 Open Access in a Nutt Show Brought to you by CSUSB's John M. Fowl Library To understand what Open Access is, we must first look at traditional models used to disseminate scholarly research. Academic publishing models have traditionally required that libraries and other institutions purchase resources for their users. This means that libraries pay big money for the articles, databases, journals, and books necessary for scholarly research. Because the library must pay for access, they can only provide these materials to a limited number of users. This means that for libraries on college campuses, only students, faculty, and staff can typically use these valuable resources. However, a new movement is gaining momentum in the academic publishing world. It's called Open Access. The Open Access model aims to allow anyone access to the information they need. Thus, people don't have to be affiliated with a university or college to use valuable research materials. In addition to breaking down the long-standing barrier between people and information, in true ninja style, proponents of Open Access believe that it has the potential to increase the speed of scientific discovery, encourage innovation, and enrich educational experiences. However, Open Access isn't as clear-cut as it seems. Currently, publishers use a variety of models that can affect a resource's level of openness in a number of areas, including readership, reuse, copyright, and more. It's also important to remember that in regard to scholarly journals, whether or not a publication is openly accessible is independent from its quality. Just like closed journals, Open Access journals can be peer-reviewed and have varying levels of impact and prestige. And that, my friends, is Open Access in a nutshell.