Greene and Meissner begin the article with a call to action, citing the British report Best Value and Local Authority Archives, which claims that archival cataloging, arrangement, and description are "not working" and that growing backlogs are "weakening the archival profession".: 208–9 The authors hypothesize that "processing projects squander scarce resources", and that it is thus necessary to entirely reframe the discussion about processing rather than simply suggesting a new processing technique.: 209 Their methodology included a literature review, an overview of National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grants, two surveys, and examination of other relevant studies.: 209
Greene and Meissner discuss what they perceive to be problems with processing and cite a 1998 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey of special collections units which found that nearly a third of manuscript collections made up uncatalogued backlogs.: 210
The authors present a new set of guidelines for arrangement, preservation, and description:
Recognizing that tradeoffs must be made, Greene and Meissner argue that some preservation concerns must be given up for the sake of providing effective access to users of collections.: 236–7
The minimal processing approach advocated by "More Product, Less Process" has been implemented by many archives and libraries, including but not limited to the Library of Congress, the University of North Carolina's Wilson Library, and the Academic Health Center Archives at the University of Minnesota. Greene and Meissner's article has been highly influential within the archival community, and it has inspired multiple series of presentations, seminars, workshops, and webinars on minimal processing. Emphasis has been drawn towards the argument's devotion to combating extensive backlogs and rethinking archival processing. The University of South Carolina' libraries' blog cites their collection of the papers of Environmentalist, Inc. as a product of MPLP through its lack of thorough processing, but extensive availability to the public. The article has also inspired the name of "More Podcast, Less Process", an archives-related podcast hosted by Jefferson Bailey of the Metropolitan New York Library Council and Joshua Ranger of AudioVisual Preservation Solutions.
Prior to Mark Greene's death in 2017, the authors continued to expand their original thesis, notably in a 2010 Journal of Archival Organization article that amplifies their resource allocation argument and directly rebuts a variety of critics.
Criticism of "More Product, Less Process" has been primarily directed towards its perceived broadness, lenience, and reductive perspective. One piece argues MPLP's poor application to item level digitization and notes the ambiguity of relying on relative importance and condition to determine processing priority. A 2015 article in The American Archivist criticizes MPLP as overtly negative and negligent towards the values of preservation and argues that the philosophy places collections themselves at risk. Greene and Meissner's response reiterates their argument and the opportunity cost relationship of processing and user access.
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Mersiovsky, Kate (2014-12-14). "The Pros and Cons of 'MPLP'". Archives & Memory. Retrieved 2018-04-24. https://medium.com/archives-records/the-pros-and-cons-of-mplp-586b0efc8fba
Wright, Jennifer (August 17, 2010). "How Much is Enough?". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2018-04-24. https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/how-much-enough
Owens, Trevor (August 22, 2012). "More Product, Less Process for Born-Digital Collections: Reflections on CurateCamp Processing". The Signal: Digital Preservation. Library of Congress. Retrieved August 26, 2014. http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2012/08/more-product-less-process-for-born-digital-collections-reflections-on-curatecamp-processing/
Bromley, Ben (November 1, 2009). "More Product, Less Process". Among Other Items. WordPress. Retrieved August 26, 2014. http://amongotheritems.org/2009/11/more-product-less-process/
Moore, Erik (October 16, 2006). "More product, less process". Academic Health Center History Project. University of Minnesota. Retrieved February 8, 2022. https://ahcarchives.lib.umn.edu/2006/10/16/more-product-less-process/
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Dennis Meissner (2005). "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" (PDF). American Archivist. 68 (2): 208–263. doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. http://www.archivists.org/prof-education/pre-readings/IMPLP/AA68.2.MeissnerGreene.pdf
Owens, Trevor (August 22, 2012). "More Product, Less Process for Born-Digital Collections: Reflections on CurateCamp Processing". The Signal: Digital Preservation. Library of Congress. Retrieved August 26, 2014. http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2012/08/more-product-less-process-for-born-digital-collections-reflections-on-curatecamp-processing/
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alctsce (2012-08-22), More Product, Less Process: Why It Matters to Archivists, Librarians, and Researchers, retrieved 2018-04-23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqftrBsHAl8
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Meissner, Dennis and Mark A. Greene (2010). "More Application while Less Appreciation: The Adopters and Antagonists of MPLP". Journal of Archival Organization. 8 (3–4): 174–226. doi:10.1080/15332748.2010.554069. S2CID 62747636. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
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Phillips, Jessica (2015). "A Defense of Preservation in the Age of MPLP" (PDF). The American Archivist. 78 (2): 470–487. doi:10.17723/0360-9081.78.2.470. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc862648/m2/1/high_res_d/JessicaPhillips-AmericanArchivist-78-2.pdf
Mersiovsky, Kate (2014-12-14). "The Pros and Cons of 'MPLP'". Archives & Memory. Retrieved 2018-04-24. https://medium.com/archives-records/the-pros-and-cons-of-mplp-586b0efc8fba
Phillips, Jessica (2015). "A Defense of Preservation in the Age of MPLP" (PDF). The American Archivist. 78 (2): 470–487. doi:10.17723/0360-9081.78.2.470. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc862648/m2/1/high_res_d/JessicaPhillips-AmericanArchivist-78-2.pdf
Greene, Mark A.; Meissner, Dennis (2016). "To the Editor". The American Archivist. 79 (1): 219–221. doi:10.17723/0360-9081.79.1.219. https://doi.org/10.17723%2F0360-9081.79.1.219