Collecting Grey Literature

ABSTRACT

Acquisition and access for grey literature have always been problematic. Compiled for librarians and researchers, the bibliography surveys these issues in the library literature. The introduction of the bibliography outlines the history of grey literature publishing and its value to scientific and scholarly research, as well as, lists problems with the acquisition and bibliographic control of this type of literature. The main body of the bibliography is divided into two parts. Part I surveys the current library literature on the topic. It is a compilation of annotated citations to journal articles from 1981-2002 that cover the issues of acquiring and providing access to science and technology grey literature.

Citations are listed in reverse chronological order to allow the reader to track the evolution of handling this type of literature. Part II provides examples of science and technology grey literature through a selection of Web sites. The bibliography concludes with a brief discussion of the factors that have made grey literature more readily available in recent years and the problems that still exist in hindering reliable access. Suggestions for future research are provided.

Key Words:

• Grey literature
• acquisition
• access
• collection development
• bibliographic control