Reports, conferences
and theses are documents which are often difficult to identify
and acquire through normal bookselling channels. They are some times
referred to as ‘grey literature’. The British Library
makes special efforts to acquire and make available this type of
material through the Library’s Document
Supply service.
The British Library probably has the most comprehensive collection of
public available reports, conferences and theses in the
world, covering all subject disciplines.
The reports collection includes British research and practice reports,
and reports distributed by US and international agencies. The Library’s
Document Supply service has built up what is probably the largest,
most comprehensive collection in the world of unrestricted reports
available for public use. Approximately 4.9 million are held in
total.
It is internationally recognised that conference material is important
to collect; papers given at conferences fulfil a distinct function in
the field of research. Fortunately, the British Library acknowledges their
importance and has built up probably has the most comprehensive and easily
accessible collection of conference publications in the world.
Theses are a major source of research and we hold many thousands in our
collection. Our holdings consist mainly of UK and North American doctoral
theses. The British Thesis
Service provides access to most of the doctoral
theses awarded by British universities since the early 1970s.
