This document discusses access to scientific information in the past, present, and future. It describes how the traditional publishing model worked for 60 years but is now broken due to rising costs. Maintaining a 4% annual growth rate of scientific research is crucial for economic and social progress but is at risk if access to information is limited. New models of open access aim to make scientific articles freely available online through digital repositories and funding consortiums. While opening access provides benefits like increased citations and readership, the immediate costs of lost opportunities for discovery if nothing changes are a serious concern.