No 4, 1996
 No 3, 1996

Quarterly Newsletter
Vol. 8, No. 3, 1999
ISSN 1389-1804

---

GL'99 Virtual Discussion now on the Net
The GL-Compendium Project
IJGL - Forthcoming Articles
Announcement CRIS 2000
Editors Note
GL'99 Registration Form

Annual Subscription: 20 Euros / 20 USDollars

Editorial Address

---

GL'99 Virtual Discussion now on the Net

The GL'99 Virtual Discussion is now live on the Internet. This Virtual Discussion will seek to enhance the program for the Fourth International Conference on Grey Literature, which will be held on October 4-5, 1999 in Washington D.C.

The topics of the GL'99 Virtual Discussion already include comments by leading contributors in the field of grey literature. Take advantage of this global forum not only to agree or disagree with their ideas but to also to contribute your own ideas and special interests in the field of grey literature.

For those Interested in commenting/subscribing to the Virtual Discussion:
http://www.mcb.co.uk/services/conferen/webforum/greynet-liblink-forum/

GL'99 Virtual Discussion Themes: Topic 1 Access to Grey Literature in the 21st Century A Shift from issues of Cataloguing and Bibliographic Control to issues of Promotion, Marketing, and Pricing Grey Literature. » Joachim de Witte (The Netherlands) "The knowledge offensive stresses the increasing importance of packaging grey literature, hence the need to be innovative on the marketing side." » Kate Kwafo-Akoto (United Kingdom) "University presses are over-represented by academic interests and under-represented by editorial and commercial interests; resulting in unreasonable delays in taking decisions and the lack of professionalism in handling important issues such as costing, pricing, promotion, sale, and distribution of grey literature." » Inge de Heer (The Netherlands) "The Internet, and especially World Wide Web, are suitable tools for marketing and advertising grey literature. However, the Internet is still developing and chaos reigns. So although it can be a valuable asset for commercial use, the Internet can not yet be regarded as superior to any other medium also suited for this purpose." Topic 2 Collection Development and Grey Literature The Policy and Management of Grey Literature Collections requires both designated Budgets and Human Resources. » Juliet Cheetham (United Kingdom) "When does grey literature have an impact on policy and practice? Research must be seen and heard. Therefore active, carefully planned and varied dissemination programmes are essential; but they are not the end of the story. Grey literature is heard and debated in a variety of situations: when it is seen as relevant to immediate needs and interests; when it is understood and owned." » Pratibha Gokhale (India) "The availability of the content [i.e. text] of a grey literature document largely depends on the policy of the generating institution. Institutions may exercise their authority as to whether or not all of their documents should be made [available] for public knowledge. However, their existence should be known." » Japhet Otike (United Kingdom) "There is need for a clear government policy on grey literature, which would no doubt require: (1) legal deposit, (2) funding, and (3) national documentation centers in sectoral fields: e.g. agriculture, S&T, social science, medicine, etc." Topic 3 Publishing and Archiving Electronic Grey Literature The Corporate Authors and Producers of Grey Literature are also responsible for indexing and archiving these materials. » Daniela Luzi (Italy) "E-print archives represent a new pattern of communication as well as a step forward in the diffusion of grey literature documents. They also combine features of electronic publishing with those of databases that gather specific types of documents." » Judy McDermott (USA) "Authors, researchers and information managers have become more and more reliant upon the techniques made available through electronic communication and networking. These techniques themselves have generated yet more information,now in electronic rather than print format, which can be termed 'grey', or which will become the next generation's grey literature, if electronic information itself is not controlled and archived." » Lise Hesselager (Denmark) "Cataloguing and its rules may become self-justifying rather than related to user needs. The concept of main entries in automated systems is redundant, archival methods may be more appropriate for grey literature." Topic 4 Copyright and Grey Literature Authorship, Ownership, and Property Rights influence the very Processes of Knowledge Generation and Information Dissemination. » Dorothy Schrader (USA) "Intellectual copyright applies to grey literature as found in the basic principles of the current copyright act and international copyright." » Daniela Luzi (Italy) "Copyright was not such an obvious problem in traditional grey literature because the latter was distributed directly by the research institutions or by the author to a limited number of colleagues. Now, however, networked diffusion to such a high number of users has changed the scenario completely. In fact, it is said that the e-print archives fail to respect current copyright laws which, as is well known, are attributed to the journal which accepts and publishes the paper." » Dominic Farace (The Netherlands) "Contrary to what we are led to believe, not everyone in the field of information has made the shift from ownership to providing access to grey literature. Government, academics, and industry each have their own interpretations, and the Internet provides them with a virtual court and due process." Topic 5 Education and Training in the Field of Grey Literature Schools of Library and Information Science continue to neglect the importance of Grey Literature in their Curriculum Programs. » Rob Wessels (The Netherlands) "As research organizations increasingly publish grey literature on the world wide web access will become easier. Research workers should be made more aware of this resource as part of their training." » Julia Gelfand (USA) "By concentrating on education and training of information professionals, grey literature will have a more prominent role in a range of information access and dissemination activities." » Anna Maria Campanile (Italy) "The development of appropriate curricula and instructional programs requires an analysis of GL-actors - from producers to users of grey literature."

