Attachment 1 CMR2020_Statement_of_Work.pdf

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS (RFQ) NO. 75N97020Q00040MS

Collection Maintenance and Reformatting Contract Contents

Collection Maintenance and Reformatting Contract

I. General Information

A. Scope of Work

B. Background Information

C. Place of Performance

D. Telework

E. Continuity of Operations During a Government Closure

F. Services to be Provided

II. Specific Activities

Activity 1: Project Management

Activity 2: Professional Librarian Services

Activity 3: Shelving and Retrieval of Collection Items

Activity 4: Prepare Items for Commercial Binding and Review Newly Bound Volumes

Activity 5: Perform Collection Maintenance

Activity 6: Support Reformatting Collection Materials

III. Vendor Requirements

IV. Government Responsibilities

V. Standards of Performance

Appendix A: Guidelines for Care and Handling of Library Materials

Appendix B: Biomedical Journal Digitization Project Inventory Instructions

Appendix C: Biomedical Journal Digitization Style Guide Instructions

Appendix D: Biomedical Journal Digitization Quality Assurance Instructions

Appendix E: Sample Onsite Digitization Scanning Instructions

Appendix F: Sample Onsite Digitization Image Processing Instructions

Appendix G: Instructions for Shelving NLM Collections

Appendix H: Instructions for Retrieving Collection Materials for Patrons

Appendix I: Instructions for Preparing Items for Commercial Binding and Reviewing Newly Bound Volumes

Appendix J: Instructions for Shelf Reading

Collection Maintenance and Reformatting Contract

I. General Information

A. Scope of Work

The contractor shall provide a range of library services that the National Library of Medicine (NLM) needs to properly maintain its collections and reformat collection materials to preserve them and make them accessible to the public. The NLM shall obtain professional and paraprofessional expertise in library services and programs, including collection maintenance and reformatting, e.g., scanning and digitization. The contractor shall have subject matter expertise and provide all labor necessary to perform the specific requirements as defined in this Statement of Work (SOW) and the task orders.

B. Background Information

The NLM mission is to collect, preserve, and disseminate biomedical information. To support its mission, the Library assembled one of the largest collections of biomedical literature in the world and continues to collect in some forty biomedical areas. In total, NLM collections contain approximately 28 million print and non-print items. The NLM print collections are housed in the General Collection, the History of Medicine Division (HMD), and the Main and HMD Reading Rooms. NLM also maintains a collection of audiovisual (AV) materials and microform service copies. The requirements of this procurement are to maintain order in the NLM collections, ensure that titles are bound, and assist NLM in reformatting collection items. This work is necessary to support the NLM mission to provide access to its collections whether online through the NLM’s Digital Collections or PubMed Central, through interlibrary loan, or by servicing patrons who use the collections on site. The Collection Management Unit (CMU) of the Preservation and Collection Management Section (PCM) of the Public Services Division (PSD) is responsible for managing and making NLM collections accessible.

The General Collection contains serials published from 1871 to the present and monographs published from 1914 to the present. Also, within the General Collection is an estimated 3 million bound volumes, plus thousands of unbound items, mostly individual serial pieces. The majority of the collection is housed in the main Library, building 38, in closed stack areas on the B-1, B-2, and B-3 levels. The B-1 and B-3 levels are reserved for core biomedical serials, classed as "W1" in the NLM classification scheme. The B-2 level contains a variety of bibliographic materials including monographs, congresses, AV, Government documents, the Z collection, and the Limited collection.

The first floor contains the Main Reading Room and the HMD Reading Room, which are open to the public. The Main Reading Room contains a few frequently requested bound and unbound serials, monographs, and other reference materials. The HMD Reading Room contains reference materials related to the history of medicine. The HMD holds serials printed before 1871, monographs printed before 1914, and journal article reprints, pamphlets, dissertations and AVs, and these materials are housed on the B-1 and B-2 levels.

NLM reformats older print, AV, and electronic collection materials to preserve them and make them accessible to the public. Current projects include a joint venture with the United Kingdom’s Wellcome Collection to scan and digitize back issues of biomedical journals for deposit in PubMed https://wellcomecollection.org/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

Central, a free archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature maintained by NLM;

scanning and digitizing materials for the NLM Digital Collections; and reformatting at risk analog AV materials to analog preservation copies. Future projects include digitizing more of the NLM collections and reformatting AV materials to digital preservation copies.

