25RFI1411588B_PS.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 25RFI1411588B-PS

Archival Digitization Services

For

Fulton County Library System

RFI ISSUANCE DATE: June 23, 2025 RFI DUE DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, August 07, 2025 AT 11:00 AM

PURCHASING CONTACT: PHYLLIS STEWART AND 404-612-4215

E-MAIL: phyllis.stewart@fultoncountyga.gov

LOCATION: FULTON COUNTY GOVERNMENT

DEPARTMENT OF PURCHASING & CONTRACT COMPLIANCE

130 PEACHTREE STREET, S.W., SUITE 1168

ATLANTA, GA 30303

Table of Contents

SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS PAGE 2

1.1 PURPOSE OF THE RFI PAGE 2

1.2 COUNTY OBJECTIVES PAGE 2

1.3 CONTACT PERSON AND INQUIRES PAGE 2

1.4 PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE PAGE 2

1.5 QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION PAGE 3

1.6 OBTAINING THE RFI PAGE 3

1.7 RESPONDENT RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL PREPARATION COSTS PAGE 3

1.8 ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH A DISABILITY PAGE 3

1.9 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PAGE 3

1.10 GEORGIA OPEN RECORDS ACT PAGE 4

SECTION 2 – BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE INFORMATION PAGE 5

2.1 GOAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION PAGE 5

2.2 INFORMATION REQUEST PAGE 5

SECTION 3 – RESPONSE FORMAT AND CONTENT PAGE 6

3.1 RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS PAGE 6

SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 PURPOSE OF THE RFI

Fulton County, Georgia (“County”) is soliciting information from potential vendors to digitize archival photo negatives and photographs of great historical value for patrons to use for the purpose of research and genealogical identification. This is a Request for Information (RFI) only.

The information, data, comments, or reactions obtained may be used as research for a future solicitation. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future.

The issuance of the RFI does not commit the County to contract for any services. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP or other procurement solicitation, if any is issued. If the County decides to issue a solicitation for commodities or services, the procurement will be conducted in accordance with Fulton County Government Procurement laws, rules and guidelines.

If the County decides to issue a solicitation for commodities or services, the procurement will be conducted in accordance with Fulton County Government Procurement laws, rules and guidelines.

The County will review all responses received.

1.2 COUNTY OBJECTIVES

The following are the County Objectives for this project:

This project aims to comprehensively digitize negatives and photographs from two archival collections.

• The Ellie Lee Weems Photographic Negative Collection (68,914 safety (acetate) negatives

• Hollywood Studio Photographic Negatives and Photographs (111,000 negatives and

19,000 photographs)

1.3 CONTACT PERSON AND INQUIRIES

Information regarding the bid or bid requirements, either procedural or technical, may be obtained by submitting questions to:

Purchasing Contact Name: Phyllis Stewart Email: phyllis.stewart@fultoncountyga.gov Phone: 404-612-4215

1.4 PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE

The following is the procurement schedule for this project and will be strictly adhered to.

EVENT DATE

RFI Issued June 23, 2025 Deadline for Submission of Questions and Requests for Clarification by 4:00 P.M. July 23, 2025

Deadline for Submission of Responses August 7, 2025

1.5 QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION

Respondents may submit requests for clarifications or interpretations regarding this RFI.

Respondents must submit such requests through BidNet Direct for the County’s consideration as set forth in this section of this RFI.

The County will not respond to requests, oral or written, received after Wednesday, August 07, 2025, local prevailing time. All responses to written requests for clarification, interpretation, or additional information will be distributed as addenda to this RFI and posted on BidNet Direct website.

1.6 OBTAINING THE RFP

In order to obtain complete information about this solicitation, please click the link below where this document and supporting documents can be downloaded, https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/fultoncounty.

1.7 RESPONDENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL PREPARATION COSTS

Respondents are responsible for all costs associated with the preparation, submittal, and presentation of their response to this RFI.

1.8 ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH A DISABILITY

Fulton County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to its programs or activities. Any requests for reasonable accommodations required by individuals to fully participate in any open meeting, program or activity of Fulton County Government should be directed to Mario Avery, Contract Compliance Administrator at (404) 612-6307 or email:

mario.avery@fultoncountyga.gov.

1.9 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

If any Proposal contains technical, financial, or other confidential information that the Respondent believes is exempt from disclosure, the Respondent must clearly label the specific portions sought to be kept confidential and specify on what the exemption is based. The County, at its sole discretion and subject to applicable law, will determine whether such exemption applies. The County has sole discretion to make such determination regarding the disclosure of information, and by responding to this RFI, Respondents waive any challenge to the County’s decisions in this regard.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Respondents recognize and agree that the County, its staff, and its Consultants will not be responsible or liable in any way for any losses that the Respondent may suffer from the disclosure of information or materials to third parties.

1.10 GEORGIA OPEN RECORDS ACT

The Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-70 et seq., applies to this Agreement.

