FAST Changes

Log of updates to FAST Subject Headings

Recent FAST changes

DateNotesMARC Change File
2024-01-23 60 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2024-01-11 3768 Records FAST Change File
2023-12-20 538 Records FAST Change File
2023-12-12 64 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-12-11 2315 Records FAST Change File
2023-11-22 5 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-11-16 427 Records FAST Change File
2023-10-30 8 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-10-27 19363 Records FAST Change File
2023-10-10 36 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-10-06 15 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-10-06 2117 Records FAST Change File
2023-09-22 3029 Records FAST Change File
2023-09-22 361 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-08-21 685 Records FAST Change File
2023-08-11 239 Records FAST Change File
2023-07-17 4939 Records FAST Change File
2023-06-30

Clerical update to FAST to make it more consistent with current MARC standards.
No change to headings, record status, or 005 date

You may consider downloading a new copy.
Most Records
7xx fields, URIs appearing in the $0 are moved to the $1
7xx VIAF fields, the $0 with the FAST number is removed; the current $0 with the URI is moved to the $1
7xx with wikidata is moved to its own field, with the MARC code $2 wikidata
Personal name records with an erroneous 'n' in byte 32 is changed to 'a'
Cartographic sources in the 034 $2 are corrected or changed to 'other' as appropriate.
Various spacing, indicators, and similar issues corrected.
See FAST Downloads
2023-06-30 549 Records FAST Change File
2023-05-19 557 Records FAST Change File
2023-04-26 2439 Records FAST Change File
2023-04-25 1648 Records FAST Change File
2023-03-30 33 Records FAST Change File
2023-03-22 15645 Records FAST Change File
2023-02-17 1183 Records FAST Change File
2023-02-09 125 Records FAST Change File
2023-02-01 18 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2023-02-01 588 Records FAST Change File
2023-01-18 2802 Records FAST Change File
2022-12-21 288 Records FAST Change File
2022-12-02 4 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-12-02 391 Records FAST Change File
2022-11-22 2081 Records FAST Change File
2022-11-21 455 Records FAST Change File
2022-11-03 308 Records FAST Change File
2022-11-03 13 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-10-28 3813 Records FAST Change File
2022-10-14 75 Records FAST Change File
2022-10-11 4238 Records FAST Change File
2022-09-30 5 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-09-30 223 Records FAST Change File
2022-09-16 2051 Records FAST Change File
2022-09-06 16786 Records FAST Change File
2022-08-31 2215 Records FAST Change File
2022-08-22 1424 Records FAST Change File
2022-08-22 6 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-07-28 269 Records FAST Change File
2022-07-22 1998 Records FAST Change File
2022-06-22 9 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-06-21 370 Records FAST Change File
2022-06-10 319 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-06-10 340 Records FAST Change File
2022-06-08 2915 Records FAST Change File
2022-06-02 316 Records FAST Change File
2022-05-25 5 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-05-24 151 Records FAST Change File
2022-05-11 53801 Records FAST Change File
2022-05-11 49993 Records FAST Change File
2022-04-28 340 Records FAST Change File
2022-04-20 9 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-04-21 170 Records FAST Change File
2022-04-08 53118 Records FAST Change File
2022-04-07 49812 Records FAST Change File
2022-04-06 1092 Records FAST Change File
2022-03-24 1188 Records FAST Change File
2022-03-11 6143 Records FAST Change File
2022-03-10 1360 Records FAST Change File
2022-02-28 182 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-02-25 1 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-02-25 4755 Records FAST Change File
2022-02-07 6565 Records FAST Change File
2022-01-28 455 Records FAST Change File
2022-01-18 669 Records FAST Change File
2022-01-06 15 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2022-01-05 2164 Records FAST Change File
2021-12-28 27 Records FAST Change File
2021-12-23 574 Records FAST Change File
FAST usage was updated, no change to record status or 005 date 2021-12-22 Most Records See FAST Downloads
2021-12-22 75 Records FAST Change File
2021-12-21 92 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-12-20 1503 Records FAST Change File
2021-12-07 1878 Records FAST Change File
2021-11-22 336 Records FAST Change File
2021-11-15 1069 Records FAST Change File
2021-11-04 18084 Records FAST Change File
2021-10-29 446 Records FAST Change File
2021-10-20 9 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-10-20 14221 Records FAST Change File
2021-10-11 23588 Records FAST Change File
2021-09-28 20348 Records FAST Change File
2021-09-17 330 Records FAST Change File
2021-09-17 1 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-09-10 210 Records FAST Change File
2021-08-27 404 Records FAST Change File
2021-08-13 3641 Records FAST Change File
2021-08-13 9 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-07-28 419 Records FAST Change File
2021-07-27 13 Records FAST Change File
2021-07-15 2981 Records FAST Change File
2021-07-15 19 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-06-10 33 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-06-24 625 Records FAST Change File
2021-06-11 2181 Records FAST Change File
2021-06-10 33 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-05-27 391 Records FAST Change File
2021-05-19 199 Records FAST Change File
2021-05-07 2019 Records FAST Change File
2021-05-04 415 Records FAST Change File
2021-04-23 6067 Records FAST Change File
2021-04-14 944 Records FAST Change File
2021-03-29 343 Records FAST Change File
2021-03-29 2404 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-03-12 5 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-03-12 2126 Records FAST Change File
2021-03-03 395 Records FAST Change File
2021-02-18 1679 Records FAST Change File
2021-02-05 2418 Records FAST Change File
2021-01-26 1 Records (form/genre) FAST Change File
2021-01-25 387 Records FAST Change File
2021-01-13 1179 Records FAST Change File
2021-01-07 1790 Records FAST Change File