C. Place of Performance

All activities shall be performed onsite at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. In general, activities shall be performed Monday through Friday, as necessary, during regular business hours (e.g., 7:30 am – 5:30 pm). Contractor staff shall not work on weekends, or federal Government holidays,. In the event of a Government closure, contractors shall follow OPM (Office of Personnel Management) Operating Status located on their website (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/snow-dismissal-procedures/current-status/).

Individual schedules for contractor staff and any subsequent schedule changes must be negotiated between the Contractor’s Program Manager and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or designee.

D. 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 shall comply with all of the following conditions:

• Use either (1) only a Government-furnished computer/laptop with all necessary software and hardware when teleworking from home or some other alternate work location, or (2) an approved computer by either the COR or the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager satisfying 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.

• Retain some duties, obligations, and responsibilities assigned under this acquisition.

Contractor staff activities may change to include telework-suitable assignments such as records maintenance or metadata processing.

• Maintain the teleworker’s work schedule and meet the terms agreed upon with the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager.

• Develop an effective communications strategy with the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager and work group, 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 Contractor’s Employee Project Manager.

• Protect the Contractor employees approved telework location from hazards and danger https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/snow-dismissal-procedures/current-status/ 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 Contractor’s Employee Project Manager at any time.

• Restrict the use of any Government-furnished equipment, software, data, and supplies located at the Contractor employees 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 Contractor’s Employee Project Manager of any equipment malfunction and the impact of the malfunction upon the teleworker’s ability to continue the telework assignment; and obtain instructions from the Contractor’s Employee Project Manager about working at another alternate work location.

• 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 Contractor’s Employee Project Manager.

• Acknowledge receipt and compliance with the NIH Telework Policy (NIH Policy Manual Chapter 2300-600-1) http://www1.od.nih.gov/oma/manualchapters/person/2300-600-1/.

• 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 employees 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 Contractor’s Employee Project Manager any job-related accident during the Contractor employees 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, 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 Contractor’s Employee Project Manager.

E. Continuity of Operations During a Government Closure

The Contractor shall 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 shall 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 http://www1.od.nih.gov/oma/manualchapters/person/2300-600-1/

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.

F. Services to be Provided

The services contemplated under this contract include project management; professional librarian services; shelving and re-shelving collection items; retrieving library materials for use by visiting researchers; preparing and shipping items for commercial binding and reviewing newly bound volumes; maintaining the collection; and, reformatting collection materials. An individual task order may require services in only one of these activities or a combination of activities. All requirements, activities, and deliverables apply to contractors and all subcontractors awarded under this contract and all task orders.

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

Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall furnish all necessary labor and services, and perform the work set forth in the tasks outlined in this SOW.

The contractor shall handle NLM collection materials, which are often irreplaceable, carefully and thoughtfully. The contractor shall follow the guidelines in Appendix A: Guidelines for Care and Handling of Library Materials. Whenever the contractor finds items that are damaged, such as those with loose or detached pages, broken spines, or other problems, the contractor shall immediately deliver the damaged items to the COR or designee.

II. Specific Activities

Activity 1: Project Management

The contractor shall provide an onsite Project Manager to oversee the personnel working under this contract and all task orders. (See the Labor Categories in Section III. Vendor Requirements.).

The Project Manager shall assign work to contract staff, regardless of tier, develop a quality assurance program, and implement quality control measures to ensure that all aspects of contract work are accurate. The COR and designees and the Project Manager will provide training and written instructions to contract staff as required for contract work. For each year of the contract, one (1) base and two (2) options, the level of effort required for this activity is one (1) full time Project Manager.

The Project Manager and contract staff shall maintain statistical records and submit monthly reports describing progress and accomplishments of each month, including any problems encountered that impact performance and/or productivity. If there is a problem with contract staff performance, the COR or designee will consult with the Project Manager and the Project Manager will be responsible for providing a resolution. If performance does not improve, NLM reserves the right to request the contractor replace staff on the contract. The Project Manager shall approve all new contract staff before they begin to work on the contract.

Activity 2: Professional Librarian Services

The contractor shall provide professional librarian(s) to support NLM collection reformatting activities and collection management. (See the Labor Categories in Section III. Vendor Requirements.) The contract librarian(s) shall report to the Project Manager, and the Project Manager shall perform quality control on all work performed by contract librarian(s).

For the base year of the contract, the level of effort required for this activity is five (5) full-time Professional Librarians.

