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If a change is made to a Library of Congress subject heading in a bibliographic record, will the corresponding FAST heading be corrected via automation?

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Answer

OCLC adds FAST headings to WorldCat bibliographic records that have no current FAST headings based on the Library of Congress subject headings present in the record. After the initial loading of FAST headings to the record, the FAST headings are treated as an independent subject heading set. OCLC does not update the FAST headings to strictly follow changes to the LC headings present in the bibliographic record. If an LC heading is added, the corresponding FAST heading may also be added by OCLC after periodic evaluation of the FAST headings present in bibliographic records. FAST headings are seldom deleted based on the deletion of an LC heading, allowing FAST headings entered by another cataloger to be maintained even if they did not add a corresponding LC heading. If the text of an individual FAST heading changes, the text is replaced to keep it current. If the FAST headings seem to be inconsistent after modifying the LC headings in a bibliographic record, the entire set of FAST headings may be deleted manually by the cataloger. This allows them to be completely regenerated by automated means in about a month.

What should I do if...

I added a new LCSH heading to the bibliographic record that already contains other LCSH and FAST headings?

  1. Use the FAST Converter (http://fast.oclc.org/lcsh2fast/) to get the FAST array for a given LCSH heading.
  2. Review the results to determine if the headings in the array are already present in the bibliographic record.
    1. If yes, the FAST heading does not need to be added (you are good to go).
    2. If no, search for the FAST heading(s) in Record Manager or Search FAST (https://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/) and add the appropriate heading(s) to the bibliographic record.

I added an LCSH heading to a bibliographic record that only contains FAST headings?

  1. Use the FAST Converter (http://fast.oclc.org/lcsh2fast/) to get the FAST array for a given LCSH heading.
  2. Review the results to determine if the headings in the array are already present in the bibliographic record.
    1. If yes, the FAST heading does not need to be added (you are good to go).
    2. If no, search for the FAST heading(s) in Record Manager or Search FAST (https://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/) and add the appropriate heading(s) to the bibliographic record.
  3. Evaluate the FAST headings already present in the bibliographic record to ensure they are appropriate for the item.
  4. If in doubt, follow BFAS, Chapter 5, Quality Assurance (https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/about/quality.html), and leave the FAST headings in the bibliographic record.

I find that FAST headings are inconsistent with LCSH headings that are present?

  1. Evaluate both the FAST and LCSH headings that are present. 
  2. Focus on the LCSH headings to ensure that the expected headings are represented. Use the FAST Converter (http://fast.oclc.org/lcsh2fast/) to get the FAST array for a given LCSH heading.
    1. If yes, the FAST heading does not need to be added (you are good to go).
    2. If no, search for the FAST heading(s) in Record Manager or Search FAST (https://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/) and add the appropriate heading(s) to the bibliographic record.
  3. Evaluate the FAST headings already present in the bibliographic record to ensure they are appropriate for the item.
  4. If in doubt, follow BFAS, Chapter 5, Quality Assurance (https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/about/quality.html), and leave the FAST headings in the bibliographic record.

I find that the LCSH heading is incorrect, and there are also FAST terms present?

  1. Before deleting an incorrect LCSH heading, use the FAST Converter (http://fast.oclc.org/lcsh2fast/) to identify incorrectly assigned FAST headings that are associated with the incorrect LCSH heading.
  2. Remove incorrect LCSH and FAST headings, ensuring conformance to BFAS, Chapter 5, Quality Assurance (https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/about/quality.html).
  3. If an LCSH heading is added, use the FAST Converter (https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/about/quality.html), to get the FAST array for a given LCSH heading.
  4. Review the results to determine if the headings in the array are already present in the bibliographic record.
    1. If yes, the FAST heading does not need to be added (you are good to go).
    2. If no, search for the FAST heading(s) in Record Manager or Search FAST (https://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/) and add the appropriate heading(s) to the bibliographic record.