Open Access as a model for the future? So writes Evelyn Harvey in a news report at Nature Network. Is open access publishing an unstoppable force? Does it face immovable objects in the shape of publication costs, quality control and copyright? These were questions addressed by the third Lonon open research conference last month.

The successes of open access were highlighted by some speakers: it makes research available without access barriers or subscription costs. BioMedCentral and others believe they have shown that it can be a strong publishing business model. There were also various demonstrations of personalised readership profiles that can be created using metrics such as number of times a paper is downloaded.

The problems include the removal of the main source of income for scientific societies, and a possible compromise in quality via self-publication and inadequate review.

Evelyn writes that most delegates agreed that open access is here to stay, but that big challenges lay ahead. As one researcher said when confronted with the copyright risks: “My problem isn’t plagiarism, it’s obscurity!”.

Nature’s two extensive debates on access to the literature, including commissioned articles from a range of perspectives, can be read here (free access!).