Abstract
This article examines the development and impact of the California Open Education Resources (OER) Council, which coordinated efforts to promote open educational resources across public higher education systems. The authors compare initiatives to atolls, islands and archipelagos to describe how individual projects, institutions and statewide networks contribute to a growing open education landscape. The article details the Council’s structure, accomplishments and challenges, and offers recommendations for building a cohesive OER ecosystem in California and beyond.