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An open access community is a digital repository or an online community where scientific information and communication are free to the public through computing technologies (Hanauske, M., et al 2007; Hubbard, C., et al, 2005). Open access community provides a new way for knowledge sharing and knowledge management. It takes advantage of collective expertise by providing a repository for research papers and research data that are scattered or take a long time to be published. The panel will discuss experiences and challenges people face in various open access communities. Particularly, we will discuss the following issues: • How did each community or repository achieve the functions of “organize” and “share” among people having a common interest in the community? • How long did it take to launch and establish an open-access community? • What impact of such an open-access community / repository has on people's interaction with information? Impact on fee-based digital libraries or traditional libraries? • What the tradeoffs are between opened vs. controlled? • How well do they address privacy issues? • How well is current open access community/ repository meeting human needs, and what should future technology research and development involve to better meet user needs?

In a critical analysis of the recent development and deployment of the North American Industry Classification System, this article focuses on the discourse surrounding the creation of the system's "information" category. A close reading of the relevant government documents suggests that the category functions simultaneously to position information as a major sector of the economy and to organize data about information as a commodity. The discourse also points to the continuing complexities involved in conceptualizing information as a measurable object.