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Education projects funded by The World Bank procure textbooks and other teaching and learning materials through national and international tenders (bids). Documents for the tenders describe the purposes of the procurement, the qualification requirements for potential bidders, and the technical specifications of the education materials to be procured. The technical specifications provided in a tender significantly impact the cost and quality of the books to be procured and the success of the procurement overall. Precise, complete, and detailed technical specifications must be determined in advance to avoid delays and increase transparency. 

This guide explains standard technical specifications for the most common types of textbooks and teaching and learning materials. Use of these standard specifications will increase cost-effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and comparability of prices. The guide is meant to be used in conjunction with the Read@Home guides to using the World Bank Bidding Document for Books and the Production of Reading Books.