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To report on the 6th International Conference on Grey Literature held December 6 and 7, 2004, at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City.

A summary of the main points of the conference.

Grey literature has been affected by the trends in the field of information and publishing that include more electronic information, information as a commodity and not as a public good, publishers who want more security for their information, the hypertexualization of information, the lack of infrastructures for the information community, the ability to search information, the currency of information online, and the researchability of digital information.

This report is of interest to library and information management professionals and those interested in how grey literature had been transformed in recent years.

The title of this paper rather implies that UAP is concerned specifically with grey literature, therefore I shall begin with some clarification of the UAP programme. While considerable effort has been put into publicizing the programme, I am confident that not all will be familiar with it and that some may not even know what the initials stand for, which is—Universal Availability of Publications. UAP is an objective and a programme developed by IFLA—the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions—which enjoys the full support of Unesco. The objective is the widest possible availability of published material (that is, recorded knowledge issued for public use) to intending users, wherever and whenever they need it, as an essential element in economic, scientific, technical, social, educational and personal development. To work towards this objective the programme aims to improve availability at all levels, from the local to the international, and at all stages, from the publication of new material to the retention of last copies, both by positive action and by the removal of barriers. It should be seen as a major element in a wider concept of Universal Access to Information. It concerns most of the activities of a conventional library, but only that part of the activities of a documentation centre or information service related to the collection and supply of publications. It may be noted though, that the distinction between traditional libraries and documentation centres is becoming increasingly indistinct, and that new publishing methods using machine‐readable processes are contributing to a gradual but accelerating erosion of distinctions between various kinds of supplier. Publishers will probably take on some of the roles of libraries and vice versa, with increasing contact and co‐operation between the sectors. This is an area to which I shall return later.

The aim of this study is to identify the status of managing gray literature (GL) in medical science libraries in terms of three dimensions, collection development, organization and dissemination.

In this survey study, a structured questionnaire was used. The questionnaire consisted of 30 questions and consisted of six sections (demographic characteristics, the use of the term GL, types of GL, collection development, organization and dissemination). In total, 50 librarians from 15 medical science libraries participated in this study. The questionnaires were distributed manually to librarians by visiting libraries. All the librarians filled in the questionnaires. It should be noted that descriptive statistics and Excel and SPSS software were used for data analysis.

The results of using the term GL showed that 68 per cent of librarians use the source name itself. Most GL in libraries were theses (94 per cent). Moreover, a review of the status of GL collection showed that 60 per cent of libraries had written instructions for providing these resources. A total of 62 per cent of librarians stated that there is a GL selection committee in their library and the librarian is the most important member of the collection department. A total of 40 per cent of libraries were weeding GL. The most common way of obtaining GL was through deposition. The analysis of the status of GL organization indicated that 80 per cent of libraries had GL organization. A total of 90 per cent of libraries had digitized GL, and that librarians played a large role in organizing such resources. Evaluation of the dissemination of GL showed that all libraries have enabled users to access GL. In most libraries, users were only allowed to use GL in the library, and it was not possible to copy GL. Students and faculty members were the most important users of GL. Informing through the library website and the parent organization was the most important way of informing about these resources.

GL is one of the most important resources in medical and non-medical academic libraries. In this study, for the first time, the status of GL management in Iranian libraries of medical sciences was investigated. The results of this study can be useful for policymakers and managers of medical and non-medical libraries.

A dynamic retailing format is emerging in metropolitan cities across the USA: the underground mall (UGM). The UGM is a place of trade where a cluster of socially networked buyers (i.e. potential customers) and sellers (i.e. retailers) meet face‐to‐face in a private setting (i.e. in the seller's garage or in a neighborhood clubhouse) for the purpose of trade. This study seeks to detail how this unique retailing format operates and examines factors influencing consumption within this gray market.

Two theories were utilized in developing a framework for data collection: gray markets and market embeddedness. Data were collected via in‐depth interviews with 16 UGM shoppers. The data were analyzed and interpreted according to the protocol for phenomenology.

A combination of diverse retailing and socialization benefits drives the gray market of the UGM. Retailing benefits include a wide variety of vendors and products, unique items, convenience, a personalized shopping experience, and a comfortable shopping context. Socialization benefits include strengthening interpersonal relationships and building connections within one's community.

This study makes an important contribution to the gray marketing literature. The findings illustrate that a combination of diverse retailing and socialization benefits, not price, drives this particular gray market.

This research is original to the gray market, market embeddedness, and retailing literatures within the field of marketing. The findings of this study suggest that consumer motives for shopping in the gray market of the UGM are more hedonic than utilitarian in nature.

Literature and research are emerging in an effort to contribute to strategy development and implementation to address these challenges. Currently, there is no readily identified study that combines examination of both academic and grey (i.e. media, government, and non-government reports) literature in a recent time frame (2019–2023) focused specifically on identification of the factors that influence attrition and retention rates; or detailed studies that have evaluated the implementation of strategies to address these challenges within the law enforcement and policing employment field. The study presented in this article seeks to add to the body of knowledge informed by recent (2019–2023) literature and in parallel offer insight into the critical areas of influence to be considered by police and law enforcement decision-makers.

