From ICommons wiki

• Open Access Introduction (short) by Peter Suber
• Open Access Overview (long) by Peter Suber
• The Green and the Gold Roads to Open Access - Drawing the distinction between affordability and access.
• In Oldenburg's Long Shadow by Jean Claude Guedon - an in-depth overview of the history of the scholarly publishing issues behind open access.

In general you'll find an extraordinary introductory resource at Peter Suber's Open Access pages. Subscribe to his newsletter and blog, and find links to just about anything in the open access world. Much of this Framework comes from his work, and we owe him not only attribution but thanks and deep respect. Similar thanks and deep respect to Stevan Harnad, American Scientist Open Access Forum, and others at the University of Southampton, whose contributions to self-archiving also deserve not only attribution but thanks and deep respect.

• Open Access Webliography (blibliography, directories, projects...) by Adrian K. Ho and Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

• John Wilbanks, Another reason for opening access to research, British Medical Journal 2006;333:1306-1308 (23 December)