The Librarian(s) supporting Biomedical Journal Digitization shall:

• Select, gather, track, and prepare source materials for scanning (NLM systems are used to track source materials ensuring they are accurately accounted for at all times)

• Write instructions for inventorying source materials

• Inventory source materials

• Train technicians to inventory source materials; assign inventory work and oversee inventory activities

• Ship and receive source materials scanned or copied offsite

• Write instructions for scanning or copying

• Write instructions for processing images and metadata

• Train technicians to process images and metadata; assign processing work and oversee processing activities

• Process images and metadata

• Write instructions for performing quality assurance (QA) /quality control (QC) on analog copies, images, and metadata

• Train technicians to perform QA/QC on analog copies, images, and metadata; QA/QC work and oversee QA/QC activities

• Perform QA/QC on images and metadata

• Review and approve QA/QC done by technicians

• Answer questions and assist technicians

• Revise or rewrite instructions as needed, e.g., new workflows are created, QA systems are updated

• Review the condition of source materials after scanning or copying, send for repair as needed, and shelve in the appropriate area of the collection

The Librarian(s) supporting Onsite Digitization shall:

• Operate production-level scanners to digitize library collection materials

• Review images for quality, and generate and apply metadata to digital objects

• Train Library Technicians to perform scanning and image processing

• Assign and review work, delegating tasks as appropriate

• Perform quality assurance of scanning operations and post-processing activities

• Conduct re-work for files not meeting project requirements

• Retrieve, track and return batches of materials to be digitized

• Write and update procedures for scanning and post-processing

• Track production statistics

The Librarian(s) supporting Audiovisual (AV) Preservation shall:

• Support the development of a digitization program for AV materials for the purpose of preservation. AV material formats include, but are not limited to, ¾” U-matic videotape, Betacam SP tape, 2” Quad tape, 16mm film, and 35mm film

• Investigate and create specification for preservation-level outputs including metadata

• Evaluate and assess the quality and condition of AV materials to determine preservation needs and suitability for digitization

• Clean film when necessary and identify and repair bad splices, tears, degradation and other irregularities

• Operate AV transfer station to reformat analog AV materials, including U-matic and

Betacam SP tape, to various digital formats

• Document, refine and follow quality assurance protocols

• Develop and refine workflows

• Train Library Technicians to perform condition review of AV materials and reformat AV materials

• Track and maintain accurate records in NLM Systems

The Librarian(s) supporting Collection Maintenance shall:

• Maintain accurate holdings and items records in NLM Systems

• Inventory collection materials, identifying duplicate items and making withdrawal recommendations

• Support space planning activities, including data collection and review

• Track and analyze collection data

• Shelf-read and shift collection materials

• Apply labels and barcodes, rehouse, and identify library materials needing repair

• Train Library Technicians and Clerks to perform collection maintenance activities

• Assign and review work, delegating tasks as appropriate

• Follow NLM guidelines for these services. and assist with writing and updating procedures as needed, e.g. a new Integrated Library System is adopted

Detailed written and verbal instructions for each activity will be provided to the contractor after award. For informational purposes, the following sample instructions are provided in the appendices:

Biomedical Journal Digitization Inventory Instructions. Describe the source material data that are collected for reformatting projects and how to enter and edit the data in NLM systems. The inventory data for the NLM Biomedical Journal Digitization Project are collected in the ScanTrac system. Sample instructions for collecting inventory data and entering it into the ScanTrac system are provided in Appendix B.

Biomedical Journal Digitization Style Guide Instructions. Describe materials handling, scanner operation, image capture, article identification, content analysis, and citation and metadata creation. The digitization instructions for the NLM Biomedical Journal Digitization Project are called style guides. Style guides are written for each journal scanned. The current style guide template is provided in Appendix C.

Biomedical Journal Digitization Quality Assurance Instructions. Sample instructions for Quality Assurance of Scanned Journal Articles are provided in Appendix D.

Onsite Digitization Scanning Instructions. Sample instructions for operating one of the NLM scanners are provided in Appendix E.

Onsite Digitization Image Processing Instructions. Sample instructions for processing images are provided in Appendix F.

Activity 3: Shelving and Retrieval of Collection Items

The contractor shall shelve all library materials pulled from the collection as well as any newly acquired materials, including newly bound journals. The contractor shall provide Library Clerks trained and experienced in sorting and shelving library materials. (See the Labor Categories in Section III. Vendor Requirements.) As necessary, the contractor shall shift material, but not more than fifty (50) shelves in either direction unless special instructions are given by the COR or designee. Shifting that requires moving collections more than fifty (50) shelves in either direction may be performed by the contractor as a collection maintenance activity (See Activity 5). During the initial twelve-month base period, the contractor may shelve up to 200,000 items, i.e., approximately 600 to 1,000 items each work day. The NLM anticipates the number of items to be shelved and re-shelved will decrease during each of the following option years by approximately 13%. The contractor shall be paid a unit price for each item shelved correctly.

