This document discusses open access and provides information about what open access means, why it is important, and different ways to make work openly accessible. It describes how open access means research is free, digital, and available immediately with few restrictions. It explains why open access is important for taxpayer funded research to be available to the public. It also outlines different open access models like self-archiving in repositories or publishing in open access journals. The document discusses the European perspective on open access and the open access mandates and policies of the European Commission and Horizon 2020.