A04_VICK_328553A_SOW_Process_Catalog_and_Preserve_VICK_Archives.docx

Scope of Work Organize, Conserve, and Digitize Maps, Blueprints, and Drawings Records Vicksburg National Military Park

This project will address efforts by Vicksburg National Military Park (VICK) to provide professional archival assistance to rehouse, organize, conserve, and digitize the Maps and Blueprints Collection.

SCOPE

In accordance with the terms and conditions of the Contract, the Contractor shall perform the work as described below for the National Park Service (NPS).

CONFIDENTIALITY

The information developed under this Contract is the property of the U. S. government and shall be kept in strict confidence.

INTRODUCTION

Records created and maintained by NPS must be accessible and retrievable to support the park mission, fulfill FOIA requests, provide evidence of resource management activity and land acquisition, and provide the public with valuable information. Proper management of the region’s archival collections will provide control of and accessibility to the collections, preserve the collections, and make them available for research and exhibition. Park staff, curators, historians, scholars outside of the service, and interested members of the public regularly research park collections and this project will render records located at VICK more accessible. The preservation and management of these collections is central to the mission of the individual parks as well as the National Park Service as a whole. The proper management of National Park Service records is also mandated by federal legislation, including the Federal Records Act of 1950. This project will also bring VICK into compliance with 36 CFR 12, which requires identification and management of permanent archival records for long-term preservation.

This project will rehouse, conserve, and digitize approximately 118 map folders containing miscellaneous oversized materials within the Maps and Blueprints Collection at VICK. This collection is also in need of reorganization as the current hierarchy is not logical and is not easily understood by staff. This collection of maps, blueprints, negatives and drawings need minor to major conservation work. Most of the oversized materials are fraying, brittle, and torn due to lack in knowledge of proper archival storage protocols and fluxes in environmental conditions. Each item will be assessed for individual conservation needs. This project will address the preventative preservation needs of the items after careful review. In addition, the oversized materials will be digitized in the process allowing staff and researchers easy access to these important records.

About Vicksburg National Military Park The museum collection at VICK exists to document and support the park's interpretive and resource management programs. All objects and specimens in the collection must clearly relate to these purposes.

The park's museum collection includes both Cultural and Natural History collections. The Cultural Collection at Vicksburg National Military Park is comprised of artifacts recovered from the Civil War Union gunboat, U.S.S. Cairo (e.g. sailor's personal possessions, cookware and weaponry) and Civil War era artifacts affiliated with the Siege of Vicksburg as well as artifacts relating to early park development (e.g. Park Commission Photographs and other items pertaining to the Park Commission, personal possessions of eminent figures of the park (e.g. John C. Pemberton, William T. Rigby, Theobald David Yost, Thomas O. Selfridge, and the Civilian Conservation Corps).

As of FY24, the park museum collections of Vicksburg National Military Park consists of 384,827 objects in the following disciplines: Archeology, History, Archives, Art and Biology.

About the Locations:

Vicksburg National Military Park 3201 Clay St Vicksburg, MS 39183

B. Scope of Work

This contract shall be Best Value for the Park and the National Park Service, not low bid.

Contractor will provide all travel, personnel, and professional services required to:

· Pack and transport approximately 118 folders containing maps, blueprints, and drawings for external archival conservation and digitization work. The contractor will transport the materials flat and secured to maintain stability during relocation.

· Reorganize folder units to a comprehensible hierarchy. Current organization of the materials is not logical or easy for staff to find wanted records. To accomplish this task, the contractor must develop a hierarchy based on records groupings within the maps and blueprints in question, and explicitly outline the processing required in a document called a processing plan. The NPS will provide examples of processing plans as templates for the contractor. The project will require appraisal of all documents against the SRS and NPS document retention policy to determine the document in question’s classification. This appraisal will determine whether or not documents are resource management records and belong in the collection. The contractor should exclude any permanent non-resource-management records, temporary records, and duplicate materials. Also, the contractor will maintain a record of the volume of duplicate materials culled in the process. The contractor will retain 2 copies of each oversized item that has more than one copy.