All items to be shelved shall be counted by the COR or designee and the counts will be verified by the Project Manager or designee. Items to be shelved will be placed on book trucks along with a control slip. The control slip will include the number of items to be shelved and the initials of the COR or designee, the location for shelving, and the time and date the items were counted.

The control slip shall also include the initials of the Project Manager or designee who will verify the count before the items are shelved. The contractor shall never shelve items that are not counted by the COR or designee. The control slips will be collected by the Project Manager and provided to the COR or designee.

The contractor shall have no more than a 2% error rate, i.e., two (2) errors per one hundred (100) items shelved. The contractor shall meet this quality standard for all shelved and re-shelved items. As directed by the COR or designee, the Project Manager shall check at least 5% of shelved items in each of the shelving areas. Errors found shall be corrected by the contractor, in addition to the regular workload, and at no additional cost to the Government.

All collection items are shelved in open shelving and in compact shelving in the Main Reading Room; General Collection; B-1, B-2, and B-3 levels; and in the HMD B-2 level. The contractor shall shelve all items in exact call number order. NLM has more than one call number scheme and the contractor shall always shelve items at the correct shelf location. Detailed instructions on shelving including NLM call number schemes and locations of collections are provided in Appendix G.

Note: The schedule outlined in Appendix G is subject to change depending on the future use of library collections and changes in acquisition patterns. The COR or designee will discuss changes with the Project Manager well in advance of implementation. The Project Manager shall adjust the number of assigned personnel as appropriate to accommodate changes to the number of materials to be shelved.

The NLM Reading Room is open to the public and provides researchers and others with public computer workstations to access the NLM catalog, online journals, NLM-provided databases, and the internet. Most of the NLM print collections are stored in areas that are not open to the public. The contractor shall retrieve collection items for patrons in the NLM Reading Room. The contractor shall provide Library Clerks trained and experienced in retrieving library materials for library patrons. (See the Labor Categories in Section III. Vendor Requirements.) During the initial twelve-month base period, the contractor may retrieve between 40,000 to 80,000 items, i.e., approximately 150 to 320 items each work day. The NLM anticipates the number of items to be retrieved will decrease during each of the following option years by approximately 10%. The contractor shall be paid a unit price for each item retrieved correctly. Detailed instructions for retrieving collection materials for NLM patrons are provided in Appendix H.

Note: The schedule presented in Appendix H is subject to change depending on demand and future operating hours of the NLM Reading Room. The COR or designee will discuss changes with the Project Manager well in advance of implementation. The Project Manager shall adjust the number of assigned personnel as appropriate to accommodate changes to operating hours and/or number of requests.

Activity 4: Prepare Items for Commercial Binding and Review Newly Bound Volumes

The contractor shall prepare serial units for commercial binding by physically checking the titles approved for binding for completeness, preparing them for binding, packing/unpacking them for pick up/delivery by the commercial binder, and maintaining holdings and items records in NLM systems. The contractor shall provide Library Technicians trained and experienced in preparing library materials for binding and maintaining records in an integrated library systems (ILS) (See the Labor Categories in Section III. Vendor Requirements.). The contractor shall prepare one shipment every 4 weeks for a total of 13 shipments per each year of the contract. However, the COR or designee may increase or decrease the number of shipments prepared each year. Currently shipments are approximately 800 bindable units. Therefore, the contractor can expect to prepare approximately 11,000 bindable units each year of the contract. However, the COR or designee may increase or decrease the number of bindable units prepared for each shipment as needed. The contractor will be paid a unit price for each bound serial and monograph. The contractor will also be paid a unit price for each bound volume returned to the bindery due to a bindery error.

As directed by the COR or designee, the Project Manager shall review and quality check 100% of all items prepared for binding, including all corresponding work done in the NLM ILS and binding management systems. All errors shall be corrected by the contractor at no additional cost to the Government. The contractor shall maintain an error rate of 3% or less in all work related to preparing items for binding, including the data entered into the NLM ILS and binding management system.

The quality parameters the Project Manager shall check are as follows:

• Bindable units and newly bound volumes shall flow smoothly between the binding preparation and bindery work sites.

• All binding instructions for leaf attachment, trim, and decisions about how many issues are bound together are followed.

