[SAC-FAST] FAST Midwinter 2010 Report-draft

[Lundgren,Jimmie Harrell]

Dear FAST Subcommittee,
Please read the draft report below and send any additions, comments or corrections. Thanks,
Jimmie

SAC Subcommittee on FAST Report (draft) 

The Subcommittee met on Friday, January 15, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. in the Boston Convention & Exhibit Center, Room 103. 

The meeting began with introductions. Present were members Sherman Clarke, Stephen Hearn, Shannon Hoffman, John Maier, Ed O'Neill, and Jimmie Lundgren (chair); and guests Daniel Cromwell, Yael Mandelstam, Lois Chan, Michael Panzer, Rocki Strader, Bruce Trumble, Sarah Ricker, and Jane Greenberg. 

Shannon Hoffmann gave a report on her research project. She completed a literature search on what libraries are doing regarding search options in their OPAC's. She reported that among academic libraries in the USA 86.59% either offered only keyword searching or offered it as the default or first option. Since this indicates that FAST is an effective subject methodology, she determined she would not need to do the users study she had planned.  

Ed O'Neill gave an update on the project. The development phase is now completed. His book FAST: Faceted Application of Subject Terminology, Principles and Application is being published by Libraries Unlimited and is expected to be available before the annual conference. He gave a very interesting demonstration of the FAST authority database. Since the convention center offered free internet service, he was able to show us how to search in the database, how to add geographic coordinates for those places for which it has not been possible to insert them automatically, and how to click to connect from the authority record into Googlemaps to show the location of the place in question. 102,487 records now have latitude and longitude. Efforts now focus on enrichment of FAST authority records with additional information and supporting different application. Online demos are available at http://www.oclc.org.research/activities/researchworks.htm It has been particularly advantageous in applications employing tag clouds. The FAST team is interested in finding more opportunities for collaboration and experimentation. The task group members are requested to input coordinates and to experiment in usage of FAST.