Open Access refers to the free and unrestricted online availability of scholarly research. Open Access is one of the most contested topics in scholarly publishing and communication today as it also raises fundamental questions about the nature of the academies and the future of education. In addition to an overview of open access and current initiatives, the talk will highlight the commonality between open access and open source in terms of the mode of production, sharing, reputation management, and sustainability models. Divergence between the two processes and their implications will also be discussed.