TextRelease 2003-2020

Twenty-First International
Conference on Grey Literature

Open Science Encompasses
New Forms of Grey Literature

German National Library of Science and Technology

Leibnizhaus, Holzmarkt 5
Hannover, Germany • October 22-23, 2019

For more than a quarter century, grey Literature communities have explored ways to open science to other methods of reviewing, publishing, and making valuable information resources publicly accessible.  This Twenty-First International Conference on Grey Literature seeks to demonstrate how the principles of science and advancements in information technology have impacted the field of grey literature and in turn how grey literature by implementing these has contributed to the open science movement. 
Open science is defined as the movement to make scientific research, data and dissemination accessible to all levels of an inquiring society. Grey literature by definition seeks to make publications produced on all levels of government, academics, and business openly accessible different from those controlled by commercial publishing. As such the open science movement incorporates the work carried out by grey literature communities and renders an even broader framework encompassing newer forms of grey in both textual and non-textual formats.
Open science encompasses the life and physical sciences as well the social sciences and humanities as does grey literature. Open science recognizes the value of grey literature in the process of knowledge generation and as such acknowledges contributions made by researchers, authors, and their communities of practice. Open science changes the way research is done and allows for convergence with the field of grey literature. It is within the open science movement that grey literature and its wealth of information resources are valued and properly exploited for society as a whole.