Deutsche Forschungsberichte – eine Sonderform Grauer Literatur in der Technischen Informationsbibliothek (TIB)

Rückblick auf über ein halbes Jahrhundert Bestandsaufbau und Ausblick in die Zukunft

Abstract

Since 1969, the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) in Hanover has systematically collected German research reports at the joint suggestion of the Federal Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). These are unpublished final reports of federal German research projects that were predominantly funded with public money. Since these research results are not available through the book trade and the reports frequently also neither have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) nor an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), the German Research Reports belong to the genre of grey literature. For many years, TIB has been the depository library for the final reports of various research-funding institutions, including several federal ministries. The collection of German research reports currently consists of more than 300,000 printed and 100,000 electronic reports, which are freely accessible on the internet. In addition to describing special features of the acquisition and cataloguing of the German research reports, this paper outlines the possibilities for the publication process due to the future use of a repository, including digital preservation, in the context of the Open Access transformation.