Expanding the Universe: Social Media as Grey Literature

Abstract

This exploratory paper looks at different aspects of social media as grey literature. The sections are organized by the questions that drive the exploration:

1. Is social media a type of grey literature? 2. Why should libraries focus on unique collections of social media as grey literature? 3. What are the challenges around collecting social media as part of grey literature collections? 4. What does it mean for librarians for the grey literature universe to include social media? To illustrate the questions, this paper uses examples primarily from Twitter in relation to current events in Venezuela.