Product Process

Less Process More Product was one of the buzz phrases I heard being bandied about like at AMIA 2010 in Philadelphia. (Other popular phrases included, “xxxxx” and “xxxxxx”.) The concept is certainly valuable, especially as a strategy in finding ways to deal with the massive backlog of backlogged collection processing. However, XXXXXX’s and XXXXXX’s originating article, while looking at the management of 20th century archival collections, is focused specifically on paper materials. We are well familiar with the problematic application to audiovisual materials of paper archival practices or ideologies related to areas such as cataloging rules, storage, arrangement, preservation, etc. As such, it would seem wise to, before subscribing wholesale to a nice turn of phrase, better define what is process and what is product in the archiving of audiovisual materials, what are the minimal levels required to perform each, and where do these and other concepts diverge or converge with practices assigned to paper-based materials.