Serials Contract SOW 2025.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK – LIBRARY SERIALS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE

1. Background and Purpose

Solicitation Summary The Library anticipates a continuing need to obtain recurring publications, subscriptions, serials, and annuals. Subscription and serials management services can be found in the commercial marketplace. The Library desires a base year plus four options year contract to begin 7/1/2025.

General Information A/SKS/PPKM/KLM, The Bureau of Administration; Privacy, Policy, and Knowledge Management; Knowledge and Library Management; Ralph J. Bunche Library provides print and online publications (periodicals) to the Department of State (DOS) staff and policy analysists in support of the formulation of foreign policy. The purpose of this statement of work is to request the renewal of services currently provided by existing contract 19AQMM24P0672. The existing contract provides the professional services of a subscription management agent.

The Library provides print and online publications to DOS staff through publications paid for with A Bureau library funding. The library also provides print and online publications to DOS staff through geographic bureau funding and functional bureau funding routed through the library, in essence, the library places orders for print and online publications on behalf of end users in bureaus and posts overseas. A subscription agent will oversee and coordinate the Ralph J. Bunche Library’s (Library) serial, periodical, and annual subscriptions.

The US Department of State’s Ralph J. Bunche Library has a requirement for a subscription management service.

The following is a profile of the Library’s current serial management portfolio:

1. Serial Subscriptions (Titles and Collections) in the Library’s Holdings : 159

2. Serial Subscriptions (Titles and Collections) Placed by the Library in Support of Bureaus and Posts : 40

3. Bunche Library has the potential to place orders for 373 unique DOS offices which would need to be individually tracked by the serials management system provided by the Vendor.

The Library subscribes to serials, reoccurring publications, and annually published works from both major and small publishers. These publishers include, yet are not limited to, Taylor and Francis, Inside Washington Publishers, Cambridge University Press, Springer USA, Oxford University Press, Routledge Publishing, Brill, SAGE Publications, Inc., De Gruyter, VLEX JUSTIS LTD, Palgrave MacMillan, Law Business Research, Cuba Media LLC, Countrywatch.com, The United Nations, Johns Hopkins University Press, American Association for the Advancement of Science, JOC Group, Wolters Kluwer, Chronicle of Higher Education, Informa, and American Interest.

The serials manager assigns a unique Bureau Customer code to an individual point of contact (or a team name point of contact) at that Bureau, and corresponds to Bureau names/acronyms, as well as specified delivery addresses, both physical for mailed or shipped items, and email addresses for electronic delivery. Despite the use of multiple shipping addresses, the vendor must simultaneously support the use of one billing address.

Group collections are made available to specific offices within Bureaus when serial titles allow for multiple users per subscription. This could include terms such as “up to four users,” or “five or more users.” It is typical for a point of contact to be named for each office receiving a group subscription. Example: The Library may assist with a group subscription for four users for World Trade Online and Inside US Trade for the EAP Bureau and may work with John Doe of the EAP Bureau to verify requirements.

As the Library continues to build the Acquisitions Services program on behalf of geographic and functional bureaus, Library purchasing is expected to grow. The Library anticipates an increase in both the number of unique Customer codes, and in the number of subscription orders made on behalf of individual offices.

It is less burden on the Government and the vendor to renew a subscription with an existing vendor than starting a new subscription with a new vendor each year. There are efficiencies to be realized by using the same vendor repeatedly with subscriptions. The Library has a requirement for the vendor to furnish all qualified personnel, facilities, and supplies for the placement of new and renewal subscriptions to single and multiple addresses for domestic and foreign serials and periodicals published in paper and other formats, and for related services.

2. Basic Requirements

This solicitation is for the acquisition of a serial subscription management service for the Ralph J. Bunche Library, U.S. Department of State. The vendor shall provide subscription services that would include all the tasks necessary to execute and manage orders for new and renewal subscriptions to serial publications, both print and electronic. The vendor must provide subscription services for all subscriptions in all media generally available via agents from foreign and domestic (U.S.) publishers.

