Where is the Grey literature- it’s a grey grey world

On 10^th October a community from across the nation will come together to look at the issue of grey literature under the theme of enhancing the transparency and accessibility of informally published research and information.  I encourage you to attend to discuss the demise of government publications and the effect of this on transparency of government policy and decision making, amongst other issues.

There will be many presentations on a range of grey literature issues.

  My presentation will focus on government publications.

So what is happening with government publishing? A few key points:

·         Government publications have reduced by approximately 50% in the past decade

·         90% of government publications are online, around 10% are not (Australian National Audit Office on online availability of government documents tabled in the Parliament)

·         Analysing the online publications of an agency produced in 2001 reveals that approximately a third are “digital dust”

·         Dynamic data, which used to be published permanently in print, is now overwritten and historic material is no longer available

·         Finding publications is onerous and exhausting.

·         Rights management is complex and confusing for anyone seeking to reuse materials. The gamut of Creative commons licences and Crown Copyright are used – we do not yet have truly open access.

All in all there is much to discuss and seek change in to delivery on the government’s promise of open and transparent policy and decision making. Do come along for a challenging and stimulating conversation!

http://eidos.org.au/v2/documents/grey_lit/GreyLiterature_NCS_2012_Brochure.pdf

Roxanne Missingham
ANU