· Review the material for conservation and provide VICK with work plan detailing specialized conservation work completed on the materials.

· Rehouse all materials in format-appropriate archival enclosures. This involves flattening the documents and transferring them to map folders to be stored in a map case or oversized box and interleaving with unbuffered tissue paper for materials that off-gas like cyanotypes and diazotypes. Separate any negatives or other oversized photographic materials from paper maps, blueprints, and drawings. All folders and boxes will be appropriately labeled according to NPS standards. Folders to be stored in map cases must be labeled and inventoried in a manner that denotes the map case, the drawer, and the folder number within the drawer. A template for folder and box labeling will be provided to the contractor by the NPS.

· Perform preventative conservation work including the removal of metal fixtures, preservation photocopying when appropriate and other tasks approved by VICK. Previously affixed sets of documents whose metal fasteners are removed must be refastened using folded archival bond paper.

· Update the Maps and Blueprints Collection finding aid to address reorganization of materials. This will involve generating all required cataloging data for an archival collection. Templates of completed finding aids including a scope, provenance, series descriptions, and an inventory will be provided to the contractor by the NPS to denote exactly what sort of data must be generated and submitted.

· Scan all materials according to best digitization practices.

Products and Deliverables

· A processing plan documenting a proposed tentative hierarchy for the collection, and general procedural steps that the contractor will take to archivally process and conserve the materials. This plan will be reviewed and altered or approved by NPS staff. This also includes a proposal for all interventive conservation work necessary to preserve the collection.

· A completely rehoused and appropriately labeled Maps and Blueprints Collection.

· Completion of rehousing and archival processing of collection materials

· Updated finding aid to account for addition of more folders and reorganization, and complete cataloging data for the new collection.

· Digital records saved as reference/use files (pdfs saved on an external storage device or other approved method) containing scans of all materials within the Maps and Blueprints Collection.

Work Coordination The contractor shall coordinate the site packing, pick up and drop off materials through this contact:

Carly Plesic Museum Curator, Vicksburg National Military Park 2301 Clay Street Vicksburg, MS 39183 carly_plesic@nps.gov

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

All information and documentation gathered or produced by the Contractor during the course of this work shall be held in strictest confidence and shall be fully protected from access by unauthorized persons. Any documentation furnished by the site and retained by the Contractor during the course of the work or thereafter shall be secured in a locked filing cabinet or safe at a minimum. The Contractor shall indicate to the park staff the manner in which he/she intends to secure any documentation the site may furnish; the park staff will have the prerogative to specify when more stringent security must be provided for any particular documentation furnished to the Contractor. Documentation that cannot be secured to the park staff’s satisfaction still will be furnished to the Contractor, but only for on-site use.

Notes and other information produced by the Contractor, including all versions and copies of his/her report and any drawings that may be produced, shall be secured in a locked filing cabinet or safe, at a minimum. Word processor and other computer files shall be secured in an equivalent manner, such as by retaining files only on CDs or flash drives kept in a safe, rather than on a hard drive, and by the use of passwords or encryption. During the initial visit to the site, or by conference call, the Contractor shall indicate to the COR the manner in which he/she intends to secure computer data generated during the course of the work; COR will have the prerogative of specifying that additional security measures be taken whenever circumstances so dictate.

All documents and other work developed in the performance of this contract, shall be and remain the sole property of the Government and may be used on any other work without additional compensation to the Contractor, with respect, thereto, the Contractor agrees not to assert any rights and not to establish any claim under the patent or copyright laws. The Contractor, for a period of 3 years after final payment under this contract, agrees to furnish and provide access to all retained materials on the request of the Contracting Officer. Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor shall have the right to retain copies of all such materials beyond such period.

In the event that the Government uses any of the above-mentioned materials for purposes other than those covered under this contract or other than for which it was provided, the Contractor shall not be held liable for any personal or property damage arising from such use.

