Introduction

To better assess the possibility of using FAST subject headings as a means of enriching user discovery in the BTAA-GIN Geoportal, the FAST for Subject Terms workgroup performed an assessment of terms currently assigned by participants to the subject and keyword fields. Both fields were found to contain a mix of descriptive metadata, including genre headings (e.g., topographic maps, nautical charts), subcollection or map series names (e.g., Indiana Historic Maps, Survey of India), and geographic locations. The keyword field also contained sprint metadata and other administrative information. After an initial pass to transfer as much of the sprint and administrative data as possible to a new dedicated field, the workgroup further reviewed the subject and keyword fields and assigned the nearest equivalent FAST topical headings. The workgroup then reviewed the resulting list for the following:

• A full list of FAST headings assigned by participants
• The number of records using headings from this list
• The number of times each heading was assigned

Results

For just the subject field, members assigned 154 unique headings. These headings were assigned 8,359 times to 4,590 of the ~35,550 records (12.9%) in the BTAA-GIN Geoportal. For the keyword and subject fields combined, members assigned 777 unique headings. These headings were assigned 30,045 times to 14,400 records (47.9%). Few users assigned headings to both the subject and keyword fields. A small number of maps were reviewed to see whether keywords were applied differently than subjects (i.e., subjects referring to the overall “aboutness” of a map and keywords to more granular data layers), but from the sample reviewed, only one instance was found where a keyword was used to describe an inset map as opposed to the main map. This suggests that the choice of “subject” versus “keyword” is system-specific for most member institutions as opposed to a conscious choice to use one over the other when assigning headings to individual records.

A significant number of records contain headings for people and organizations that could potentially be converted into personal name or corporate name FAST headings. Due to the amount of time involved in looking up these terms in FAST and overall low success rate in finding matching personal and corporate name headings, the workgroup did not perform a full review.

The list of FAST headings assigned by BTAA-GIN members and the number of appearance in the geoportal is available via a: Google Spreadsheet

Impact

As a result of this review, we were able to:

• separate out LOC Subjects from the keyword field
• move administrative tags from the keyword field to a new dedicated field
• move scale information to a new dedicated field

Moving forward

Due to the number of placenames and other irregular data currently stored in the keyword field, it is unclear how easy it will be to extract FAST headings, either initially or as new submissions are received. It is also unclear how we would leverage these headings, although the workgroup discussed the possibility of a list of suggested headings drawn from the 50 most used terms, a list of headings aligning with broad categories (e.g., geology, transportation, etc.), creating metadata guidelines and recommended crosswalks for members, or requesting that participants provide MARC records in addition to the output from a local digital asset management system when available.

The working group will examine the descriptive metadata being produced by Indiana University and the University of Minnesota as a starting point for determining the cause of some of these metadata challenges and exploring whether it may be possible to more cleanly map subject headings to the subject field of the Geoportal in the future, as opposed to member data being divided between the two fields and mixed in with other forms of descriptive metadata.