Imagine a world where scientists and inventors had no access to the accomplishments of the generations which came before us. The wheel would, quite literally, need to be reinvented by everyone who came along and wanted to move forward.

Calling this a dark age would be no exaggeration. "Standing on the shoulders of giants" has become a standard mantra of scientists for now hundreds of years. Being able to access the research and scholarly works of others is a critical part to advancing our understanding of humanity and the world around us. Key to this in the modern age is open access. "Open access refers to the practice of making peer-reviewed scholarly research and literature freely available online to anyone interested in reading it."

To learn more about open access, we're proud to present a new open access resource, which helps to answer many of the fundamental questions around open access and scholarly sharing.

What is open access?

What are the origins of open access?

Why does open access matter?

Who benefits from open access?

What can I do to encourage open access?

Where can I learn more about open access?

So check out our new open access resource, learn a little bit more about open access, and if you've got question, let us know here in the comments!