What is Scientific Electronic Library Online

“If I have seen further it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” The famous statement of Sir Isaac Newton demonstrates that the progress of science relies on the dissemination of discoveries and scientific knowledge. Even though scientific progress is not strictly cumulative (Kuhn, 1970) information sharing is the heart of this progress. Nowadays, scientific knowledge is mainly spread through scholarly journals, that is, highly specialized journals where quality controls and certifications are achieved through peer-review. The first section of this chapter will present the specificity of the current economic model of scientific publications. The second section will introduce to the open access movement and to its emerging economic model. The third section will show the growing implication of governments in that movement.