The study utilised the PRISMA-P concept for systematic reviews as a general guide for identifying appropriate literature which revealed a total of 37 academic peer-reviewed articles and 21 grey literature documents contributing to identification of five overarching areas influencing attrition and retention.

The study identified the following factors contributing to attrition and retention: Job satisfaction and organisational factors; Supervision; Work-life balance; Recruitment, Training and Officer expectations; Financial compensation and job alternatives. There are differences in factors between this study and previous studies, i.e. recruitment strategies related to officer expectations was identified as a contributing factor. These additional factors offer a further contribution to future policy and strategy deliberations and implementations to address the workforce levels within police agencies.

Future research endeavours may include examining the outcomes of strategic endeavours addressing the five core influencing factors for retention of law enforcement and police officers.

The identification of these five factors drawn from the literature review offers potential direction/areas of concentration for law enforcement and policing agencies to direct their efforts in addressing retention and attrition of staff.

Currently, there is no readily identified study that (a) combines examination of both academic and grey (i.e. media, government and non-government reports) literature in a recent time frame (2019–2023) focused specifically on identification of the factors that influence attrition and retention rates; or detailed studies for addressing these challenges within the law enforcement and policing employment field. The study presented in this article seeks to address this gap in the literature and in parallel offer insight into the critical areas of influence to be considered by police and law enforcement decision-makers.

To share the major presentations of the 7th International Conference and explore more fully the future of grey literature – what is grey today?

A review of the main topics covered.

The range of papers was extensive and contained examples of information systems and networks, partnering and OAI, role of repositories, document supply and delivery, curriculum and instructional developments, and relationships with many publishing entities.

Of value to information management professionals.

Research on grey systems is becoming more sophisticated, and grey relational and prediction analyses are receiving close review worldwide. Particularly, the application of grey systems in marine economics is gaining importance. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and review literature on grey models, providing new directions in their application in the marine economy.

This paper organized seminal studies on grey systems published by Chinese core journal database – CNKI, Web of Science and Elsevier from 1982 to 2018. After searching the aforementioned database for the said duration, the authors used the CiteSpace visualization tools to analyze them.

The authors sorted the studies according to their countries/regions, institutions, keywords and categories using the CiteSpace tool; analyzed current research characteristics on grey models; and discussed their possible applications in marine businesses, economy, scientific research and education, marine environment and disasters. Finally, the authors pointed out the development trend of grey models.

Although researches are combining grey theory with fractals, neural networks, fuzzy theory and other methods, the applications, in terms of scope, have still not met the demand. With the increasingly in-depth research in marine economics and management, international marine economic research has entered a new period of development. Grey theory will certainly attract scholars’ attention, and its role in marine economy and management will gain considerable significance.

This paper aims to examine the grey literature (GL) in National Digital Library of India (NDLI) with particular reference to synopsis, thesis, report and patent.

The National Digital Library of India (NDLI) was used to collect data from types of text content. After filtering text content, learning resource type was refined and four kinds of GL were randomly selected for further analysis in MS Excel.

As a primary source of information, a huge number of GL available in text form, in which the availability of reports are maximum, are selected. In NDLI, the majority of the selected grey resources, e.g. report, thesis, synopsis and patent, are open for access. It also discloses the significance of Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), from where majority of GL resources were extracted and the maximum number of resources is available in the English language.

GL is regarded as a valuable primary source of locally generated information. No such study was carried out specifically regarding NDLI. Besides, this study aids to understand the archiving method of GL. These findings also help the users to filtering or sorting out to access accurate information sources.

The purpose of this paper is to nuance the perception about professional documentation (a.k.a. “grey literature”), assuming perception of documentation being a cultural aspect of accessibility.

The study explores variations within the archaeological report genre through a bibliometric analysis of source use. Source characteristics are explored as well as correlations between report authors and source originators. Statistical frequency distribution is complemented by a correspondence analysis and a k-means cluster analysis to explore patterns. The patterns are interpreted as “frames of references” and related to circumstances for archaeological work. The study also discusses source representations.

The source use patterns reveal a latent variation, not visible in the general analysis: a professional/academic frame of reference (mainly among authors affiliated with incorporated businesses and sole proprietorships) and an administrative frame of reference (mainly among authors affiliated with government agencies, foundations, and member associations) emerge.

The study focuses on Swedish field evaluation reports. Future research could test the results in relation to other types of reports and go beyond the document perspective to explore source use in documentation practices.

The results on variations in frames of references among report writers have implication for report readers and user. The results should also be considered in archaeology management and policy-making. On the level of source representation the results call for clarifications of vague representations and possibly omitted sources.

This study contextualizes archaeological information use and focuses on variations in professional archaeology which has received little previous research attention. The bibliometric approach complements previous qualitative studies of archaeological information.