Quarterly Newsletter
Vol. 8, No. 1, 1999
ISSN 1389-1804
Launch IJGL, International Journal on Grey Literature
Site Visit GL'99 Program Committee
Role of the Library Sector
Librarians and Grey Literature
GLOSSARY, a Vocabulary of Terms used in GL
A-List, A New Website Resource
International Guide, now in its 4th Edition
GreyNet Express Voucher
Annual Subscription: 20 Euros / 20 USDollars
Editorial Address
Launch IJGL
International Journal on Grey Literature
The launch of IJGL, the International Journal on Grey Literature, is the culmination of a quarter of a century theoretical positioning linked to Research and Development in information technology.
Once the uses of grey literature could be clearly demonstrated
in formulating issues and resolving problems facing all branches
of science, academics, government, and business; and, the impact
of grey literature became measurable through its effects on
information policy and management, grey literature had come of
age. With the dawn of a new millennium, grey literature becomes
an even more significant information resource.
IJGL seeks to monitor and secure grey literature's entry into the
mainstream of our information society well into the 21st Century
by providing:
An ongoing international forum;
A platform for new ideas & research results;
A primary resource for academicians and practitioners from
author/researcher to researcher/end-user;
In a peer review environment, new discussions about all
aspects of grey literature, as a collection resource, a source
of discourse, and with specific applications.
Volume 1, Number 1 of this new quarterly journal will be
published in 2000. However, in advance, this issue will appear
in October 1999 to coincide with GL'99, the Fourth International
Conference on Grey Literature in Washington D.C., USA.
Authors who respond to the GL'99 Call-for-Papers will also have
their abstracts submitted to the IJGL Journal Editor for
subsequent review.
Contributions can already be sent to the IJGL Journal Editor,
Julia Gelfand
University of California
UCI Science Library 228
P.O. Box 19556
Irvine, CA 92623-9556, USA
Email: jgelfand@uci.edu
Site Visit
GL'99 Program Committee
On Friday, the 9th of April 1999, the GL'99 Program Committee Delegates will meet at the Kellogg Conference Center in Washington D.C. Their tasks at this full-day meeting will be to review the abstracts submitted from the Call-for-Papers, finalize the Conference Program, and carry out a site visit of the conference center and its facilities.
If you have not yet submitted the title and abstract of your
proposed paper for the Fourth International Conference on Grey
Literature, please do so no later than March 9, 1999. This will
allow the Program and Organizing Bureau sufficient time to
compile the set of abstracts and distribute them to the above
GL'99 Program Committee Delegates.
GreyNet
GL'99 Program and Organizing Bureau
Koninginneweg 201
1075 CR Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Email: greynet@greynet.org
URL :
http://www.konbib.nl/infolev/greynet/GL'99.html
Role of the Library Sector
by Prof. John Mackenzie Owen
In this paper I have argued that both publishers' strategies and IT developments will reduce the importance of the traditional
information distribution chain significantly, and of the
traditional institutional parties in the information chain such
as publishers and information intermediaries. Libraries are, as
information intermediaries, an important component of the
information chain. I would now like to say a few words on their
future role.
The most important consequence of the emerging role of digital
information products and networked distribution is that libraries
will have to move from functioning as acquisition-oriented memory
organisations towards service organisations supporting and
facilitating access to information on the network. In addition,
there are many opportunities to move towards the production and
distribution side of the information cycle. Of the many things
libraries can and should do under these circumstances, I find the
following the most important and challenging:
- Creation and management of networked document servers, acting
as nodes on the network where information - either from the
parent organisation or in specific subject domains - is made
available to the global network community. It is likely that
most of this information will be of the 'grey' type.
- Creating and maintaining sophisticated search and access
mechanisms which help users to navigate through the networked
information space. This should result in integrated
resource-finding tools which can handle licensed, pay-per-view
and non-licensed information resources, as a substitute for
traditional catalogues and bibliographic databases. Activities
in this area should also include mechanisms for spanning
organisational and geographic boundaries, resulting in virtual
networked digital libraries - available at the user's desktop -
giving integrated access to heterogeneous information
objects stored on different network nodes.
- Archiving for long-term preservation and access. An important
responsibility of the library world will be to ensure that
digital information is preserved and remains accessible over
the centuries. This is a formidable task, especially in view
of the problems created by rapidly developing technology and
its related standards. The technology and standards on which
current information products are based will no longer be
available in ten or twenty years from now, and these products
will only be kept available on the network by their creators
or publishers for an even shorter period. If the library world
does not solve this problem, nobody will, and all information -
grey and white - will disappear from the memory of mankind.
