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"Invisible College"

and "Gray" literature

"Invisible College' describes any community of people who share an interest in a common subject or discipline and communicate informally about it. It is "invisible" because most of this communication is not accessible to the general public. Each discipline has its own "Invisible College."

Also included in this category is so-called "gray" literature, material normally available only through specialized channels and which frequently doesn't pass through normal systems of publication, distribution, and archiving, and is usually not acquired by booksellers or subscription agents. Among these publications are

meeting minutes	preprints	committee reports
proceedings	market surveys	working papers
corporate documents	standards	discussion papers
newsletters	trade literature	house journals

Since most of the information in the "Invisible College" never reaches publication, it is hard to find. The Internet is making some of these communications more available, however. Accessible and important sources of "Invisible College" information are electronic discussion lists, e-conferences, and Internet bulletin boards. Researchers in international studies use many of these forums for communication. For example, there are electronic discussion lists such as CENTRAL-ASIA-STUDIES-L and WORLD-L.

The following web sites provide searchable directories of electronic discussion groups and e-conferences:

• The Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences
  

• E-Mail Discussion Groups/Lists and Resources