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The purpose of this paper is to address issues in grey literature (GL) management and to proffer solutions to the problems. The specific aims are: to identify the categories of grey materials stocked, and the method of acquisition; to examine the method of GL management and the degree of access in Illinois state libraries; and also to identify the challenges/solutions to the problems associated with GL management and access.

A survey was conducted in Illinois state, USA in 2010, using an online questionnaire posted to various listservs used by 118 academic libraries in Illinois, including those of the Consortia of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois and the Illinois Association of College and Research Libraries. The online survey questionnaire was designed to identify the categories of grey materials stocked by libraries, the method of acquisition and organization, the degree of access and the challenges/solutions to the problems associated with GL management and access. Simple frequencies and percentage were used in data analyses.

The study identified various categories of grey stocked, including: theses and dissertations, faculty works, conference proceedings, research reports, in‐house publications of associations, government documents and translations. The study diagnosed various challenges in the organization and dissemination of GL, and solutions to the challenges in order to ensure optimal access and utilization of grey materials.

The implication of this work is that institutional and subject repositories are needed in order to aggregate these useful resources into globally accessible databases, where the resources will be rediscovered through international catalogues such as online computer library center and major web search engines such as Google. The end result will showcase the value of these resources to the public for greater access and utilization.

The knowledge gained will help to more effectively manage and harness the current and factual contents of grey materials, for quality education, research and national advancement. The paper will be of benefit to libraries, librarians, educationists, researchers and decision makers globally.

Content recruitment is a very crucial aspect of institutional repository (IR), and yet, a major challenge in the implementation of an IR system. Literature highlighted the numerous issues associated with IR implementation in the Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, and the necessity to review and tackle the divergent challenges of institutional repositories. This study aims to address the issues of awareness, knowledge and attitude of lecturers towards institutional repositories in university libraries in Nigeria.

The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. A multistage sampling procedure was used to sample 751 lecturers of the universities in Nigeria and eight heads of the digitization section of the libraries. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The findings revealed that majority of the lecturers in Nigeria are either unfamiliar with the term IR or have very little level of knowledge on the aims and objectives of IR, and therefore have low disposition to submitting their work. The study identified various options to resolve the problem of awareness, knowledge and pessimistic attitude of lecturers towards IRs, including massive awareness and enlightenment programmes on the subject of IR and on copyright issues within the university communities in Nigeria.

The study will enhance the awareness and advocacy of IR in Nigeria. The awareness and knowledge of IR will bring about positive attitudinal change of lecturers towards investing into IRs.