Internet Resource of Interest: The Grey Literature Report By Prof. Joan Grassano

Looking for a fact sheet on gun violence and children?  An analysis of racial and ethnic health care disparities in the U.S. male population?  A report examining the impact of the Affordable Care Act on women’s health?  Try The Grey Literature Report, an online publication of the New York Academy of Medicine Library (NYAM). The Grey Literature Report is an invaluable resource for health services research.  Both a current awareness service and a searchable database, The Grey Literature Report helps readers identify and access grey literature documents in the NYAM’s specialty areas of health policy, public health, urban health, global health, prevention, elimination of health disparities, and healthy aging.
What is grey literature? The NYAM Library accepts the definition adopted at the Fourth International Conference of Grey Literature, held in Washington, D.C. in October 1999:  “that which is produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers” (as cited in “What Is Grey”).   To view the extensive list of organizations (with URLs) that contribute documents to The Grey Literature Report, follow this link.  Document types include, but are not limited to, case studies, conference proceedings, fact sheets, issue briefs, research reports, statistical reports and white papers.
 
The NYAM Library applies a highly selective collection development policy to The Grey Literature Report, a particular strength of this resource.  The Report is limited primarily to research-level documents directed at members of the health care community, including researchers, practitioners, academics, policymakers and students.  Consumer health information is, generally, not selected.
 
Health professions faculty, we encourage you to explore The Grey Literature Report to see what it has to offer you and your students.  Freely accessible on the web at http://www.greylit.org, the Report is issued six times per year.  The database, which contains documents produced from the late 1990s to the present, is also updated on a bimonthly basis.  The NYAM invites readers to register for a free subscription to The Grey Literature Report by completing a supplied form.  If you have any questions about this exciting resource, please contact Prof. Joan Grassano by phone (x5478) or email (jgrassano@citytech.cuny.edu).