Subscription management tasks fall into the following six critical areas:

A) Ordering and renewing subscriptions B) Serving as the Customer’s fiscal agent with publishers, including making timely prepayments and payments, processing refunds, and handling supplemental or bill-later charges C) Facilitating timely access to subscriptions, both print and online, and assisting with the claiming of ordered but not yet received subscriptions D) Providing reports and other administrative support for serials management E) Providing an electronic system for self-service information regarding prospective, new, renewal, and previously ordered subscription information F) Providing Customer & technical support with all aspects of the contract

3. Detailed Requirements / Scope of Work

A) Ordering and renewing subscriptions

1) Place orders for Memberships to academic and professional organizations that supply publications

2) Place a new print subscription

3) Place a new online subscription

4) Renew a print subscription

5) Renew an online subscription

6) Accommodate late subscription renewal orders

7) Accommodate an added copy in an existing subscription period of service

8) Within 120 days of the master renewal date, vendor shall provide a complete list of previously ordered subscriptions for the library and offices and posts to consider for renewal

9) Place all new and renewal orders within five (5) working days after the receipt of the Delivery/Purchase Order from the Library, or the receipt of the renewal list

10) Order delays are allowed only by prior written agreement

11) If the vendor has agreements with publishers that establish terms for batch orders and/or payments, then the orders must be entered and confirmed within the original five-day period

12) Vendor is required to place subscription orders at any time during the fiscal year, unless prohibited by the publisher

13) Upon receipt of a Customer order requesting a “rush order”, the vendor shall endeavor to transmit the order to the publisher within 24 hours

14) Vendor must accept subscription orders at any time of year. The State Department does not intend to use a serial management service to renew a list of subscriptions solely at a single time of year

15) Vendor will facilitate the delivery of title pages, content lists, or other materials that are normally supplied by publishers at no additional cost

16) Vendor shall work to provide sample copies of subscription titles when requested

17) All subscription cancellations shall be accomplished within five business days upon appropriate notification from the Library

B) Serving as the Customer’s fiscal agent with publishers, including making timely prepayments and payments, processing refunds, and handling supplemental or bill-later charges

1) Provide pricing and publication information that relate to price

2) Modify pricing to accommodate international delivery

3) Apply a volume discount based on the number of copies ordered

4) If the library requests a specific subscription time period, the vendor shall assist in pro-rating the price to match the requested specified subscription period

5) If publications are only available through a direct order arrangement, or become discontinued, suspended, or otherwise unavailable, the vendor shall notify the Library, office or post on or before invoicing, or at the time the renewal notifications are sent

6) Vendor shall supply, upon request and at no charge, a listing by title showing “bill later” titles billed versus those not yet billed

7) Vendor must have the financial capability to pre-pay publishers for serials subscriptions and to then invoice the Library

8) Failure to maintain adequate financial responsibility may disqualify the vendor for placement of orders under this contract

9) Vendor shall make additional payments as necessary and will be required to adjust for unforeseen contingencies, such as currency fluctuations, and additional volumes

10) Vendor shall provide support to the Library in tracking funds obligated and items ordered

11) Vendor shall provide, by request, best estimates of possible outstanding supplemental and bill-later charges

12) Vendor shall provide a report of estimated outstanding charges prior to the end of the fiscal year if requested by the Library

13) If no subscription refunds will be recovered under a cancellation, the vendor will notify the Library

14) If subscription refunds are recovered, they must be promptly credited to the Customer and no administrative fee shall be charged

15) In the case where replacements are unavailable and refunds are offered instead, the vendor shall provide to the Library a credit in full of all amounts refunded by the publishers

16) In those instances in which a refund has been requested due to timely cancellation of a subscription, the vendor shall provide written evidence of their attempts to secure the refund for the Government

C) Facilitating timely access to subscriptions, both print and online, and assisting with the claiming of ordered but not yet received subscriptions

1) Provide a comprehensive inventory of missing issue copies

2) Provide a comprehensive inventory of back issues

3) Provide replacement copies of print issues

4) Contact the publisher to request a missing issue

5) Contact the publisher to restore access to a lockout of online issues

6) Vendor must cancel outstanding orders, (publisher permitting) if requested by the Library

7) Vendor shall be responsible for facilitating delivery of all ordered material published within a given subscription period

8) Vendor shall notify each Customer of special issues, indexes, and unnumbered supplements not included in the subscription price

9) Special Order Items shall be made available at the publisher’s price and a firm fixed percent service fee with no additional charges other than handling and shipping costs

10) Vendor shall acquire back issues of a subscription title for up to one year if the back issue/s is/are attainable by routine means

11) Vendor shall place all claims with the publisher within a minimum of five working days after receipt

12) Within 60 days of reporting to vendor, vendor shall act as the contact in obtaining replacement copies of periodicals found to be defective, mutilated, lost in transit, or otherwise missing issues.

