Mainstreaming Grey Literature in Research Library Collections in Kenya

摘要

Grey literature can be perceived as the unpublished content produced by academic, research, public and private institutions. Grey literature comprises newsletters, reports, working papers, theses, government documents, bulletins, fact sheets, conference proceedings, minutes, PowerPoint presentations and other publications which are generally produced for internal, localised and short-term purposes. The available evidence indicates that grey literature is steadily becoming an important source of research information. There is consensus amongst researchers that grey literature provides glimpses of research trends even before the formal publication of results. Grey literature also provides background information such as statistics, facts, overviews and research summaries which are important for new or ongoing research projects. Most researchers also agree that grey literature complements scientific sources (e.g. journals) in the provision of research information.