Reading Response Two: MPLP

MPLP:  It’s Not Just for Processing Anymore

Mark A. Greene

I read the original More Product Less Process Article last year for class.  I remember understanding the importance but still questioning aspects of it.  Reading this article made me want to go back and read the first one again.  I found the idea of applying MPLP to other archival aspects to be intriguing.  The article mainly discussed appraisal and reference, but also touched on preservation, electronic resources, and digitization.  Basically to sum up the article quickly, “’Good enough’ is better than ‘one of these days’ and sometimes you have to accept that things are just going to have to be good enough instead of perfect.  

Greene stresses that archivists should consider their mission, audience, and resources.  By having appraisal decisions occur before the materials even reach the archives, and not on the processing table, there is less of a risk of item-level processing in order to appraise.  Basically, repositories need to have formal collecting policies and more questions need to be asked of the donors so that less weeding is required later.  One of my favorite lines from this article was, “weeding is for gardeners, not archivists.”  By having more efficient appraisal policies in place, materials could get to users more quickly.

Reference was another big topic of this article.  MPLP shifts a certain burden from processing to reference because description is at a higher level.  However, Greene points out that identifying boxes with correspondence is better than having no description at all because the collection is in backlog.  It’s better to have the collection available.  A survey conducted by Greene showed that most researchers would be okay with less description and organization in order to have more available.  If we are to listen to our audience we need to make sure that they can access the information they need.

Greene also discusses privacy concerns.  As with appraisal and reference, Greene suggests putting more responsibility with the donor to know where private materials may be or to not donate sensitive materials.  Also, with experience, one can know where sensitive materials most likely are. 

Greene, Mark A., “MPLP:  It’s Not Just for Processing Anymore, “ The American Archivist , Vol. 73 (Spring/Summer 2010): 175-203.