Claims types shall include:

a) missing issues

b) damaged issues

c) gaps in receipt of a title

d) non-start of a new order or renewal

e) error in consignee address

f) duplicate issues received

13) Vendor shall handle claims (requesting missing issues) for any subscription (for up to 90 days after the termination date of the subscription)

14) Vendor shall offer electronic claims services. The vendor must be able to handle EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) for claims stemming from Integrated Library Systems, including OCLC WMS

15) Vendor shall accept rush claims electronically, by telephone and process them in fewer than five working days, whenever feasible

16) Vendor shall include the following information in all publisher claim notices:

i. Title being claimed

ii. Specific issues

iii. Date of vendor's order to publisher

iv. Order period

v. Amount paid

vi. Proof of payment (complete check information)

17) Vendor must, at no additional cost, provide the Library with the ability to locate back issues of claimed publications that are no longer available from publisher(s)

18) Vendor must house a rolling inventory of physical back issues of publications to fill claims for missing issues, if the specific requested issues are shown as unavailable from publishers

19) Library may report access issues with subscribed-to publications to the vendor, whereupon the vendor will be expected to explain or research the outage, and, when necessary, correspond with the publisher to restore access

D) Providing reports and other administrative support for serials management

1) Vendor shall be responsible for ensuring that all orders are completed and invoices issued

2) Provide Administrative and Customer services for starting and stopping periodical subscriptions

3) Provide Publication title change alerts and title updates

4) Provide an online portal with controlled access for Library staff to start, stop, and revise quantity changes to publication orders and monitor publication alerts and update

5) Manage multiple identifying codes for bureaus and posts, and multiple delivery addresses

6) Provide the ability to manage and deliver the same publication ordered for different locations, each with their own unique shipping address

7) Provide administrative services for each subscription until three months after the title’s expiration or cancellation. Three months after the period of subscription allows the Library to have enough time to request a missing or delayed issue which did not arrive when expected.

8) When requested, the vendor shall provide the library and/or individual offices and posts with a formatted subscription list

9) Provide intelligence on any subscription title new editions, new parts or subparts or supplements that make the subscription complete

10) Provide information on publications that have changed in scope, or merged with other titles to inform renewal decisions

11) If a title is not explicitly renewed, the vendor shall not automatically renew a title without prior authorization

12) Vendor shall notify the Library of title changes and frequency changes for publications on a routine and reoccurring basis and in renewal notifications, if applicable

13) Vendor shall provide, upon request, a written summary of all publications and/or materials received through memberships, to include title, frequency, quantity of each publication, and any applicable special membership benefits.

14) Vendor shall maintain complete records of all bibliographic and financial transactions of each Customer for up to three years. When requested, the Vendor shall provide immediate access to these records. The Department of State reserves the right to audit the transaction records

15) Vendor shall provide renewal lists that indicate expected inflation and price increase estimates for the Library’s renewal list

16) Vendor shall provide an Accounts Receivable representative available via email and a direct, toll-free phone number to address concerns surrounding billing, payments, invoices, accounting, fiscal maintenance, and funds

17) Vendor generated renewal lists must contain Delivery Order Number or Purchase Order Number

18) Vendor must be able to accept order information generated by the OCLC WMS Integrated Library System, including purchase order .PDF files

19) Vendor shall assign an account representative by name who is both familiar with the terms of this contract and the needs of federal libraries. The representative shall respond to all inquiries within three business days

20) Vendor shall provide a toll free or local telephone number and email address for direct communication and further support on all tasks associated with this award

21) Vendor must be able to provide licenses, title links, collection assessments, and collection development reports

22) Vendor must be capable of liaising directly with publishers for access issues, rate information, and orders, must maintain profile information for packages, and must verify the accuracy of pricing and estimates for title lists, including renewal lists

23) Provide management reports which contain the following:

a. Collection Assessment: Detailing all ordered titles and including title information, such as cost and subject classification

b. Current Subscription List: Detailing all current subscriptions (i.e. those subscriptions that have a POP End on or after the date the report is generated)

c. E-Journal Registration: Detailing those electronic serial titles ordered for which additional steps or Customer assistance may be required for access. Contains publishers’ access policies, account information, title information, and license details, whenever available

d. Price Analysis: Detailing current and historical pricing data for titles ordered. Ideally up to five years of data will be included, if available

e. Subscriber Lists/Subscriber Data: Detailing the names (or office names), mailing or delivery addresses, and Customer or subscriber codes for each individual Customer. This data is essential for organizing the Bureau and Post requirements serviced by the Library

f. Claims Processed: Detailing claims made through the vendor, preferably within the last 12 months

g. Indexing Information: Detailing currently ordered journal subscriptions and providing data on where those journal titles are indexed

