Today, I wish to speak a little bit about my observations and concerns about what is happening in North America and in Europe in the area of scientific publishing. Part of my talk will touch upon economic and political environments as well, so a few disclaimers are needed: I am not an economist, I am not a political scientist, and I am not a publisher. I used to be a scientist, but I am not one now. I am a librarian, and my remarks are based on 17 years of observation and experience as a librarian. However, libraries exist in a political and economic context, not in a vacuum. Because of this, I believe that our context needs to be examined, as well as the intimate workings of our profession. In my presentation, I will discuss the traditional or historic model of scientific communication, some changes that have occurred in the past two decades, how the political/economic environment affects the dissemination of scientific information, and some ways to meet some of the challenges presented.