Documents distributed by their authors (individuals or organizational units) but not distributed through official government channels, e.g., Canada Communication Group (CCG), or departmental distribution services. Copies of grey literature are usually distributed in limited numbers.
A term, mainly used by librarians, to describe material that isn't available commercially and hasn't been formally published. An example of grey literature would be an internal report produced for use within an organization.
Unpublished or un-indexed reports. These can include conference proceedings, non-indexed journals, internal reports, pharmaceutical industry reports and student dissertations and theses.
Technical reports, internal documents, theses and other literature which have not been formally published. The web allows research institutions and other organizations to make available, to a wide audience, materials which would normally be difficult to locate.
see Non-Conventional Literature
Documentary material in print and electronic formats, such as reports, preprints, internal documents (memoranda, newsletters, market surveys, etc.), theses and dissertations, conference.proceedings, technical specifications and standards, trade literature, etc., not readily available through regular market channels because it was never commercially published/listed or was not widely distributed.
Material which might not be formally published, such as institutional reports. It can be difficult to trace, but the MOPS Unit can help.
Working documents, pre-prints, research papers, statistical documents, and other difficult-to-access materials that are not controlled by commercial publishers. Also spelled Gray literature.