24) Vendor shall provide management reports in electronic format as MS Excel, HTML, XML, Comma-delimited Text files, and/or Tab-delimited Text files

25) Vendor must be capable of providing a self-service functionality for the examination of usage statistics by the Library for electronic resources, titles, and databases direct from the vendor’s electronic system

26) Collection statistics should display key metrics such as cost per title, and cost per use, as well as data on the number of titles actively subscribed to, total cost, total usage, and sub-totals of items ordered by format

E) Provide an electronic system for self-service information regarding prospective, new, renewal, and previously ordered subscription information, that, at a minimum includes the following features outlined below, and training for the management system

· Ability to search by:

· Title or Series

· ISSN, (International Standard Serial Number)

· Publisher

· Vendor reference number or title number

· Display features:

· Bibliographic and order information for each serial title including title, publisher, ISSN, frequency, and format

· Pricing or rate information, to include available pricing options, an option to follow up with the serials agent for rate information, or a note stating that the publication must be ordered direct from the publisher

· License details and/or terms of use information, whenever available.

· Access and registration information

· Package bundle and/or title change information

· Order history, with indications displayed at the title level in search results indicating current orders and past orders

· Invoice payment status for the current and previous year of service

· A web form providing the ability to submit a billing or invoicing question direct from the electronic system

· A web form providing the ability to submit a general question direct from the electronic system

· A list of claims, which have been made, shall be accessible by electronic means and shall include information on the status of each claim

· Ability to switch the interface view from one Customer code or subscriber code to another

· Downloadable invoices and credit statements, in PDF and/or Excel format, available on demand. Invoice and credit statements must be searchable and sortable, with the ability to sort by date, document type, and amount (in USD)

· Downloadable monthly statements showing account information, balance information, payment information, invoice information, and credit information

· Additional features:

· Ability for the Government to search titles with no expectation an order will be placed, the system will be used for market research

· Vendor shall provide electronic system training and documentation at no additional cost

· Electronic system must contain a robust database of all available titles and must be comprehensive of a variety of publishers and presses, format types, and countries of origin

· Access to the electronic system must be available via registered users outside of Library IP ranges

· Information on the availability of titles or publications within the collection of back issue publications should be displayed in the Vendor’s electronic subscription management platform

· Vendor shall provide training to Library personnel concerning the ordering process and the electronic database interface, including any recent interface updates

· Training features:

· When requested, online or in person training for management system should be conducted during the hours of 8:30 AM EST - 5:00 PM EST Monday through Friday

· Training should be customized and specific to Department of State needs and should include the administrative module, and report configuration and design

F. Customer and Technical Support

1) The Library requires ongoing Customer support, both through an appointed vendor representative and through a Help Desk or Customer service team

2) The appointed personal Vendor representative is expected to address questions or concerns on orders, pending and upcoming renewals and renewal lists, electronic access and access troubleshooting, claims, and delivery issues

3) Vendor must also provide help desk support via email, a ticket system via the Vendor’s electronic system, and/or a toll-free hotline during operating hours of the Library

4) Customer and technical support must be provided during business hours, 8:30 AM EST - 5:00 PM EST Monday through Friday

5) Vendor shall set priorities for each problem and will provide responsive updates for the resolution of critical, urgent, and lower priority problems

4. Place of Performance, Period of Performance & COR Assignment

The Ralph J. Bunche Library is located in the Harry S. Truman building in Washington, DC. Print materials are expected for delivery within the continental United States, and internationally. The electronic system shall be provided virtually with access inside of the State Department’s IP ranges and must be accessed user ID and password from outside of State Department IP ranges.

The Library requests a contract containing a base year plus four options years stated below:

Base Year: 07/01/2025 – 06/30/2026 Option Year 1: 07/01/2026 – 06/30/2027 Option Year 2: 07/01/2027 – 06/30/2028 Option Year 3: 07/01/2028 – 06/30/2029 Option Year 4: 07/01/2029– 06/30/2030

COR Assignment The COR on this contract will be Michelle Nolan