Summary: The replacement of cosseted information sources with those that are open-access means, I think, that all have fuller access to the universe of search-engine-accessible material. The increase in access doesn't appear to be in proportion to the size of my pocket book. With the information freely available its parsing, extension and interpretation should be speedier and more likely to benefit all.

This movement is now in initial stages--starting in the life sciences because of conditions stipulated by public and private granting agencies; the move is aided as well as by the enhanced republish freedoms given by journals.

Let's do what we can to encourage open-access' spread to all areas of knowledge development and application.

The Reality of Open-Access Journal Articles: "Open access is a reality now, write the authors, and so the academic articles asking what it would look like are now moot. 'The strongest evidence that open access to peer-reviewed articles is here to stay, at least in the life sciences, comes from two developments: the increasing number of agencies and foundations that have begun to require or encourage free online access to publications based on research they have helped finance; and the growing number of journals that allow authors to make their papers freely available.' Via EDUCAUSE. By Andy Glass and Helen Doyle, Chronicle of Higher Education, February 18, 2005