FAST Update Strategy and Logistics

The FAST Authority file is updated periodically and is made available by OCLC under the Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By): http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/fast/odcby.htm. Periodically, the entire set of FAST files is made available for download at FAST Dataset Download These are updated about every 6 months.

To maintain and enhance FAST, updates to the FAST Authority file are more frequent. These more current updates to individual records are available though the searchFAST interface or through Linked Data on a per record basis if needed. The changes are summarized on this page.

Reasons for Updates:

Since FAST is derived from the Library of Congress (LC)Subject Headings and Names files, we update FAST periodically to follow changes to those files. Most Library of Congress changes are incorporated monthly, although some require further review and take a little longer. Also, FAST incorporates substantial linking information to other authority files, such as VIAF and Geonames, and these links are reviewed and updated periodically. Of course, routine maintenance, enhancements, and corrections also are reasons for updates.

Update Change file format

To create an easy reference for changes to the FAST authority file, the changes are recorded in a spreadsheet.

Change TypeFAST NumberCurrent HeadingFormer HeadingLinking EntryAdditonal Linking EntryNotes (this column is not in spreadsheet
New Headingfst######New Heading[blank]LCSH/NACO headingLCSH/NACO heading (as needed)
Modified Headingfst######Modified HeadingFormer HeadingLCSH/NACO headingLCSH/NACO heading (as needed)
Other Changesfst######Current Heading[blank]LCSH/NACO headingLCSH/NACO heading (as needed)The main heading is unchanged for this record. 4xx, 5xx or 7xx or other fields may have changed.
Deprecatedfst######[blank]Former HeadingFAST replacement heading  7XX links are for the replacement FAST headings. Links to LCSH/NACO are less interesting now.
Splitfst######[blank]Former HeadingFAST replacement headingFAST replacement heading (as needed)7XX links are for the replacement FAST headings. Links to LCSH/NACO are less interesting now.
Obsoletefst######[blank]Former HeadingLCSH/NACO headingLCSH/NACO heading (as needed)The referenced LCSH/NACO headings may provide information about why these headings were made obsolete or deleted with no replacement headings specified.

Date and Time of Last Transaction

In MARC, the 005 field records the date and time of the last transaction for a record. We always follow this practice for any substantial change to the record, such as the authorized or see also headings. However, since FAST incorporates more 'living' information, such as the annual count of how frequently the heading is found in WorldCat, resetting the time stamp would mask the date of the last substantive change. Examples of changes that don't result in Transaction date changes are: validation and replacement of VIAF or other links, updates to usage statistics, and minor clerical updates that touch a large number of records. A MARC Change File will be made available for any change that results in a Date and Time of Last Transaction change.

FAST Record Numbering

FAST strives to associate a FAST number with a concept. If the string representing the concept changes, the FAST number will be kept the same. This follows LC practice, and generally a LC control number (LCCN) will always be associated with the same FAST number

When two concepts are merged, the now non-preferred heading is deprecated in favor of an existing concept. Deprecated records contain links to the replacement records, and the new records have a reference to the old form of the heading. These are clearly indentified in the MARC version for the records, and appropriate mappings are made of this information to the RDF versions.

If a concept is split into two or more concepts, new numbers are assigned to the new concepts and the original FAST number will be deprecated. For example, "Nurses and Nursing" was split into two concepts, "Nurses" and "Nursing", and two new numbers are assigned.

At first FAST attempted to control both the FAST number and heading string as a pair. If an authorized heading string changed, a new FAST number was assigned, and the heading string was not reused. This became impractical, so the practice was discontinued. Many deprecated records are still in FAST that record the complete earlier form of the record.