Grey Literature Network Service
Encyclopedia
The Grey Literature Network Service (GreyNet) is a service to facilitate the production, distribution and access to grey literature. Grey literature is "information produced and distributed on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body." It was started in 1992 by Dr. Dominic Farace.
It publishes the Proceedings for International Conference Series on Grey Literature, the GreyNet Newsletter The Grey Journal, An International Journal on Grey Literature (TGJ), and the Annotated Bibliography on the Topic of Grey Literature 4th edition (ISBN 90-74854-26-5). In 2011, GreyNet created a discussion group on the social network LinkedIn. http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3718857
GreyNet is a not for profit organisation fostering the production and dissemination of scientific literature
. It is also engaged in the open source
movement and was invited to the 10th Libre Software Meeting 2009 http://2009.rmll.info/?lang=en in Nantes, France, with a communication on knowledge sharing
in the field of grey literature. http://2009.rmll.info/Greynet,791.html
During the 11th International Conference on Grey Literature December 2009, GreyNet signed a Partnership Agreement with ICSTI, International Council for Scientific and Technical Information http://www.icsti.org/. This newly established partnership lends to GreyNet a multilateral base, elevating it from a bilateral one that it already shares with a number of ICSTI Members. GreyNet seeks to provide ICSTI with an opportunity to further broaden its information activities to the social sciences and humanities.
http://www.textrelease.com/gl13conference.html
). The Grey Journal is indexed by the Scopus
scientific database.
-CNRS have designed the format for a metadata record, which encompasses standardized PDF attachments of the full-text conference preprints, PowerPoint presentations, abstracts and biographical notes. The last five consecutive years (2003-2007) of conference papers are now available in the OpenSIGLE Repository.
Comment from Peter Suber, Open Access News (Thursday, January 29, 2009): GreyNet started making its conference proceedings OA through its repository in May 2008. I applaud its determination to complete the collection retroactively, even if it means buying permission from a publisher. Note to other conference organizers: This is a reason to self-archive your proceedings as you go, or at least to retain the right to self-archive them without a fee. http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/01/greynet-buys-rights-to-deposit-papers.html
In 2009, a newly established OpenSIGLE Consortium submitted an FP7 Proposal to the European Commission with the goal of creating a pan-European e-infrastructure that would better serve the OpenSIGLE Repository and further the advancement of open access to digital grey literature collections and resources.
The web-based resources appear within categories derived from the COSATI (American) and SIGLE
(European) Classification Systems. The few changes that have been introduced into the classification scheme are intended to facilitate the search and retrieval of net-users. New examples are welcome and will be indexed in GreySource.
GreyText is an inhouse archive of documents on grey literature. Over 125 documents are indexed by first author followed by the title, source, date of publication and length in printed pages. Free Access to the first page of each document is available for browsing. Also, in most cases the corresponding PowerPoint is online available.
The full-text of all documents listed in GreyText are accessible in PDF via email on demand.
. http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697878
TextRelease maintains ongoing contacts with Abstract and Indexing (A+I) Services including CSA, EBSCO, Elsevier, MLA, Swets, etc.
TextRelease provides Non-Exclusive Rights Agreements to nearly 300 authors, who have published in its Conference Proceedings and/or International Journal on Grey Literature. In this way, authors maintain copyright over their own work.
TextRelease maintains an up-to-date ”WHOIS in the field of Grey Literature” - a compilation of biographical notes provided by authors in the field of grey literature.
The TextRelease website likewise serves as the conference site for the International Conference Series on Grey Literature. This web resource provides direct access to Conference Announcements, Call-for-Papers, Official Programs, Registrations, and other conference related information.
TextRelease is proud of the many prominent sponsors it has been able to commit to the success of the GL-Conference Series. Some of the more recent sponsors include:
TextRelease realizes that its success over the last six years is largely due to its sustained content base and financial support by committed sponsors. Since its founding in 2003, TextRelease applies the principle of stretch management throughout its workflow processes, where goals are not only higher than in previous years but they are also sustainable. TextRelease realizes that in order to maintain the momentum and harness the potential of its networked services, it will have to move from a sole proprietorship to another type of enterprise in the coming years. Along these lines, TextRelease is open to negotiations with potential major partners/buyers.
It publishes the Proceedings for International Conference Series on Grey Literature, the GreyNet Newsletter The Grey Journal, An International Journal on Grey Literature (TGJ), and the Annotated Bibliography on the Topic of Grey Literature 4th edition (ISBN 90-74854-26-5). In 2011, GreyNet created a discussion group on the social network LinkedIn. http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3718857
GreyNet is a not for profit organisation fostering the production and dissemination of scientific literature
Scientific literature
Scientific literature comprises scientific publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences, and within a scientific field is often abbreviated as the literature. Academic publishing is the process of placing the results of one's research into the...
