ILL Services SOW 2024 .doc

Statement of Work (SOW) 1.0 Title Interlibrary Loan Services

2.0 Background Information The mission of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is to collect, preserve, and disseminate biomedical information. In support of this mission, NLM has assembled one of the largest collections of biomedical literature in the world. NLM makes its collections available onsite as well as to the global library community by offering interlibrary loan (ILL) services.

NLM lends its materials to a variety of academic, public, health science, and government libraries and organizations throughout the United States and internationally. The majority of requests are for scanned copies of journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, and other brief publications, or requests for articles appearing in electronic journal subscriptions. NLM also lends physical copies of monographs, audiovisuals, and microforms to borrowing institutions located within the United States. Original materials that are loaned are shipped via commercial courier second day delivery.

NLM uses a variety of systems to route, track, and fill interlibrary loan requests including DOCLINE, NLM’s internally developed and maintained ILL request routing and referral system, and a back-end program that allows staff and contractors to fulfill ILL requests from both DOCLINE and non-DOCLINE users.

2.1 Objective

The government requires a contractor to maintain basic operations of interlibrary loan services, to include all aspects of fulfillment of interlibrary loan requests as described below. This is in line with the NLM’s mission to provide access to its biomedical collections.

3.0 Scope

The contractor shall provide interlibrary loan services by performing, at minimum, the following tasks: monitoring requests queues; understanding and working with bibliographical information pertinent to requests; retrieving and scanning materials that are not available electronically; providing support to federal staff in filling requests from electronic materials; and responding to requests from customer service staff for the update or correction of requests on an as-needed basis.

4.0 Contract Requirements Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor should furnish all necessary labor and services and perform the work set forth in the tasks outlined in this Statement of Work.

The services to be provided under this contract include retrieval of NLM’s print, microform, electronic, and audiovisual collection items that are requested through interlibrary loan; identifying and downloading, scanning, or photocopying articles, book chapters, and other published resources and delivering these to requesting institutions via electronic means; processing outgoing and incoming physical loans in NLM’s integrated library system (ILS); packing, preparing, and shipping items requested by other institutions using a courier service; and unpacking and processing items returned to NLM by said borrowing institutions.

The contractor shall perform the work set forth below and should be responsible for the professional quality, technical accuracy, and coordination of all facets of such work. The contractor should also, without additional compensation, correct or revise any errors or deficiencies in workmanship or other services.

The contractor shall handle NLM collection materials, which are often irreplaceable, carefully and thoughtfully. The contractor should be able to supply staff that understand basic best practice for handling library materials, as well as be able to adapt to NLM-specific guidelines provided in Appendix I at the end of this document.

Detailed written and verbal instructions for each activity will be provided to the contractor after award. A minimal number of these tasks can be done remotely and are therefore eligible to be done via telework as necessary, based on satisfactory proof of technician’s competency and after all other necessary NIH/NLM criteria are met.

The vendor should provide experienced and skilled personnel in the performance of this contract. The Government suggests the Library Technician labor category for the performance of tasks related to the processing of interlibrary loan requests. The contractor is responsible for providing all personnel and materials necessary to perform in accordance with this Statement of Work.

All contractor staff must be able to perform physical tasks such as retrieving physical items in NLM stack areas, pushing book trucks, and climbing stairs. When retrieving, contractors must be able to reach items on the top shelves which can be approximately 80 inches above floor level. Step stools are available throughout the stack floors to assist staff in reaching high shelves.

5.0 Personnel Qualifications

In general, contract staff is required to have previous experience working in libraries, regardless of education. Contractor staff should preferably have at least one year of recent (within the last three years) experience in the following activities within libraries:

· Interpreting bibliographic data elements and citations received from customers to correctly identify the item(s) being requested, even in some cases where one or more elements of the citation are missing.

· Searching for books and journals accessible both as physical items as well as in electronic resources, such as ILS software (the Library currently uses Alma), the Library’s OPAC (currently Primo), library and government websites, and journal or other publisher websites.

· Operating a scanner to create high quality PDFs for customers.

· Working in library stacks, maintaining the space, and handling the materials so as to provide for the safety and security both of humans and library materials.

Supervisory Technician

· Carry out all activities listed in the Library Technician section.

· Supervise the work of Library Technicians

· Provide monthly project status update reports, and as requested the Continuity of Operations Plan when requested by the COR.

