FAST and GRIS

I basically agree with Aida. LCSH structure is not faceted
at all, and making it "faceted" a posteriori is possible only at 
a superficial level: indeed, what in FAST is called the Topical 
facet will presumably contain most parts of the subjects, 
while places, times, persons and forms are just auxiliary facets 
(like in many classification schemes). A true faceted subject 
schema, instead, would split the Topic in real facets like 
activities, processes, agents, tools, purposes, etc.

True faceted subject heading systems were actually
developed, mainly in Great Britain, as a result of the basic 
research in faceted classification by the Classification
Research Group in the Fifties and Sixties: the most known
of them is PRECIS, which was used for years in the 
British National Bibliography.

It may be interesting for this international forum to know
the particular situation of subject indexing in Italian libraries. 
We have a main reference subject heading directory, called 
the Soggettario di Firenze as it has been developed in time
by catalogers at the national library of Florence.
Its structure is quite simple, old and related to the
library creating it, quite like LCSH. However, a group of
Italian librarians forming the GRIS (Gruppo di Ricerca
sull'Indicizzazione per Soggetto) do research on applying 
the principles of PRECIS (which are more substantially 
faceted, as I said above) to Italian subject indexing, 
including the use of the Soggettario di Firenze. GRIS has 
published detailed guidelines on this, which are also online at 
<http://www.aib.it/aib/gris/i.htm>, and is currently working
together with the National library of Florence for a new
revised edition of the Soggettario, which should have a more 
coherent and planned structure than the traditional one. 

I believe this is a case of a more substantial and effective 
application of facet analysis to old non-faceted schemas which 
are still widely used. I spoken today with the chair of GRIS, 
Mr. Massimo Rolle, who said me he (like several colleagues in
the group) shares the idea that the FAST project looks more
like a fashioned maquillage that an effective reform. These
considerations are especially relevant as there will be pressure 
for adopting LCSH even in libraries and countries where
more advanced and effective knowledge organization systems
are available, though not supported by well funded and influencial 
organizations...

Greetings all.



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