OnlineMaterial

OnlineMaterial is a digital platform designed to host, discover, and share educational and research materials. It combines a repository with community tools to enable collaboration among educators, researchers, and students. Materials cover lecture notes, course syllabi, datasets, software, multimedia, and open textbooks, with emphasis on discoverability and reuse.

Launched in 2012 by a consortium of universities and open science advocates, OnlineMaterial operates as a community-driven, non-profit project. It relies on institutional hosts and individual contributors for content, and on grants and donations for sustainability. The platform supports international content and multilingual resources.

Content is uploaded under open licenses, typically Creative Commons or similar, allowing reuse with attribution. Contributors retain rights as specified by the license; the platform provides licensing metadata and tools to manage attribution, versioning, and compatible formats. Prohibited content policies exist to address copyright and safety concerns.

Features include advanced search with metadata, tagging, and subject indexes; programmatic access via an API; support for multiple formats (PDF, EPUB, HTML, CSV, ZIP), and persistent identifiers for materials. Users can annotate, rate, and remix openly licensed resources, and educators can assemble reading lists or course packs.

Governance combines community representation with an advisory board and a code of conduct. Content quality is supported by community reviews, metadata standards, and curator roles. The project faces ongoing challenges in ensuring long-term sustainability, licensing clarity, and equitable access across regions.

Related topics include open educational resources, digital libraries, and Creative Commons.