Library Technicians

· Monitor queue of ILL requests to ensure timely completion of each one and communicate with Library staff when unusually large influxes of requests require additional support

· Read and understand bibliographic citations for the materials being requested by other libraries, locate the requested items in the library by navigating the stacks, and understand how to locate materials despite often-incomplete citations when possible

· Understand and attempt to comply with any special instructions provided by the requesting institution, such as not to fill a request if it is in a foreign language, requests for title and copyright pages, etc.

· Identify electronic resources that fulfill ILL requests and download and send requested materials, prioritizing this method of electronic resource fulfillment over scanning of print materials when possible, as dictated by library access policies

· Retrieve books, journals, microforms, and AV materials from stacks areas, navigating a large system of shelving on multiple floors of the Library building and using best practice for handling shelved library materials as laid out in part in Appendix I

· Examine physical items to determine whether scanning would negatively impact materials in poor condition and refer to NLM staff for further consideration

· Scan journal articles, book chapters, and other information from library materials using a flatbed scanner

· Prepare items requested for physical loan to be shipped to the requesting institution via courier following courier guidelines

6.0 Period of Performance

This acquisition is for one base year and two option years:

Base Year: 12/04/2024-12/03/2025

Option Year 1: 12/04/2025-12/03/2026

Option Year 2: 12/04/2026-12/03/2027 Option Year 3: 12/04/2027-12/03/2028

Option Year 4: 12/04/2028-12/03/2029 7.0 Place of Performance

Onsite services shall be performed at the following location:

NIH, NLM

8600 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, MD 20894 All activities, except in government closure or mandatory telework cases as described below, shall be performed onsite at the Library and with government-furnished equipment (GFE) such as computers and scanners provided by NLM. In general, activities should be performed Monday through Friday during regular business hours, typically 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m EST. Contractor staff shall not work on weekends or standard Federal holidays; work on these days cannot and will not be paid for by the Government. When the Government is closed for weather-related or other emergencies, or in the case of unplanned early release or bonus holiday hours for federal employees, contractors with the requisite skillsets and advance training will be given the option to work from home using their aforementioned portable GFE. The government cannot and will not pay for Contractor staff to take these hours off of work. Individual schedules for contractor staff and any subsequent schedule changes must be approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and/or the Lead Technician.

8.0 Deliverables and Schedule

Deliverables are successfully fulfilled ILL requests, in the form of either well-scanned and usable PDFs or items mailed via NLM’s vendor of choice. Historically, there has been a standing 3-business day turnaround schedule from receipt of request to delivery of material. During any ongoing building construction projects, and on a rolling basis, NLM staff will determine appropriate turnaround times given the Library’s operating circumstances, to be conveyed to the contractor and contractor staff with enough advance notice to make any staffing changes necessary to comply. Performance measures will be made based upon these basic requirements of timely, skilled fulfillment of ILL requests.

2.1.2

9.0 Telework

As directed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager, a Contractor employee with a Government-furnished (i.e., Government-issued) or approved computer/laptop may be allowed and/or required to telework from home or some other alternate work location (including the Contractor’s facility) that is not a “federally controlled facility”.

Each Contractor employee authorized to telework should comply with all the following conditions:

· Use either (1) a Government-furnished computer/laptop with all necessary software and hardware when teleworking from home or some other alternate work location, or (2) a COR-approved computer that satisfies the most recent contract computer security requirements.

· Perform services under this SOW as a teleworker and understand that the teleworking arrangement is a work alternative that must be requested and approved by the COR and the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager prior to beginning a telework assignment.

· Maintain the expected telework schedule and meet the terms agreed upon between the COR and the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager (CPM).

· Develop an effective communications strategy with the CPM and COR such that, for example, meetings can be attended using teleconferencing technology.

· Designate the Contractor employee’s home or some other alternate work location as the Contractor employee’s official telework location, subject to approval by the CPM.

· Protect the Contractor employee’s approved telework location from hazards and danger that could affect the Government-furnished equipment and the teleworker.

· Acknowledge that teleworking is not an entitlement and may be terminated by the COR or the CPM at any time.

· Restrict the use of any Government-furnished equipment, software, data, and supplies located at the Contractor employee’s approved telework location to the sole use of conducting Government business.

