Speeding Up Archival Description with FAST
- Mackenzie Brooks
Assistant Professor & Metadata Librarian Digital Humanities Librarian // brooksm@wlu.edu // @mackymoo
- Washington & Lee University
Small liberal arts university with 2200 FTE
Leyburn Library: 25 employees, relevant players:
- 1 metadata librarian
- 1 digital scholarship librarian
- 1 director of library technology
- 1 cataloging assistant
- 3 special collections assistants
The problem
Solution #1
- Stop relying on MARC for archival description.
Solution #2
- Batch load FAST topical headings into ArchivesSpace.
- Let Special Collections staff create their own description.
Implementation options
#1 Batch load MARC XML
Pros:
- predictive search
- reduces human error
- integrates into record description interface
Cons:
- too many irrelevant options
- requires XML massaging
Implementation options
#2 ArchivesSpace Plugin
Pros:
- predictive search
- reduces human error
- only adds the subjects you need
Cons:
- plugin required
- must create subjects separately from resource description
Credit:
Rachel Maderik, Metadata Librarian at Virginia Military Institute, https://github.com/maderikra
Credit:
Rachel Maderik, Metadata Librarian at Virginia Military Institute, https://github.com/maderikra