Gray Literature - Definition

Definition

The concept of grey literature is historical. Some decades ago the term grey literature did not exist as a category although what is considered grey today was among the existent literature. When Butterworths published the first edition of Charles P. Auger’s landmark work on grey literature in 1975, paradoxically neither the summary nor the index mentioned this term. The book was just about reports literature (Auger, 1975). Despite the absence of a label, Auger described the nature of this “vast body of documents” in a way that would later characterize grey literature, referring to its “continuing increasing quantity”, the “difficulty it presents to the librarian”, its ambiguity between temporary character and durability, and its growing impact on scientific production. He also pointed out the “number of advantages over other means of dissemination, including greater speed, greater flexibility and the opportunity to go into considerable detail if necessary”. For Auger, reports were a “half-published” communication medium with a “complex interrelationship (to) scientific journals”.

“Semi-published literature” is a connotation of grey literature. But it reminds, too, that one can speak about reports without a generic concept. Auger promoted the term of “grey literature” only in the 2nd edition of his book. Since then, the meaning of “GL” remained a challenge to scientists and librarians. Does “GL” make sense? Is it necessary? Is it (still) helpful for the study and processing of scientific literature? Or using a variation on the famous quote from Dorothy L. Sayers, will it “run away (…) like cows if you look (it) in the face hard enough”?

There are several definitions of grey literature, the most common being the so-called “Luxembourg definition,” which was discussed and approved during the Third International Conference on Grey Literature in 1997: “ that which is produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers.” In 2004, at the Sixth Conference in New York, a postscript was added for purposes of clarification “...not controlled by commercial publishers, i.e., where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body”.

The Luxemburg definition accentuates the supply side of grey literature, e.g., its production and publication both in print and electronic formats. It calls attention to the question of dissemination, the difficulty to identify and access documents described as ephemeral, non-conventional or underground.

Material that “may not enter normal channels or systems of publication, distribution, bibliographic control, or acquisition by booksellers or subscription agents” (U.S. Interagency Gray Literature Working Group): this concept meets Mackenzie Owen’s observation that “grey does not imply any qualification (but) is merely a characterization of the distribution mode” (1997).

Internet transforms the whole value chain of publishing. The Web offers new tools and channels for producing, disseminating and assessing scientific literature. Author and reader, producer and consumer change their information behaviour. We definitely left the Gutenberg era. So what about the definition of grey literature? Is it still empirically sound?

The definition of grey literature is also an economic definition. With the changing research environment and new channels of scientific communication, it becomes clear that grey literature needs a new conceptual framework.

The Grey Literature Network Service defines grey literature as "information produced 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." (Luxembourg, 1997 - Expanded in New York, 2004).

The U.S. Interagency Gray Literature Working Group (IGLWG) defines grey literature as "foreign or domestic open source material that usually is available through specialized channels and may not enter normal channels or systems of publication, distribution, bibliographic control, or acquisition by booksellers or subscription agents" in its "Gray Information Functional Plan", published in January 1995.