. It is also engaged in the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
movement and was invited to the 10th Libre Software Meeting 2009 http://2009.rmll.info/?lang=en in Nantes, France, with a communication on knowledge sharing
Knowledge sharing
Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge is exchanged among people, friends, or members of a family, a community or an organization....
in the field of grey literature. http://2009.rmll.info/Greynet,791.html
During the 11th International Conference on Grey Literature December 2009, GreyNet signed a Partnership Agreement with ICSTI, International Council for Scientific and Technical Information http://www.icsti.org/. This newly established partnership lends to GreyNet a multilateral base, elevating it from a bilateral one that it already shares with a number of ICSTI Members. GreyNet seeks to provide ICSTI with an opportunity to further broaden its information activities to the social sciences and humanities.
International Conference Series on Grey Literature (ISSN 1386-2316)
- 1993 GL1 Amsterdam, “GL’93, Weinberg Report 2000” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/698053
- 1995 GL2 Washington D.C. ”GL’95, Grey Exploitations in the 21st Century” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/698012
- 1997 GL3 Luxembourg, “GL’97, Perspectives on the Design and Transfer of STI” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697932
- 1999 GL4 Washington D.C., “GL’99, New Frontiers in Grey Literature” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697891
- 2003 GL5 Amsterdam, “Grey Matters in the World of Networked Information” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697754
- 2004 GL6 New York, “Work on Grey in Progress” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697756
- 2005 GL7 Nancy, France “Open Access to Grey Resources” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697757
- 2006 GL8 New Orleans, “Harnessing the Power of Grey” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697758
- 2007 GL9 Antwerp, “Grey Foundations in Information Landscape” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697759
- 2008 GL10 Amsterdam, “Designing the Grey Grid for Information Society” http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697786
- 2009 GL11 Washington D.C., “The Grey Mosaic: Piecing It All Together” http://www.textrelease.com/textreleasehome.html
- 2010 GL12 Prague (CZ), "Transparency in Grey Literature, Grey Tech Approaches to High Tech Issues" http://www.textrelease.com/gl12conference.html
- 2011 GL13 Washington D.C., "The Grey Circuit, From Social Networking to Wealth Creation", Library of Congress,December 5-6, 2011,
http://www.textrelease.com/gl13conference.html
Other publications
The Grey Journal, an International Journal on Grey Literature (ISSN print 1574-1796, ISSN e-print 1574-180X) started in 2005. It is the only journal on the topic. It appears three times a year in thematic issues, published in print and electronic formats. Articles from the electronic version at an article level is available via EBSCO’s LISTA-FT Database (EBSCO PublishingEBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is an aggregator of premium full-text content. EBSCO Publishing's core business is providing online databases via EBSCOhost to libraries worldwide. EBSCOhost is used by libraries, schools, academic institutions, medical institutions, and...
). The Grey Journal is indexed by the Scopus
Scopus
Scopus, officially named SciVerse Scopus, is a bibliographic database containing abstracts and citations for academic journal articles. It covers nearly 18,000 titles from over 5,000 international publishers, including coverage of 16,500 peer-reviewed journals in the scientific, technical, medical,...
scientific database.
GreyNet and OpenSIGLE
For the past 15 years, GreyNet has sought to serve researchers and authors in the field of grey literature. To further this end, GreyNet has signed on to the OpenSIGLE repository and in so doing seeks to preserve and make openly available research results originating in the International Conference Series on Grey Literature. GreyNet together with INISTINIST
The INIST is the CNRS centre of documentation. It has as mission to collect, treat and diffuse results of scientific and technical research. The INIST produces three bibliographic multilingual and multidisciplinary databases: PASCAL, FRANCIS, and DOGE. It is based at Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, in a...
-CNRS have designed the format for a metadata record, which encompasses standardized PDF attachments of the full-text conference preprints, PowerPoint presentations, abstracts and biographical notes. The last five consecutive years (2003-2007) of conference papers are now available in the OpenSIGLE Repository.
Comment from Peter Suber, Open Access News (Thursday, January 29, 2009): GreyNet started making its conference proceedings OA through its repository in May 2008. I applaud its determination to complete the collection retroactively, even if it means buying permission from a publisher. Note to other conference organizers: This is a reason to self-archive your proceedings as you go, or at least to retain the right to self-archive them without a fee. http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/01/greynet-buys-rights-to-deposit-papers.html
In 2009, a newly established OpenSIGLE Consortium submitted an FP7 Proposal to the European Commission with the goal of creating a pan-European e-infrastructure that would better serve the OpenSIGLE Repository and further the advancement of open access to digital grey literature collections and resources.
Preservation of documents on GL: GreySource
GreySource provides examples of grey and malin-grey literature to the average net-user (see for instance the University of Queensland list http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/types_information_sources.html#grey) and in so doing profiles organizations responsible for its production and/or processing. Only web-based resources that explicitly refer to the term grey literature (or its equivalent in any language) are listed. GreySource identifies the hyperlink directly embedded in a resource, thus allowing immediate and virtual exposure to grey literature.The web-based resources appear within categories derived from the COSATI (American) and SIGLE
Siglé
Siglé is a town in the Siglé Department of Boulkiemdé Province in central western Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Siglé Department and has a population of 2224.-External links:*...