· Return any Government-furnished telework equipment, software, data, and supplies upon termination of the telework assignment or upon separation from this acquisition for any reason.

· Immediately notify the CPM and COR of any equipment malfunction and the impact of the malfunction upon the teleworker’s ability to continue the telework assignment.

· Be responsible for the maintenance and repair of all the teleworker’s personal property and for maintaining appropriate insurance coverage against loss or theft for all Government-furnished equipment/supplies in the possession of the teleworker.

· Acknowledge that all work products, including documents, reports, and data created as a result of the teleworker’s work-related activities are owned by the Government and shall be properly secured and returned to the Government as instructed by the CPM.

· Acknowledge receipt and compliance with the NIH technology guidelines on use of Government-furnished equipment for telework assignments.

· Acknowledge receipt and compliance with NIH Information, Physical Access, and

Personal Identity Information (PII) Security provisions applicable to the acquisition.

· Acknowledge that the Contractor employee’s approved telework location is considered an extension of the Contractor’s worksite.

· Acknowledge that attending to personal comfort needs is not considered official duties.

· Report as soon as possible to the CPM any job-related accident during the Contractor employee’s telework schedule. If injured in the course of performing official duties at the approved telework location during the approved telework schedule, the teleworker shall be governed by Workman’s Compensation through the Contractor.

During a period of Government closure (not one of the standard federal holidays) or mandatory maximum telework, a Contractor employee with a Government-approved secure laptop computer may telework from home or report an alternate work site (including the Contractor’s facility) provided that approval has been received from the COR or the CPM.

10.0 Continuity of Operations During a Government Closure

The Contractor will be asked to submit a plan entitled ‘Continuity of Operations During a Government Closure’ to the COR for approval within 20 calendar days following an instruction from the COR to do so. The plan, if requested, should sufficiently specify what work tasks would be performed at non-Government location(s) (i.e., not a “Federally-controlled facility”) during a closure and which Contractor employees would be authorized to telework under the Telework provision of this acquisition. The Contractor shall implement its approved Continuity of Operations During a Government Closure plan when directed by the COR.

11.0 Government Responsibilities

The Government will provide:

· Onsite workstations and equipment at NLM necessary for the contractor staff to perform bibliographic searching and scanning, as well as access codes and software required for contractor tasks at the start of the contract

· Work area sufficient for printing and processing requests, as well as storage space for office shipping supplies, equipment, and computer hardware and/or software as needed to perform the work

· Necessary electronic devices to perform any approved telework duties

· A point of contact in addition to the COR for any difficulties not explicitly described in this SOW that makes for a clear chain of communication between contractor staff and relevant federal staff The COR will monitor all work under this contract. The COR will meet monthly with the Project Manager to discuss any problems, concerns, or needs related to policies and procedures, quality assurance, and performance.

NLM will provide the required training on NLM and ILL-related systems and databases required to complete tasks listed in the Statement of Work. Additional training on new systems needed by the Contractor will be provided as new systems are introduced or when existing systems are modified.

12.0 Systems Currently Utilized

The contractor should be familiar with the systems in use at NLM.

DOCLINE is NLM’s internally developed automated interlibrary loan request routing and referral system.

Relais is a commercially available third-party document request management system that can accept orders from multiple external sources in different formats. The system is supported jointly by OCLC Relais and the NLM Unix team and managed locally by the User Services and Collection Division. The National Library of Medicine uses the Relais system to automate the processing and handling of over 100,000 DOCLINE and Relais ILL Portal requests annually. In FY2025 this software will be changing to a different, third-party software, and contract staff will be given appropriate training as needed.

Alma is a web-based Ex Libris product and NLM’s cataloging system.

Primo is a web-based Ex Libris product and NLM’s Open-Access Public Catalog; patrons and staff alike use it to request Library materials to use onsite.

12.1 Hardware Currently Utilized

Fujitsu scanners (Model fi7700)

Canon multifunction iR3230 printer/scanner

Minolta SL1000 digital film scanner

Minolta RP606Z reader printer

PSC QUICKSCANplus barcode readers

X-keys foot pedals

12.2 Commercially Available Software Systems and Services Currently Utilized

Adobe Pro

FedEx

MS Office

OCLC

Relais

MS Outlook

MS Teams

12.0 Transition Period

A transition period is needed in the event the predecessor is not selected for award of the successor contract. The length of the formal transition period will be agreed upon at the kickoff meeting.

