The Bloomington Faculty Council unanimously approved an Open Access policy this afternoon that ensures that faculty scholarship will be accessible and available to the public for future generations. Open Access means that scholarly articles are regarded as the fruits of research that authors give to the world for the sake of inquiry and knowledge without expectation of payment. Adopting such a policy reduces barriers to research and learning by making research available on the public internet to be downloaded and shared freely, making it possible for scholarship to be more widely read and cited than literature that appears in closed-access, licensed journal databases. The policy and accompanying FAQ are available on the IUScholarWorks website. More information about the policy's goals and implications can be found on the Scholarly Communication blog.