(European) Classification Systems. The few changes that have been introduced into the classification scheme are intended to facilitate the search and retrieval of net-users. New examples are welcome and will be indexed in GreySource.
GreyText is an inhouse archive of documents on grey literature. Over 125 documents are indexed by first author followed by the title, source, date of publication and length in printed pages. Free Access to the first page of each document is available for browsing. Also, in most cases the corresponding PowerPoint is online available.
The full-text of all documents listed in GreyText are accessible in PDF via email on demand.
Curriculum development
In 2007 GreyNet conducted an international survey on grey literature among instructors in LIS higher education. In the same year, GreyNet implemented a distant education course on grey literature at the University of New OrleansUniversity of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
. http://opensigle.inist.fr/handle/10068/697878
GreyNet management
The GreyNet Service is powered by TextRelease http://www.textrelease.com/, a privately owned company based in Amsterdam. TextRelease is GreyNet's program and conference bureau. TextRelease was responsible for GreyNet’s relaunch in 2003. Content compiled and edited within the Grey Literature Network Service is published and marketed via TextRelease. Furthermore, all agreements, contracts, and legal matters pertaining to GreyNet are handled through TextRelease.TextRelease and GreyNet
TextRelease’s main activities are situated in the domain of grey scientific & technical information. Conference organization, information consultancy, research, publication, as well as education and training in the field of grey literature are among its objectives. In this capacity, TextRelease re-launched the Grey Literature Network Service (GreyNet) in 2003 and is the publishing body for this organization.TextRelease maintains ongoing contacts with Abstract and Indexing (A+I) Services including CSA, EBSCO, Elsevier, MLA, Swets, etc.
TextRelease provides Non-Exclusive Rights Agreements to nearly 300 authors, who have published in its Conference Proceedings and/or International Journal on Grey Literature. In this way, authors maintain copyright over their own work.
TextRelease maintains an up-to-date ”WHOIS in the field of Grey Literature” - a compilation of biographical notes provided by authors in the field of grey literature.
The TextRelease website likewise serves as the conference site for the International Conference Series on Grey Literature. This web resource provides direct access to Conference Announcements, Call-for-Papers, Official Programs, Registrations, and other conference related information.
TextRelease is proud of the many prominent sponsors it has been able to commit to the success of the GL-Conference Series. Some of the more recent sponsors include:
- BL, British Library, United Kingdom
- DTIC, Defense Technical Information Center, USA
- EBSCO Publishing, USA
- FLICC/FEDLINK; Library of Congress, USA
- IIA, Information International Associates, Inc., USA
- INIST-CNRS, Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, France
- LLC, Law Library of Congress, USA
- NTK, National Technical Library, Prague, Czech Republic
- NLM, National Library of Medicine, USA
- NYAM, New York Academy of Medicine, USA
- OSTI-DOE, Office of Scientific and Technical Information; Department of Energy USA
- University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
TextRelease realizes that its success over the last six years is largely due to its sustained content base and financial support by committed sponsors. Since its founding in 2003, TextRelease applies the principle of stretch management throughout its workflow processes, where goals are not only higher than in previous years but they are also sustainable. TextRelease realizes that in order to maintain the momentum and harness the potential of its networked services, it will have to move from a sole proprietorship to another type of enterprise in the coming years. Along these lines, TextRelease is open to negotiations with potential major partners/buyers.
See also
- European Association for Grey Literature ExploitationEuropean Association for Grey Literature ExploitationThe “European Association for Grey Literature Exploitation” was created in 1985 by European scientific and technical information centres and libraries in order to produce the bibliographic database “System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe” .The objective was to improve information...
(EAGLE) - Grey Literature International Steering CommitteeGrey Literature International Steering CommitteeThe Grey Literature International Steering Committee was established in 2006 after the 7th International Conference on Grey Literature held in Nancy on 5–6 December 2005....
(GLISC) - OpenSIGLEOpenSIGLEThe OpenSIGLE repository provides open access to the bibliographic records of the former SIGLE database. The creation of the OpenSIGLE archive was decided by some major European STI centres, members of the former European network EAGLE for the collection and dissemination of grey literature...
- System for Information on Grey Literature in EuropeSystem for Information on Grey Literature in EuropeThe “System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe” was established in 1980, two years after a seminar on grey literature organised by the European Commission in York...
(SIGLE) - Gray literatureGray literatureGray literature is a field in library and information science. The term is used variably by the intellectual community, librarians, and medical and research professionals to refer to a body of materials that cannot be found easily through conventional channels such as publishers, "but which is...
- GreyNet LinkedIn Group