• All problem-free units pulled for binding must be prepared for binding within four (4) working days of being pulled from the shelf.

• Incomplete units for which there is a record for a bound volume and units pulled in error must be returned to the designated shelving area within two (2) working days of being pulled from the shelf.

• Problems must be charged within two (2) hours of being pulled from the shelf and delivered to the COR or designee within the following two (2) working days.

• All prepared units must be shipped to the bindery within four (4) weeks of being pulled from the shelf.

• All items must be charged out to the bindery within two (2) hours from the time the items were removed from the shelf.

• All errors in binding and poor workmanship must be detected and resolved in a manner appropriate to the problem.

• All volumes that pass inspection upon return from the bindery must be discharged and returned to NLM within three (3) working days of receipt.

• All volumes that require return to the bindery for correction of errors must be returned in the next shipment.

Detailed instructions on preparing items for commercial binding, reviewing newly bound volumes, and maintaining holdings and items records in NLM systems are provided in Appendix I. Written instructions on accessing and using NLM systems (e.g., NLM binding management system and Voyager) will be provided to the contractor after award.

Activity 5: Perform Collection Maintenance

The contractor shall maintain the NLM collections. Throughout the contract period, the contractor will be tasked by the COR or designee to perform activities related to collection maintenance. The contractor shall provide Library Clerks and Library Technicians trained and experienced in collection maintenance activities. (See the Labor Categories in Section VIII. Vendor Requirements.)

Training, including written and verbal instructions, will be provided to the contractor after award.

All questions and problems encountered by the contractor during the performance of any collection maintenance task shall be reported immediately to the Project Manager and the COR or designee.

The contractor shall consistently and carefully record the amount of time each contractor staff spends on each collection maintenance task. The Project Manager shall perform quality control on all work performed by the contractor staff and each task assigned shall be checked for completeness and accuracy.

The following are examples of collection maintenance activities that shall be performed by the contractor but not necessarily all inclusive. Some activities will be performed continuously while others will be performed only when required as assigned in Task Orders with limited scope, time, and level of effort.

Repair of Collection Items in the General Collection

Damaged items are often found in the General Collection by shelvers and other staff. These damaged items shall be referred to the COR or designee for repair. The contractor shall identify and replace item labels that are faded, loose, or missing. HMD damaged items and conservation work are not covered under this contract.

Maintain Call Numbers at Ranges’ Ends in the General Collection

Every range of shelving has a card holder that contains a 3” x 5” card on which is written the beginning and ending call numbers of all items shelved in that range. The card holders are located at the end of each range above eye level. The contractor shall maintain accurate range end cards that indicate the beginning and ending call numbers in each range of shelving. Maintaining call number cards for HMD shelving is not covered under this contract. The contractor shall provide a Library Clerk to maintain the range end cards and the taped call numbers. (See the Labor Categories in Section III. Vendor Requirements.) The total level of effort for this activity typically does not exceed 10 hours/month unless approved by the COR or designee.

Assist with Disaster Response

The contractor shall assist the Library in protecting and recovering library materials in response to disasters. The Government will train contractor personnel in disaster response and in the event of a disaster, all trained contractor personnel shall help with response efforts. For example, contractor personnel shall be asked to cover collection materials with plastic sheeting or dry collection materials that become wet because of a water disaster or flood.

Shelf Read the Collections

The contractor shall shelf read the collections to ensure that all items in the General Collection are in perfect call number (shelf list) order. The contractor shall provide Library Clerks and Library Technicians trained and experienced in shelf reading library materials. (See the Labor Categories in Section VIII. Vendor Requirements.) Under Activity 3, the contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that all items in the collections are shelved in correct shelf list order at all times. Shelf reading activities addressing shelving problems unrelated to Activity 3 shall be assigned on an as needed basis. Detailed instructions about shelf reading and the locations the contractor might shelf read are provided in Appendix J. Shelf reading the HMD collections are not covered under this contract.

Maintain Accurate Records in NLM Systems

The contractor shall maintain accurate holdings and items records in NLM Systems. The contractor shall provide Library Technicians experienced in interpreting bibliographic data elements and searching, correcting, and maintaining holdings and items records in an online environment. (See the Labor Categories in Section VIII. Vendor Requirements.) Records maintenance activities shall be assigned on an as needed basis. For example, the contractor may be asked to assist in inventorying journal titles. The contractor shall check selected journal titles at the shelf to verify, and update as necessary, online holdings and items information in the NLM ILS cataloging module.

For such projects, the Government will provide detailed written and verbal instructions and access to NLM systems.