Conclusions:
A number of developments is changing the information scene on an
unprecedented scale. One consequence of these developments is
that an increasing proportion of information available to users
on digital networks will have the characteristics of what we
traditionally have called 'grey' information. The difference
between the 'grey' and 'white' sectors is described in the
Table 1, below.
| TABLE 1 |
| GREY | WHITE |
| Relative volume: | Increasing | Decreasing |
| Speed of production and delivery: | High | Low |
| Cost of information: | Low, decreasing | High, increasing |
| Accessibility: | Global, unrestricted | Limited, restricted |
| Quality control: | To be provided by innovative technologies | Organised thru traditional peer review process |
| Long-term archiving: | Problematic due to volume and technological ageing | Problematic due to legal restrictions & technological ageing |
| Role of libraries: | Loss of traditional roles,
Opportunities for new services | Limited by legal restrictions |
| Role of publishers: | Marginal, limited to support functions | Diminishing |
Finally, let me summarise the points I have raised:
- The traditional information chain is being substituted by a
networked information space. This will have serious consequences
for information chain based institutions such as publishers and
libraries.
- The emerging networked information space will allow creators
of information to distribute their information products with
little or no support from publishers. Most information available
to users will therefore be 'grey' rather than 'white'.
- The pricing policies, business strategies and IT-deployment of
publishers, together with the erosion of the information chain
indicate that the publishing industry is entering the final
stages of its life cycle, resulting in a marginalisation of the
role of publishers within the scientific communication process.
- Libraries, as intermediary organisations, will lose many of
their traditional roles. But the problems inherent in digital
networked distribution provide many opportunities for taking on
new roles.
Excerpts and Conclusions from a paper presented at GL'97
by Prof. John Mackenzie Owen, University of Amsterdam
Email: mackenzie@kub.nl
Librarians and Grey Literature
From the Editor
Librarians have become quite use to name calling. Information professionals, managers, brokers are but a few to which they answer.
With the rise of grey literature both in print and electronic
format not only has the skills and competence of librarians been
tested in areas of bibliographic control, collection development,
and the diffusion of grey literature, but they have been
challenged to address other aspects of grey literature from
matters of library policy to understanding their new role as
corporate author and publisher of grey literature.
This new role has not come freely and willingly but has developed
from the sheer force of user demand. Librarians held too long to
the problems of grey literature - clinging to their low
perception of this material. This negative legacy was in fact
instilled in them during their library school training, where
grey literature remained but a footnote in the overall curriculum
program.
For some librarians, it was only in their confrontation with
special collections within their libraries and documentation
centers that they came to learn and appreciate the wealth and
value of grey literature, putting to use their library skills in
processing it. These efforts are now paying off. With the rise
of electronic grey literature, librarians, because of their
extensive experience with non-traditional information are better
prepared to recognize the value of these emerging information
landscapes and to organize them in innovative ways.
A Vocabulary of Terms used in Grey Literature
GLOSSARY, a vocabulary of terms used in the field of grey literature, is an ongoing project first implemented within the
GL'97 Conference structure. The work of selecting, compiling, and
editing the records for this first edition proved quite
challenging.
The purpose of this new resource is to provide academicians and
practitioners alike with a more comprehensive vocabulary of terms
in which to better understand the expanding field of grey
literature.
Each of the 265 records comprising GLOSSARY demonstrates what the
referenced term is, who uses it, and the context in which it is
used. The more than 150 referenced terms, which appear one or
more times in the text, have been contributed by 110 authors from
26 countries worldwide. This information resource is available
in print and on the R&D section of GreyNet's Website.
CIP
GLOSSARY, A Vocabulary of Terms used in the Field of Grey Literature /
edited by D.J. Farace ; assisted by J. Frantzen ; Grey Literature Network
Service. - 1st ed. Amsterdam : GreyNet, 1999. - 60 p. ; 30 cm. -Contains an Index and Appendices
ISBN: 90-74854-19-2 : NLG 75
A-List
Acronyms Listed in Grey Literature
A New Website Resource
In the work of compiling and editing the first edition of GLOSSARY and the fourth edition of the Guide, a byproduct or hybrid information resource became visible.
The 300+ acronyms listed in grey literature, whether they refer
to organizations and corporate authors, information products and
services, research projects and programs, or scientific and
technical terminology together form a valuable information
resource, which should be made available to the grey literature
community.
In the past year, GreyNet has evidenced a 300% increase in the
use of its Website.. It is felt that the A-List, Acronyms Listed
in Grey Literature, should not only be made available as an
appendix to the GLOSSARY, but also as an searchable file on the
Internet http://www.greynet.org/databases/acronyms.html
International Guide
Now in its Fourth Edition
The fourth edition of the "International Guide to Persons and Organisations in Grey Literature" contains some 300 records from 40 countries worldwide:
| Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia |
GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service, first compiled this
Guide within the structure of the International GL-Conference
Series. Since then, the records have been expanded and made
available both in print and electronic formats.
CIP
International Guide to Persons and Organisations in Grey Literature /
compiled by D.J. Farace ; assisted by J. Frantzen ; Grey Literature
Network Service. - 4th ed. Amsterdam : GreyNet, 1999. - VI, 79 p. ;
30 cm. - Contains Indexes
ISBN: 90-74854-23-0 : NLG. 60
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