A study of grey literature in National Digital Library of India: analyses and trends

Purpose This paper aims to examine the grey literature (GL) in National Digital Library of India (NDLI) with particular reference to synopsis, thesis, report and patent. Design/methodology/approach The National Digital Library of India (NDLI) was used to collect data from types of text content. After filtering text content, learning resource type was refined and four kinds of GL were randomly selected for further analysis in MS Excel. Findings As a primary source of information, a huge number of GL available in text form, in which the availability of reports are maximum, are selected. In NDLI, the majority of the selected grey resources, e.g. report, thesis, synopsis and patent, are open for access. It also discloses the significance of Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), from where majority of GL resources were extracted and the maximum number of resources is available in the English language. Originality/value GL is regarded as a valuable primary source of locally generated information. No such study was carried out specifically regarding NDLI. Besides, this study aids to understand the archiving method of GL. These findings also help the users to filtering or sorting out to access accurate information sources.