Open Textbooks Overview | OER Essentials Guide | Free Online Textbooks | Textbook and Course Materials Guide

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Oregon State University’s Open Educational Resources Unit is proud to lead the development of A Guide to Open Textbook Essential and Exemplary Features—a resource designed to help faculty and institutions create, evaluate, and adopt high-quality open textbooks.

This guide reflects OSU’s long-standing leadership in open education and our commitment to advancing access, affordability, and academic excellence. Developed in collaboration with the Open Education Network, it establishes a shared framework for what “quality” means in open textbooks—grounded in pedagogy, accessibility, equity, and student experience.

Why this guide matters

Open textbooks are transforming higher education by removing cost barriers and expanding access. But “open” alone is not enough. This guide defines the essential and exemplary features that make an open textbook effective, inclusive, and impactful for students.

It offers a clear, practical foundation for building resources that meet the highest standards for learning, usability, and accessibility.

For faculty, leaders, and support teams

• Faculty authors can use the guide as a roadmap for designing engaging, student-centered open textbooks.
• Academic leaders and librarians can rely on it as a common framework for evaluating OER and shaping institutional strategy.
• Instructional designers and support teams can use it to align practices and strengthen campus-wide OER initiatives.

The result is a shared language for quality—one that supports consistency, collaboration, and excellence across institutions.

Open by design

Published under a CC BY 4.0 license, the guide is free to use, adapt, and share. OSU created this resource not only for our own faculty and students, but for the broader higher education community. We invite institutions everywhere to build on it and tailor it to their local context.

By openly sharing this framework, OSU advances a national conversation about quality in open education—and helps ensure that every learner benefits from thoughtfully designed, high-impact resources.

Read, use, and share the guide