IN DEPTH


Adventures in FAST: adopting faceted application of subject terminology in a specialist library


Developing a digital solution that puts openness and accessibility at its heart, led to thee adoption of the FAST for The Goldsmiths’ Company library. Sophia Tobin explains why it works so well, and how it was implemented.


THE Goldsmiths’ Company is a mem- bership organisation which supports craftspeople, protects consumers through hallmarking, and improves lives through its charitable and edu- cational partnerships.


The mission: unlocking the holdings of a specialist library


Its library is the UK’s biggest library dedicated to silversmithing, jewellery and hallmarking, and was founded after the Second World War to support those working in the silver and jewellery indus- try. But despite this benevolent focus, until recently the library’s holdings were in a catalogue which was not publicly accessible, with readers relying on the knowledge of library­staff­­to­guide­them­in­their­research.­ Although the company’s rich heritage and traditions are an important part of its appeal – including its home in Goldsmiths’ Hall, near St Paul’s – there was a danger that the library could be seen as mysterious and inaccessible.


As part of a mission to foster openness, in 2019 the company embarked upon an ambitious project to put its collections online – library holdings, archives and artworks – in­time­for­the­700th­anniversary­of­its­fi­rst­ charter in 2027. With the Librarian as one of the project co-ordinators, I (as Deputy Librarian) was designated as cataloguing lead for the library. Books had been catalogued into a private catalogue since the 1990s, but


38 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


Sophia Tobin, MCLIP, Deputy Librarian of the Goldsmiths’ Company.


there were issues with the data. The system used was CALM (intended for archives rather than books) and whilst I could see the good intentions of those who had used it – there were traces of AACR2 and some access points in the catalogue – these approaches had been diluted over thirty years.­Despite­best­eff­orts,­subjects­were­not­ controlled; access points and details were often missed out of records or ‘guessed at’ (transcribing a printer instead of publisher, for example); and most pressingly of all, summaries often contained highly subjec- tive personal opinion. If released into the wild, such material would not be a good representation of the library’s holdings.


Choosing FAST


As the procurement and tendering of library systems advanced, I was wrestling with a problem: how to convert these non-stand-


April-May 2023


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