Stimulated by a recent discussion with a colleague claiming at first to be a skeptic, even an opponent, of open access,I would like to present my personal view--which my colleague accepted and found totally compatible with his skepticism. The essential idea is this:  Scientific findings and scientific information achieve their values only when they are made available to the communities where such findings and information can be used.  Those findings and information are public goods in the strict economic sense, that they do not lose value by being used.  In fact, scientific information goes beyond the traditional economists' model in that it increases in value with increased use.  This means that the agency that provides financial support for carrying out the research also carries a responsibility for enabling the results of that research to be made available to the audience of potential users.  In short, the supporter of the research is obligated to provide sufficient funding to enable the researcher to publish the results of the work.  The researcher is normally the best judge of what medium or media would be most effective for this. If it happens to be a journal that has page charges, then the funder of the research carries the responsibility of providing the funds to pay those page charges.  It's as simple as that.
Sincerely, Steve Berry
