20250502_W91QF425QA008_CatalogingandInterlibraryLoan_PD_V1.pdf

PURCHASE DESCRIPTION

Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan

Army University Library System - Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, The Army University

General: This is a contract for cataloging and interlibrary loan subscriptions to 14 TRADOC libraries and 1 program office with the Army University Library System (AULS). The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers offering access to the product. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.

Background:

Accurate and detailed catalog records are needed for library materials to show up in a catalog for searches. Subscription products that provide readymade records for use save manpower for libraries and reduce time spent on original cataloging. In addition, records in these subscriptions are generally accurate and complete, ensuring a more robust record and better discoverability for patrons.

Interlibrary Loan Subscriptions allow libraries to expand resource access to patrons by finding and “borrowing” materials from other libraries within a collective pool of resources. This allows access to rare or cost-prohibitive materials without each individual library paying for copies. These online products require a subscription fee.

AULS requires cataloging resources and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) subscriptions to maintain their standard of records and breadth of resources to support Professional Military Education (PME). This contract will provide a consolidated resource to the member libraries of AULS which negates the need for 14 independent contracts.

Objectives:

• Provide Army University Library System with comprehensive access to a database of cataloging/metadata records to include bibliographic records, authority records, and library holdings records and provide information regarding library holdings by non-AULS libraries to facilitate library access and research

• Provide Army University Library System with a product that will facilitate and manage interlibrary loan requests, both borrowing and lending

Scope:

• The Cataloging and Metadata Subscription allows library materials to be cataloged and searchable by patrons in an online catalog. Cataloging and Metadata Subscriptions allows users to locate, create, and edit Machine Readable Catalog (MARC) records and export/import to the AULS integrated library services platform. In addition, more robust subscriptions provide the ability to mark catalog records as held by a library for visibility in a collective global database. This helps to not only locate where copies can be loaned from, but also to make decisions on collection maintenance for rare materials.

• Interlibrary Loan Subscription allows AULS member libraries to lend books and materials and to borrow materials from other libraries. The Interlibrary Loan program supplements the library’s budget and gets faculty, students, and patrons the materials they need in the quickest, most cost-effective way.

Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be for one (1) Base Year of 12 months and four (4) 12- month option years. The Period of Performance reads as follows:

Base Year: 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 Option Year I: 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 Option Year II: 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028 Option Year III: 1 July 2028 to 30 June 2029 Option Year IV: 1 July 2029 to 30 June 2030

SPECIFIC TASKS

Specific Tasks:

Basic Subscription. The product shall provide:

• A comprehensive and regularly updated database of library bibliographic records and authority records for both physical and electronic materials

• An online platform with both simple and advanced search features for searching, creating, and enriching metadata to assist with library cataloging

• Editing existing records in MARC tag view as well as MARC text view

• Creating new authority and bibliographic records for original cataloging

• Validating records according to current cataloging and metadata standards (MARC21, RDA, etc.)

• Creating, editing, and deleting local holdings records

• Viewing total number of library holdings on bibliographic records

• Displaying a list of libraries that hold bibliographic records

• Batch downloading and exporting capabilities for MARC records

• Saving in-progress bibliographic records to a file accessible on the online platform

• Creating label lists and files for label printing

• Integration options for Integrated Library Systems such as Ex Libris’ Alma for seamless record import and resource sharing management

• An online platform for submitting and tracking interlibrary loan requests

• Managing and viewing resource sharing communication, policies, and material transfer for library patrons to borrow materials not held in the library’s collection

• Managing and viewing resource sharing communication, policies, and material transfer for external institutions that request to borrow materials held in the library’s collection

• Automated fulfillment workflow to route unfilled requests to subsequent lending institutions based on availability and time limits

• Ability to add borrowing information/print slips to a list for batch printing

• Comprehensive tracking and statistical reporting on interlibrary loan activity

• Cost management workflow where approval is needed before materials with fees are sent

• Consolidating credits and debits into one monthly transaction invoice for reconciliation

• Ability to self-identify as a free lending institution and discover other libraries with the same self-identification to participate in a reciprocal resource-sharing network

Specific Tasks: