The document discusses open access and academic research libraries in North America. It notes that while information wants to be free, it also wants to be expensive due to its value. It outlines support for open access from groups like SPARC, ARL, and ACRL. Barriers to open access in North America include a lack of mandates from universities and a lack of a concerted national effort. Forces encouraging change include the financial crisis and growing mandates and awareness from universities and researchers. Future trends may include libraries partnering with hybrid publishers and the growth of open access publishers who can publish quickly and impactfully while maintaining reasonable fees.