The Consultant acknowledges that any documents or computerized data provided to the County by the Consultant may be subject to release to the public.

mailto:mario.avery@fultoncountyga.gov

SECTION TWO

GOAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

2.1 GOAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Anchoring the west end of the Sweet Auburn historic district, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (AARL) opened in May 1994 in Atlanta. A special library of the Fulton County Library System (FCLS) formerly the Atlanta Fulton Public Library System (AFPLS), it is the first public library in the Southeast to offer specialized reference and archival collections dedicated to the study and research of African American culture and history and of other peoples of African descent. The mission of The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History is to promote specialized library service, archival resources, and culturally/educationally related activities essential for study and use by the general public, students, and scholars of the culture and history of peoples of African descent.

For this RFI, two collections have been chosen for complete digitization. Both collections were purchased by Fulton County and due to the size and staff resources have not been available for research since being purchased. A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has allowed staff to be hired to process the physical collection. Now that the processing is done the goal is to digitize and place all items online for access.

Ellie Lee Weems Photographic Negatives Collection

Collection overview: The Ellie Lee Weems Photographic Negatives collection consists of over 68,000 negatives to be digitized off-site. All negatives are arranged in numerical order within boxes that are arranged in chronological order. Negatives have been cross-referenced with identification cards to accurately identify the subjects within the images. Spreadsheets have been created from this information to accompany negatives for ease of file labeling and metadata creation during the digitization process.

Negative information: All negatives to be scanned off-site are on acetate safety film. Most negatives are black and white. However, there are also sepia-toned, hand-tinted, and color negatives as well. 65% percent of the negatives are sized 5” x 7”, 30% of the negatives are 3” x 5”, and 5% of the negatives are 2.4” x 3.5” in size. Some of the negatives within a sleeve are two separate and distinct negatives containing 2 different negative numbers. Some negative numbers represent multiple sleeves of negatives of the same subject.

Hollywood Studio Exclusively for Coloreds Collection

Collection overview: The Hollywood Studio Exclusively for Coloreds Collection includes over 111,000 negatives and over 19,000 photographs to be digitized. All images have been processed and arranged according to current archival standards. Each box will come with a comprehensive list of all contents within that box. The collection has been split into two sub-collections, one of which includes images of identified individuals. For identified images, there is an expectation that the names on the enclosure be included in the file name created by the vendor. For all unidentified images, there is an expectation that the box number and order number be included in the file name created by the vendor.

Negative information: Negatives are mostly black and white, although some are color negatives.

Approximately 75% are 2x3 inches in size, and some negatives are also 3x5, 5x7, and 35mm/120mm.

Photograph information: Photographs are mostly black and white paper prints, although some are color photographs on traditional glossy/textured photograph paper. Approximately 90% are either 2x3 inches or 3x5 inches in size. All other photographs are 5x7 or 8x10 inches.

2.2 INFORMATION REQUESTING

The County is requesting information to understand the respondent’s ability to digitize archival material; ensure the materials when they are outside the custody of the Library and examples of completed projects that may be similar to this project.

We are interested in learning from you whether the following Scope of Work is reasonable based on what a firm like yours might generally agree to. Please provide detailed feedback on any expectations that may need adjustment.

All materials are in good condition. No items will be sent that are damaged. All items are sleeved in archival envelopes. Each envelope has information on it to create the file name for the digitized item. The envelopes are in archival bankers’ boxes and each box contains hundreds of the sleeves. They will require removal and reinsertion. There will be no need for preservation or restoration work for this project.

• The selected vendor will conduct all digitization work for both archival collections and maintain the order in which the items are sent.

SECTION THREE

RESPONSE FORMAT AND CONTENT

3.1 RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

Respondents are asked to provide a response in the following format:

A. Introduction

Please provide:

1. Contact name, phone number, and email

2. Business name, address, and phone number

B. Technical Response

Respondents are asked to provide the following information:

1. How would the finished scans be sent to the Library upon completion.

2. How would the pickup and return of the items be done?

3. Who would pay for the shipping of the items?

4. Provide a description of equipment and workflows for large digitization projects.

5. Do you need to conduct a site visit before the items are sent?

6. Can you provide a high-resolution file of 1200 dpi TIFF file and a smaller derivative for online presentation 150 dpi JPEG for each item?

7. Provide external hard drives for the delivery of the scans?

8. Can you create the file names from the information on each sleeve?

9. Can this project be done in batches?

10. How long would a digitization project of this size take to complete?

C. Cost Estimate

Respondents are asked to provide estimated costs to assist the County in understanding the cost per scan for the project (both TIFF and JPEG).

ITEM PRODUCT PER UNIT

COST

QUANTITY TOTAL COST

1 Digitization, photographs only, UPP to 4x6, grayscale or color, 600 dpi TIFF

Each 19,000 $

2 Digitization, negatives 2x3 and 4X5 grayscale or color, 1200dpi

TIFF

Each 179,000 $

3 Jpegs 150 dpi secondary derivative

Each 198,000 $

4 Shipping $ TOTAL COST (Lines 1-4) $

Any cost estimates requested are for budgeting purposes only. Respondents will not be held to price/cost estimates provided as part of the RFI should the County later decide to issue a competitive solicitation.

D. Enclosures

Respondents are asked to provide the following documentation list:

Insert a list of the type of enclosures that may be needed.

Please provide detailed specs for digitization projects.

Please provide any promotional advertisements from your company.