The Open Access Initiative secures the supply of information in the new digital age and has developed from a "side area" to a future-oriented paradigm of scientific publication. This means:

• New means of obtaining and spreading information; the precise information for the problem is searched in the full text, no matter where and by whom a text is published.
• Science takes place in a globally acting Science Community where a new generation of scientists on the internet increasingly directs the development of research.
• There are already first signs that the publication of primary research data is going to develop into a new area of scientific publishing.

Open Access Publications are information accessible on the internet

• that is free of charge and barriers for users
• that is archived reliably and durably and
• which authors and copyright owners agreed to be published in this form.

Concise information about the Open Access Initiative and the different ways of Open Access Publishing can be found at http://open-access.net