Shift Collection Materials

The contractor shall move library materials from one location to another. The contractor shall provide Library Clerks experienced in moving and shelving library materials (See the Labor Categories in Section VIII. Vendor Requirements.). Shifting activities shall be assigned on an as needed basis. For such projects, the Government will provide detailed written and verbal instructions.

Activity 6: Support Reformatting Collection Materials

The contractor shall support NLM collection reformatting activities. The contractor shall provide Library Technicians trained and experienced in reformatting library materials. (See the Labor Categories in Section VIII. Vendor Requirements.) The Library Technicians assigned to work on this activity shall report to the Project Manager and the Project Manager shall perform quality control on all reformatting work performed by Library Technicians.

During the initial twelve-month base period, NLM expects the contractor to reformat approximately 500,000 pages, i.e., 1,900 pages each work day, The COR or designee may increase or decrease the number of pages to be reformatted as needed. The contractor shall be paid a unit price for each page reformatted correctly. The unit price for reformatted pages includes scanning source materials, processing images and metadata, and performing QA/QC on images and metadata. The other activities supporting reformatting will be billed for at an hourly rate. For the base year of the contract, the anticipated level of effort required for this activity is nine (9) to twelve (12) full-time Library Technicians.

Working with NLM staff and the contract Librarians (See Activity 2: Professional Librarian Services), the Library Technicians shall:

• Select, gather, track, and prepare source materials for scanning

• Inventory source materials

• Ship and receive source materials scanned or copied offsite

• Scan source materials

• Process images and metadata

• Perform QA/QC on images and metadata

• Review the condition of source materials after scanning or copying, send for repair, if needed, and return to the collection

Detailed written and verbal instructions for each activity will be provided to the contractor after award. For informational purposes, sample instructions are provided in appendices B through F.

III. Vendor Requirements

The contractor shall provide experienced and skilled personnel in the performance of this contract.

The Government suggests the following labor categories: Project Manager, Professional Librarian, Library Technician, and Library Clerk. When applicable the contractor may quote an alternate labor mix if proposed personnel have the required experience and education. The contractor is responsible for providing all personnel and materials necessary to perform in accordance with this

SOW.

All contractor staff shall perform physical tasks such as opening and sorting boxes that will require the ability to lift as much as 50 lbs. They will be responsible for transporting books between floors and across various points of the Library. They also shall reach to shelve items on the top shelves which can be approximately 80” above floor level. Step stools are available throughout the stack floors to assist staff in reaching high shelves.

The COR or designee has the right to evaluate and approve key staff assigned to work on the contract and task orders. The COR or designee must be notified of and approve all changes in staffing after the award. Resumes must be submitted and approved prior to placement of personnel.

Anticipated key personnel requirements across contract years are as follows:

Labor Category Base Year Option Year 2 Option Year 3 Project Manager Yes Yes Yes Professional Librarian Yes Yes Yes Library Technician Yes Yes Yes Library Clerk Yes Yes Yes

Anticipated key personnel requirements across contract activities are as follows:

Labor Category

Activity 1 Project

Management

Activity 2 Professional Librarian Services

Activity 3 Shelving and Retrieving

Activity 4 Binding

Prep

Activity 5 Maintain Collection

Activity 6 Support

Reformatting

Project Manager

X X X X X X

Professional Librarian

X X X

Library Technician

X X X

Library Clerk

X X

Project Manager

The Project Manager shall have at least three years of supervisory or project management experience. The Project Manager shall have the ability to plan, train, supervise, and evaluate the work of professional and paraprofessional staff. The Project Manager shall also have at least three years of recent experience in the following: 1) interpreting bibliographic data elements and searching and maintaining bibliographic records in an integrated library system; 2) collection maintenance activities such as book and journal binding, book repair, collection inventory, collection shifting, maintaining accurate bibliographic records; and, 3) analog-to-digital reformatting projects. The reformatting project experience should include preparing collection materials for reformatting; scanning materials and performing quality assurance on copied, scanned, and digitized materials; and overseeing staff performing quality assurance. The Project Manager shall develop a quality assurance program and perform quality control on all work performed by the contractor staff.

Professional Librarian

All Librarians shall have a master's degree in library science (MLS) or library and information studies (MLIS) from a college or university accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). All Librarians shall have the ability to create detailed written instructions and provide verbal training for paraprofessional staff. All Librarians shall have the ability to plan, assign, and evaluate the work of paraprofessional staff.

