The University of North Texas is excited to be hosting a Society of American Archivists workshop about implementing More Product, Less Process (MPLP) taught by Dennis E. Meissner, FSAA (co- author of the groundbreaking article). The workshop will be held October 10^th, 2014. You can register here. Enrollment is capped at 32 and the class is filling quickly so don’t delay!

The details (from SAA’s website):

Fri, Oct 10, 2014

University of North Texas

Denton, TX

Fees: Early-Bird (by September 10^th)/Regular

SAA Member: $189 / $249

Employees of Member Institutions: $219 / $279

Nonmember: $249 / $299

Workshop Description

Backlogs don’t have to weigh as heavily as they do! Focus on implementing concrete strategies for increasing processing rates and reducing backlogs as outlined in the Greene-Meissner article, “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing,” and learn as you share information and experiences with your fellow workshop participants. Topics include appraisal, arrangement, description, digitization, and preservation, as well as development of processing plans, policies, and benchmarks. This array of topics is addressed through lecture, case studies, and group discussion.

Upon completing this workshop, you’ll be able to:

• Understand the concepts and arguments outlined in “More Product, Less Process;”
• Implement strategies for increasing processing rates in a variety of institutions;
• Apply techniques for managing efficient processing programs, including developing processing plans, policies, and benchmarks;
• Understand how descriptive standards such as DACS can assist in the creation of descriptive records that adhere to “minimum” requirements and assist in the reuse of data in a variety of outputs; and
• Develop strategies for integrating processing with other archival functions, particularly accessioning.

Who should attend? Archivists who process archival collections or manage archival processing programs and administrators interested in processing procedures within their repositories (introductory to intermediate levels).

Testimonials:

Participant responses to "what aspect of the workshop methods/materials was most valuable to you?" included:

• “Case studies, survey results of what others are accomplishing, etc.” - Paige Hendrickson
• “Discussion of Greene-Meissner, application of DACS to high-level processing, description of Princeton methods of reducing backlog.”
• “Very beneficial course. We need to incorporate this process into our workflow. Great timing. We are rewriting our processing manual.”
• “Handouts of Princeton's documents that demonstrate how the institution implemented MPLP, e.g. accessioning requirements and processing levels summary.”
• “Concise explanation of this approach by [a] knowledgable person who uses it.”

Attendance is limited to 32.