase is retyping or cutting and pasting the heading(s) into the cataloging interface along with any diacritics, and potentially correcting formatting and subfield coding. If authority control is available in the interface, some of these tasks may be automated or partially automated. A cataloger with a reasonable knowledge of FAST[i],[ii] or even LCSH[iii] can quickly get to the proper heading, but usually needs to confirm the final details—was it plural? Am I thinking of an alternate form? Is it inverted? Etc. This often requires consulting the full authority file interface. assignFAST is a Web service that consolidates the entire second phase of the manual process of subject assignment for FAST subjects into a single step based on autosuggest technology. [i] Chan, Lois Mai and Edward T. O'Neill.  FAST: Faceted Application of Subject Terminology, Prnciples and Applications Libraries Unlimited, Santa Barbara, 2010.http://lu.com/showbook.cfm?isbn=9781591587224. [ii] OCLC Research Activities associated with FAST are summarized at  http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/fast/ [iii] Chan, Lois M. Library of Congress Subject Headings : Principles and Application: Principles and Application. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2005.
Bibliography:SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:0730-9295
2163-5226
DOI:10.6017/ital.v33i1.5378