Twenty-Third International Conference on Grey Literature
Digital Transformation of Grey Literature: Exploring Next Generation Grey
Grey literature is once again at a crossroads in its known 80 years in the vernacular. It appears that every quarter or more century this field of information faces a change in direction.
In the mid-20th Century, it originated with the collection of government documents – namely war reports. In the years succeeding, it expanded to numerous other types of documents and collections produced by organizations in government as well as academics and business. This period was occupied with the acquisition and document delivery of these scientific and technical materials. It was also during this period that the many problems associated with these materials surfaced, namely their lack of indexing, translation, open access, preservation, and assessed value for science and society.
Since the final decade of the 20th Century up to the present, the field of grey literature has initiated and undertaken evidenced based research hand in hand with technological developments and sustained information management. The problems of the prior period became challenges and this led to programs of research and education in grey literature. This period coincides with the digital transformation of grey
literature. While much has been accomplished in connecting the supply and demand sides of grey literature, the field once again finds itself in transition driven by the fact that the entire information landscape is itself in a period of unprecedented change and flux.
GL2021 offers the many and diverse communities of practice in grey literature a unique opportunity to collaborate in addressing and defining the next phase in the digital transformation of grey literature. Together this can be accomplished by unlocking the potential next generation grey holds for information science and society.