Librarian(s) supporting Biomedical Journal Digitization shall have knowledge of library citation standards, image capture, article identification, and citation and metadata creation.

Librarian(s) supporting Onsite Digitization shall have at least two years of experience scanning library materials, processing images, and performing QA/QC on images and metadata.

Librarian(s) supporting AV Preservation shall have at least two years of experience with preservation-level AV reformatting projects.

Librarian(s) supporting Collection Maintenance shall have at least one year of recent experience with interpreting bibliographic data elements and updating bibliographic, holdings, and items records using an integrated library system (ILS). In addition, Librarian(s) shall have at least two years of experience with performing/overseeing collection maintenance tasks such as shelving, shifting, inventory, and rehousing fragile materials.

Library Technician

All Library Technicians shall have at least one year of recent experience in library services including interpreting bibliographic data elements and searching and updating bibliographic, holdings, and items records in online environments.

Library Technicians working on reformatting collection materials shall also have at least one year of recent experience preparing library materials for reformatting, scanning library materials, processing images, or performing QA/QC on images and metadata.

Library Technicians working on collection maintenance activities should have at least one year of experience with performing tasks such as shelving, shifting, inventory, and rehousing fragile materials.

Library Clerk

Library Clerks shall have at least one year of experience locating, retrieving, and shelving library materials in library collections by call number or another organization scheme. Library Clerks performing collection maintenance shall also have at least one year of experience with collection maintenance activities such as inventory, shifting, and shelf reading. Library Clerks shall be trained to interpret bibliographic data elements and search and update bibliographic holdings and items records in online environments.

IV. Government Responsibilities

The Government will provide:

• The number of onsite workstations and equipment at NLM necessary for contractor staff to perform bibliographic data entry, scanning, image processing, and quality assurance that will include computer equipment, scanners, printers, access codes, and software required for contractor tasks.

• Work areas for sorting materials to be shelved, processing items for binding, and collection maintenance tasks.

• Office supplies necessary for assigned tasks.

• Training, including sessions in all equipment necessary to perform work under this contract.

Additional training for special tasks or significant changes in policies and/or procedures or equipment shall be provided by the COR or designee.

• Weekly meetings between the COR or designee and the Project Manager to discuss any problems, concerns, or needs concerning policies and procedures, quality assurance, and performance.

V. Standards of Performance

The contractor shall maintain quality control of all work performed that will assure a high standard of performance. The COR or designee will inspect samples of completed work and where it is not satisfactory, the contractor shall perform correction or rework at the contractor’s expense. The Project Manager will meet weekly with the COR or designee to discuss questions and problems concerning policies and procedures, quality assurance, and performance.

After initial training from the COR or designee, during the first two weeks of the contract, and as determined by the COR or designee, the contractor shall meet all specifications and requirements in the SOW. The contractor shall then work independently with minimal guidance from the COR or designee.

Throughout the performance of the contract, the contractor shall: 1) identify problems with current procedures or workflow and report them promptly; 2) make thoughtful, well-informed suggestions for solving workflow and procedural problems; 3) make every reasonable effort to resolve problems promptly to minimize the negative impact on NLM and NLM’s other contractors; 4) handle all NLM materials carefully and properly per the training provided by the COR or designee.

The COR or designee will review and approve the quality assurance program developed by the Project Manager prior to its implementation and the COR or designee assumes responsibility for the review and acceptance of work done under this contract.

Appendix A: Guidelines for Care and Handling of Library Materials

Water Leaks - Report any water events immediately by calling the following until you reach someone:

• TBD

Safety Issues

• Never climb on stack shelves ANYWHERE.

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

• Handle book trucks carefully, push them carefully and keep loads balanced.

• Obey the signs posted on the compact shelving to comply with safety and operation rules.

• Never climb on the compact shelves. Remember: The safety devices do not work unless a person is standing on the aisle floor.

NLM Rules for Handling Materials

• Never bring food or drink into the stacks and do not eat or drink near materials

• Always make sure your hands are clean whenever touching collection materials.

• Never use scotch tape, rubber bands, or sticky notes on NLM materials.

• Items pulled in error must be returned to correct shelving location and not left laying on nearby shelves.

• Except for oversize volumes, volumes should be placed on shelves in an upright position, spines facing out. No volume should ever be shelved on its fore-edge. After volumes have been retrieved or shelved, bookends should be adjusted so that the volumes are properly supported and will not lean. Volumes should not be shelved so tightly that damage to the spine results when they are retrieved from the shelf.

