  Open Access to particle physics literature does not sound particularly new or
exciting, since particle physicists have been reading preprints for decades,
and arXiv.org for 15 years. However new movements in Europe are attempting to
make the peer-reviewed literature of the field fully Open Access. This is not a
new movement, nor is it restricted to this field. However, given the field's
history of preprints and eprints, it is well suited to a change to a fully Open
Access publishing model. Data shows that 90% of HEP published literature is
freely available online, meaning that HEP libraries have little need for
expensive journal subscriptions. As libraries begin to cancel journal
subscriptions, the peer review process will lose its primary source of funding.
Open Access publishing models can potentially address this issue. European
physicists and funding agencies are proposing a consortium, SCOAP3, that might
solve many of the objections to traditional Open Access publishing models in
Particle Physics. These proposed changes should be viewed as a starting point
for a serious look at the field's publication model, and are at least worthy of
attention, if not adoption.
