2006 Fall Symposium: More Product, Less Process

Omaha, Nebraska, October 6-7, 2006

About

The topic for this year's symposium is pulled right from the latest issues confronting archivists today: the "More Product, Less Process" techniques for reducing archival backlogs and rethinking the tradition of detailed collections processing, which are the brainchild of MAC's own Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner. Their study of collection backlogs and its revolutionary conclusions are setting traditional processing practices on their ear! The symposium will focus on the background, practice, and implications of applying the "More Product, Less Process" approach in our daily routines.

Symposium attendees will spend a solid day and a half exploring this topic through discussion, presentations, and exchange of ideas in both large and small groups. Some specific issues to be discussed are:

• Our professional traditions and how they fit into current realities
• What we can learn from the literature and surveys
• Developing effective and practical collections management strategies for archives
• How these strategies relate to specific settings and within the spectrum of document types
• The potential effects of new collections management models on access, preservation, and security

Symposium attendees will earn one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) and seven Archival Recertification Credits from the Academy of Certified Archivists.

Fall 2006 Symposium Program Committee:

Rick Pifer (co-chair), Wisconsin Historical Society
Todd Daniels-Howell (co-chair), Indiana University Purdue University
Mark A. Greene, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
Dennis Meissner, Minnesota Historical Society

Fall 2006 Symposium Local Arrangements Committee:

Paul Eisloeffel (co-chair), Nebraska State Historical Society
Mary Ellen Ducey (co-chair), University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
Carolyn Wallingford , National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office
Carol Dage, National Park Service, Harry S Truman National Historic Site