For those Interested in commenting/subscribing to the Virtual Discussion:
http://www.mcb.co.uk/services/conferen/webforum/greynet-liblink-forum/

back to contents

---

The GL-Compendium Project
A Netbased Directory of Grey Literature Collections

One of the initial problems encountered in the search for information is finding the right source(s) to enable further searching.

Internet access to special collections of grey literature, regardless of the type of documents or the subject areas covered, would no doubt both challenge and enable librarians and researchers alike. The challenge to become aware of the very existence of these collections and the subsequent ability to access them worldwide. GL-Compendium, a unique networked resource in and for grey literature, would not only act to control information overflow but would, at the same time, confront and deal with information underuse.

This grey literature Netbased directory, which we call the GL-Compendium, would be multidisciplinary in scope, providing a standardised, descriptive, hyperlinked record produced, edited, and updated electronically with the support of state-of-the-art software and classification tools developed and maintained specifically for scientific and technical grey literature.

The partners in this new and unique venture, as well as their roles and responsibilities constitute the remainder of this article.

1.  MCB University Press

MCB University Press will take on the role of database publisher, responsible for the software development, which will resemble the one used in their Research Registers. The GL-Compendium website database will be controlled and managed via the MCB server. MCB will also manage the exploitation of this networked resource involving worldwide sales and marketing.

2.  GreyNet

GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service, will be the editing body for this meta-information resource. Once the record format with its required and supplemental fields has been constructed, all online input and subsequent update of records in the GL-Compendium will be monitored by GreyNet. Hence, maintaining standardisation and quality control.

3.  EAGLE

The European Association for Grey Literature Exploitation (EAGLE), will be invited to act as technical consultant in support of the classification tools deemed necessary for the GL-Compendium. One such tool is the SIGLE (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe) Subject Classification Scheme. This classification scheme is a derivative of the American COSATI (Committee on Scientific & Technical Information) Subject Category List. However, it has been subsequently modified and regularly maintained and developed by the EAGLE Technical Committee chaired by Andrew Smith of British Library DSC. The other tool is the SIGLE Guidelines for Corporate Body Entries, which follows the INIS (International Nuclear Information System) Guidelines for Standardised Entry of Corporate Bodies.