RIGHTS IN DATA - SPECIAL WORKS

(FAR 52.227-17) (DEC 2007)

A. Definitions. As used in this clause— “Data” means recorded information, regardless of form or the media on which it may be recorded. The term includes technical data and computer software. The term does not include information incidental to contract administration, such as financial, administrative, cost or pricing, or management information.

“Unlimited rights” means the rights of the Government to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, in any manner and for any purpose, and to have or permit others to do so.

B. Allocation of Rights.

(1) The Government shall have—

(i) Unlimited rights in all data delivered under this contract, and in all data first produced in the performance of this contract, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this clause.

(ii) The right to limit assertion of copyright in data first produced in the performance of this contract, and to obtain assignment of copyright in that data, in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this clause.

(iii) The right to limit the release and use of certain data in accordance with paragraph (d) of this clause.

(2) The Contractor shall have, to the extent permission is granted in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this clause, the right to assert claim to copyright subsisting in data first produced in the performance of this contract.

C. Copyright.

(1) Data first produced in the performance of this contract.

(i) The Contractor shall not assert or authorize others to assert any claim to copyright subsisting in any data first produced in the performance of this contract without prior written permission of the Contracting Officer. When copyright is asserted, the Contractor shall affix the appropriate copyright notice of 17 U.S.C. 401 or 402 and acknowledgment of Government sponsorship (including contract number) to the data when delivered to the Government, as well as when the data are published or deposited for registration as a published work in the U.S. Copyright Office. The Contractor grants to the Government, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license for all delivered data to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.

(ii) If the Government desires to obtain copyright in data first produced in the performance of this contract and permission has not been granted as set forth in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this clause, the Contracting Officer shall direct the Contractor to assign (with or without registration), or obtain the assignment of, the copyright to the Government or its designated assignee.

(2) Data not first produced in the performance of this contract. The Contractor shall not, without prior written permission of the Contracting Officer, incorporate in data delivered under this contract any data not first produced in the performance of this contract and that contain the copyright notice of 17 U.S.C. 401 or 402, unless the Contractor identifies such data and grants to the Government, or acquires on its behalf, a license of the same scope as set forth in paragraph(c)(1) of this clause.

D. Release and use restrictions. Except as otherwise specifically provided for in this contract, the Contractor shall not use, release, reproduce, distribute, or publish any data first produced in the performance of this contract, nor authorize others to do so, without written permission of the Contracting Officer.

E. Indemnity. The Contractor shall indemnify the Government and its officers, agents, and employees acting for the Government against any liability, including costs and expenses, incurred as the result of the violation of trade secrets, copyrights, or right of privacy or publicity, arising out of the creation, delivery, publication, or use of any data furnished under this contract; or any libelous or other unlawful matter contained in such data.

The provisions of this paragraph do not apply unless the Government provides notice to the Contractor as soon as practicable of any claim or suit, affords the Contractor an opportunity under applicable laws, rules, or regulations to participate in the defense of the claim or suit, and obtains the Contractor’s consent to the settlement of any claim or suit other than as required by final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction; and these provisions do not apply to material furnished to the Contractor by the Government and incorporated in data to which this clause applies.

Schedule

Schedule of Partial Payments Partial payments will be made upon successful completion of each successive phase of the work, as outlined below:

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is empowered to inspect and evaluate all work of this Contract for compliance with terms of this Scope of Work.

Acceptance of the work of this contract and any changes to the terms of this contract shall be made in writing only by the Contracting Officer.

Points of Contact:

Contracting Officers Representative (COR) Christopher Downey, Chief of Resources and Project Manager Vicksburg National Military Park christopher_downey@nps.gov

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Joseph Taylor McGaughy Archivist, National Park Service Interior Regions 1, 2, and 4 Cultural Resources Division, Museum and Archives Branch 100 Alabama St SW, Building 1924, 6th Floor Atlanta, GA 30303

VICK Point of Contact:

Carly Plesic, Museum Curator Vicksburg National Military Park carly_plesic@nps.gov