At the end of this contract, it is anticipated that this requirement will be recompeted. In the event the incumbent Contractor is not successful in receiving the award of the successor contract, the Contractor should work with the successor Contractor in order to transition support responsibilities. The Contractor staff must possess the capability to transfer to the successor Contractor knowledge gained for undocumented routines and workflows.

The transition activities should include necessary steps to transfer information and provide training to the successor Contractor staff while ensuring completion of the requirements during this approximately two-week transition period. Information to be transferred and training to be provided includes, but is not limited to, walkthroughs, attending briefings, planning meetings, hands-on training, etc. Specifically, the incumbent contractor should, at a minimum:

· On the first day of the transition period, and for approximately ten working days thereafter, the Contractor should have onsite at NLM the staff sufficient to support the retrieval, scanning, photocopying, and inspection of ILL requests.

· Provide training to the successor Contractor’s key personnel and staff on all activities related to the Statement of Work

· Provide any training documentation to the successor Contractor in print and electronic form

· Ensure that statistical reports and reporting methodologies are available to NLM staff

Training should be provided during normal business hours each day, five days a week, excluding Federal holidays. Any changes in the scheduled work time stated above shall be approved by the COR prior to the effective change. The Contractor staff shall not work or allow non-authorized Contractor personnel into the NLM stacks after work hours, or when the Library is closed, without prior approval from the COR.

Appendix I

Special Handling of Materials:

Care and Handling of Library Materials and Problems that Affect the Collection

Water Leaks -- Report immediately by calling the designated personnel, contact info posted visibly throughout the library Disaster Recovery Supplies -- in Red bins on each floor of stacks and in each room in the case of stacks separated by differing levels of security Safety Issues

· Never climb on shelves ANYWHERE.

· Never kick in books on bottom shelf to use as a step to reach higher items.

· Handle and push booktrucks carefully; keep loads balanced and use bookends to support the books.

· Follow manufacturer’s operating instruction for compact shelving throughout the stacks, and be aware at all times of any other people and/or booktrucks in the stacks so as to avoid compact shelving accidents NLM Rules for Handling Library Materials

· Never bring food or drink into stacks

· Clean hands and work areas

· Never use scotch tape, rubber bands, sticky post-it notes or paper clips on library materials

· Shelve volumes upright, spine down, or laid flat on shelves and booktrucks

· Channel binders – don’t remove items from binder

· Envelopes – Leave item inside the envelope

· Do not pull issues out of 3-ring binders

· Remove items from shelves by grasping the middle of volume, not the head cap

· Items pulled in error must be returned to correct shelving location – Place at the end of the range, do not leave items laying on nearby shelves Damaged or Problem Collection Materials: Refer to NLM Staff

· Items without call numbers or accession numbers

· Missing pages; missing text; broken bindings

· Fill out any appropriate forms as directed about the damaged item and place in any designated location; specifics to be determined by Library staff upon orientation

· Report items with loose pages or items in danger of losing text immediately to NLM staff for judgment on the item’s needs Report the following problems to the technical supervisory Library staff

· Items shelved out of order

· Bent or broken shelves anywhere in stacks

· Broken compact shelves, B3 level

· Broken booktrucks

· Lights out in stack areas

· Dirty or dusty shelves and work areas Identifying and Processing Requests for Fragile Materials

The General Collection contains W1 serials published from 1871 to the present and monographs and classed serials published from 1914 to date. Most items in the General Collection are in good condition and may be carefully photocopied, scanned, used in the Reading Room, or (in the case of monographs) loaned to ILL requesters. Older volumes in the General Collection and the History of Medicine Division’s collections, especially older serials, may be in fragile condition, and they need to be handled with special care. A smaller number are in unusable condition and should not be used to fill a request.

Filling Requests from Fragile and Unusable Volumes

Unusable volumes are those in which the paper has become extremely brittle (i.e., pages are likely to crumble or break off when handled) or in which many pages are loose or detached. Determine whether a microfilm service copy is available for all requests of items in fragile or unusable condition. If a microfilm service copy is unavailable, the fragile or refer the unusable volume to the COR who will decide if the request can be filled by scanning or photocopying the item. Fragile and unusable volumes (monographs) should never be sent out of the Library on interlibrary loan.