4.  GL-Compendium Contributors

GL-Compendium Contributors are those persons in the global grey literature community working on various levels of government, academia, business and industry. They are persons responsible in one or more capacities for the production, processing, collection, and distribution of grey literature. These Contributors will be the contact persons who submit online the information required for the creation of a GL-Compendium record. They will be supported by a friendly, interface software, built-in classification and indexing tools in order to enhance their descriptive task. They may also rely on a front-end, editorial service to maintain quality control not only for their own record input, but also for the total networked database. GreyNet will actively contact its 1000+ Listserv and subscriber base during the initial data collection phase of this project, which starts in October 1999. It is an underlying premise that GreyNet will be able to generate sufficient records early on to ensure a product ready for retrieval and referral by the sixth month of record input.

5.  Network Users/Subscribers

Network Users/Subscribers to GL-Compendium will span the world-wide-web. They will include collection development librarians, electronic resource librarians, researchers in all disciplines, lecturers and faculty, consultants, applied scientists, publishers, information providers, information brokers and managers, government officials and policymakers, documentalists and archivists, literature specialists, web content editors, database managers, A&I service providers, subscription agents, etc. Many of these potential user groups are already affiliated with the Grey Literature Network Service. Hence, through GreyNet's existing Referral Service, Website, Listserv, and forthcoming IJGL Subscriber base potential GL-Compendium users and subscribers can be identified and contacted.

About GL-Compendium Records and Their Tagged Fields

A Netbased Directory of Grey Literature Collections covers a broad range of information sources in digital, electronic, and print forms. From an input perspective, the fields in which the descriptive record is constructed should enable the GL-Compendium CONTRIBUTOR ample means of describing their collection(s) without time consuming effort. Being a hyperlinked, network resource, records in the GL-Compendium will offer direct access to the source 'object', the grey literature collection from which they can further search and retrieve. From an output perspective, WYSIWYG! There are no variations in record layout and format. The input, once edited, will serve the end-user.

back to contents

---

IJGL Forthcoming Articles
International Journal on Grey Literature

Grey Literature supports the research process and encompasses a vast range of information types such as policy documents, corporate reports, data sets from academic and corporate research, university theses and dissertations, technical reports and conference proceedings. Despite being of great importance to researchers, such information has often been hard to identify and access, and thus undervalued.

The official launch of IJGL will take place during the GL'99 Inaugural Reception on Monday evening, October 4, 1999 in Washington D.C.

ISSN 1466-6189 Vol. 1, No. 1 Forthcoming Articles Lifting the Fog: Maps and Spatial Information Emerging as Grey Literature By Patrick McGlamery University of Connecticut, USA Transportation Information: A Source of Grey Literature Offering Formats, Languages and Availability By Dr. Bonnie A. Osif, Pennsylvania State University, USA Grey Literature is a Feminist Issue: Women's Knowledge and the Net By Danusia Malina & Diane Nuff, University of Teeside, UK Interview with Prof. John MacKenzie Owen, University of Amsterdam Conducted by Dr. Dominic Farace, GreyNet, The Netherlands New Products in Grey Literature - ResearchIndex: Autonomous Citation Indexing on the Web Reviewed by Gerry McKiernon, Iowa State University, USA Editor: Julia Gelfand, University of California, Irvine Consulting Editor: Dr. Dominic Farace, GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service EDITORIAL AND ADVISORY BOARD: Lourdes David, College of Science Library, University of Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines Dr. Sinikka Koskiala, HUT Helsinki University of Technology, Finland Derek Law, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, UK Dr. Andrei Zemskov, Russian National Public Library of Science & Technology, Russia

If you would like to place an order or would like more information please contact:

MCB University Press Subscriptions Department on:
Tel : 44-1274-777.700
Fax : 44-1274-785.202
E-mail : cnewsome@mcb.co.uk
URL: http://www.mcb.co.uk/ijgl.htm

back to contents

---

CRIS 2000
Current Research Information Systems

The conference is being organised by the European Commission, within the framework of the Commission's INNOVATION / SMEs Programme, and hosted by the Finnish Ministry of Education and TEKES, the Technology Development Centre in Finland. CRIS 2000 follows on from the European CRIS conferences held in Bergen (Norway) in 1991, in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) in 1993, in Milan (Italy) in 1995, and in Luxembourg in 1998.