• Oversize volumes have red OVRS tape on the spine. Oversize volumes on the B-1 level shall be shelved in stacks not to exceed six inches high, and with the latest volume and/or year resting on the top of the stack. Oversize volumes on the B-2 and B-3 levels are shelved upright.

• When volumes are removed from the shelves, each item should be grasped by the middle of the spine, not pulled by the headcap (top of the spine) where they are most susceptible to damage.

• Use bookends on all shelves that are not completely full. Ask the COR or designee for additional bookends required to keep materials from falling over while on the shelf. Use bookends on book trucks that are not completely full to prevent items from falling over or off the book trucks.

Refer Damaged or Problem Collection Materials to the COR or Designee

• Examples include:

• No call number

• Missing pages, missing text, broken bindings

• Items with loose pages or items in danger of losing text

• Volumes with any evidence of dampness, mold, mildew, or insects

Refer Other Problems to the COR or Designee Examples include:

• Bent or broken shelves anywhere in stacks

• Broken compact shelves

• Broken book trucks

• Lights out in stacks

• Dirty or dusty shelves and work areas

REMINDER: There are still a few ranges on the B-2 Level that have electrical light switches.

Please remember to turn the lights off when you exit an aisle.

Appendix B: Biomedical Journal Digitization Project Inventory Instructions

Entering Inventory in ScanTrac

I. URL: TBD

Use Internet Explorer to access the inventory database Log on with NLM badge or NLM credentials

II. Initial Issue Check-In Instructions

1. Click on the Add/Update Issue tab.

2. You can search for a journal 3 ways

a. Title

b. Journal Abbreviation

c. NLM UI

d. All journal titles will be entered by NLM staff before check-in of issues.

Contract staff should never enter new journal titles.

3. You must enter a year, barcode, and a volume if you wish to enter issue level information.

4. You can list the quantity of issues for a particular volume and the issue number you want the system to start the automatic generation of issue numbers.

5. Click on Search ScanTrac.

6. The system will generate the issue records. The journal level information is found at the top of the screen. Issue records are listed in rows at the bottom of the screen.

7. For each issue, you must enter the total number of pages and its format. You will not be able to save your work without entering this information for each issue.

8. Remember to enter all known missing issues. Mark these as missing issues under the format tab.

9. Supplements, parts, or index issues should be entered via the Other Issue pull-down.

Some supplements and indexes do not have issue numbers. If the system generated an issue number, it can be eliminated if you have marked the Other Issue. If the supplement, part, or index has its own specific number enter it as Other ID.

10. Standard notes should be selected via the Notes pull-down. You can make multiple selections by holding the Ctrl key. Contact the librarian, if you need to add a standard note to the table.

11. Individual notes can be entered by typing in the Free Notes box.

12. You can add another issue by clicking the plus sign (+) at the right bottom of the last issue record.

13. You can delete an issue record by clicking on the minus sign (-) to the right of the issue record.

14. Your work on this screen will not be saved until you click the Update button at the bottom of the screen. You will get a confirmation screen before the database is updated.

15. All work done on this screen can be erased by clicking on Reset before you click on

Update.

III. Editing Issues

1. Click on Add/Update Issue tab.

2. There are several ways to search for a particular issue to edit from the Add/Update Issue tab.

a. Enter journal title/journal abbreviation/NLM UI; year; volume number.

i. If adding issues to a volume you can add the quantity of issues and the first issue number to start the automatic insert of additional issues.

ii. Click on Search ScanTrac at the bottom of the screen. This will retrieve and insert all issues records for that volume.

b. Enter journal title/journal abbreviation/NLM UI.

i. Click on the Show All for Title.

ii. All year/volume information for that title will be displayed. You can select the volume that you want to edit by clicking on the volume number. This brings you back to the search screen with the year and volume filled in.

iii. Click on Search ScanTrac and all issues for that volume will be displayed.

c. Enter journal title/journal abbreviation/NLM UI and year.

i. Click on Show All for Year.

ii. The volumes/issues will be displayed for the requested year of the title.

iii. Click on an issue number.

iv. A screen for editing only that one issue will be displayed. This is the best method for editing a single issue.

3. If you clicked on Search ScanTrac you can add issues by using the plus at the bottom right.

4. When editing issues previously listed as missing, change the format and enter number of pages and standard notes for the issue.

5. When adding new notes from the pull-down, remember to hold the crtl key or you will lose the notes already entered.

6. Remember to click Update button at the bottom or your work will not be saved.

IV. Page Counts

1. Page counts include the following parts of an issue

a. Front and back covers of each issue = 4 pages

b.