Conference Topics for Papers
The Conference will be organised around the following main topics:

1. The CRIS Product:
Creation and Dissemination of Current Research Information
CRIS organisational issues
Technologies for developing new CRIS products
Integration of information on the Web
The use of multimedia CRIS information for dissemination of results
Data integrity and quality control
CRIS distribution and the global Internet

2. CRIS Usage:
Tailoring Research Information to User Needs
User authentication and security issues
User-defined access to CRIS information
Meta-information tools for providing and customising information
Innovative e-commerce applications in CRIS networks

3. The "Public Interest" in CRIS:
Research Information in Contemporary Society
From tax payer to beneficiary: the value of research information
CRIS as a means to promote public awareness of research
Structured government documents for citizens
CRIS and intellectual property; protecting the rights of researchers
CRIS and international co-operation
The power of CRIS for technology transfer and economic development

4. The Future of CRIS:
Research Information : The Next Decade
Emerging technologies for CRIS
CRIS and commercial publishing
User expectations of CRIS in the future

Submission and Deadline
Authors should submit, preferably by e-mail, an abstract of 1 page in length (single spacing) in English by 1 October 1999 to :

CRIS 2000 Secretariat
Ms. Marja Malmgren
Helsinki University of Technology, Library
P.O. Box 7000
FIN-02015 HUT
Finland

Fax : 58-9-451.4132
E-mail : CRIS2000@hut.fi

CRIS 2000 Conference sites are to be found on:
http://www.cordis.lu/cris2000 (information related to the Conference contents)
http://www.hut.fi/Misc/CRIS2000/ (information related to the Conference location)

Editors Note GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service

Grey literature & current research information and documentation have an inherent affinity with one another. In fact, current research documentation (CRD) is a specific type of grey literature just as Research Memoranda, Research Notes, Research Registers, and Research Reports are types of grey literature. GreyNet ardently supports CRIS 2000 and takes this opportunity to mention that the special relation between Grey Literature and Current Research will be one of the main themes at the Fifth International Conference on Grey Literature in 2001.

back to contents

---

GL'99 Registration Form
The Fourth International Conference on Grey Literature

New Frontiers in Grey Literature

GL'99

Conference Fee:
The conference fee includes attendance at the Main Sessions, Break-Out Sessions, as well as, the Information Market and the Product and Service Reviews. The fee also includes a copy of the GL'99 Program, the conference badge and pouch. Lunches and Coffee & Tea Breaks during the two-day conference are also included in the registration fee.

Payment Received before 31 August 1999 : (Check one of the Boxes, Below) Payment Received after 31 August 1999: (Add 50 NLG / 30 US$ Surcharge) Conference Fee: NLG 695 US$ 395 Conference Fee for GreyNet Subscribers NLG 590 US$ 335 Please, send us the information asked for below: Participant's Name (Title): Organization: Address/P.O.Box: Postal Code/City/Country: Tel: Fax: Email: URL: Please Check one of the Boxes for the method of payment in your (E)mail/Fax: Bank check/draft enclosed and payable to GreyNet. With Reference to GL'99 and Participant's name. NLG Account - Please Remit to GreyNet ABN-AMRO Bank No. 52.93.61.841 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. With Reference to GL'99 and Participant's name. US$ Account - Please Remit to GreyNet ABN-AMRO Bank No. 52.93.63.526 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. With Reference to GL'99 and Participant's name. Credit Cards: MasterCard/EuroCard, VisaCard/JCB Card,                       American Express, Diners Club Credit Card. Card Number: Exp. Date: If the name on the credit card is not that of the participant, print the name that appears on the card, here:

For more Information contact:
GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service,
MCB University Press, 60-62 Toller Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK, BD8 9BY
Tel: 44 (0) 1274 777700 Fax: 44 (0) 1274 785200 Email:greynet@greynet.org

back to contents