ATTACHMENT 2 - PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS).pdf

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH

OFFICE OF SCIENCE SUPPORT

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

LIBRARY STAFFING SERVICES

NOVEMBER 2020

1305M321RNRMA0002 ATTACHMENT 2 - LIBRARY STAFFING SERVICES PWS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 GENERAL

1.1BACKGROUND

1.2SCOPE

1.3OBJECTIVE

1.4APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

1.5PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

2.0 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS/TASKS

2.1TASK ONE. Metadata Creation and Maintenance Services 2.2TASK TWO. Reference and Research Services, Customer Service 2.3TASK THREE. Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services 2.4TASK FOUR. Bibliometric Analysis of NOAA Publications 2.5TASK FIVE. Scientific writing, copy editing, manuscript approvals, Sect. 508 preparation of NOAA publications 2.6TASK SIX. Library Outreach 2.7TASK SEVEN. Maintenance and Upkeep of Library Collections, Metrics 2.8TASK EIGHT. Archival Tasks 2.9TASK NINE. Property Accountability/Property Contact

3.0 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

3.1QUALIFIED PERSONNEL

3.2KEY PERSONNEL: PROJECT MANAGER

3.3EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION

3.4EMPLOYEE CONDUCT

3.5REMOVING EMPLOYEES FOR MISCONDUCT OR SECURITY REASONS

4.0 OTHER APPLICABLE CONDITIONS

4.1SECURITY

4.2PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

4.3HOURS OF OPERATION

4.4TRAVEL

4.5PROJECT PLAN

4.6PROGRESS REPORTS

4.7PROGRESS MEETINGS

4.8GENERAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS

4.9SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE

5.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED RESOURCES

5.1GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

5.2CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY

6.0 GOVERNMENT ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

7.0 DELIVERABLES ..................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 BACKGROUND

The NOAA Central and Regional and Regional Libraries (NCRL) provide library services to NOAA staff. The NCRL operates the NOAA Central Library (NCL, Silver Spring, Maryland); the NOAA Miami Regional Library (Miami, Florida) and the NOAA Seattle Regional Library (Seattle, Washington). The NCRL is part of a larger network of libraries throughout NOAA (“NOAA Library Network”) that comprise almost 20 libraries located throughout the country that are managed by a variety of line offices and laboratories.

The NCRL requires contract staffing in the NOAA Central Library in order to provide library services to NOAA staff.

Other NOAA Library Network libraries also require contract staffing in order to provide library services to NOAA staff:

currently NWS-NCEP Library at College Park, Maryland (e.g., Betty Petersen Library) and the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Library and Archives in Asheville. Currently, no other libraries – neither in NCRL nor in the NOAA Library Network – require contract staffing, but that might change in the future. A brief description of the libraries currently requiring staffing follows:

NOAA Central Library: 2nd floor, SSMC3, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Library currently occupies approximately 15,000 sq. feet and holds about 500,000 volumes. This library serves all NOAA staff in Silver Spring (approximately 5,000 FTE) and any NOAA staff outside Silver Spring without library services who ask for assistance (approximately 9,000 FTE). The Library subscribes to an extensive collection of online journals and other resources. Current staffing is comprised: six federal FTE; nine full-time contractor staff.

Betty Petersen Library: 5830 University Research Court, Room 1650, College Park, Maryland 20740. This library is jointly funded by the tenants of the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction; National Centers for Environmental Prediction, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Center for Satellite Applications and Research and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The library contains a specialized meteorological and oceanographic collection of about 7,000 volumes. It also contains an installation of Science on a Sphere, a room-sized three-dimensional visualization of the Earth. Current staffing is comprised: one full-time contractor staff.

National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) Library and Archives: Federal Building, 151 Patton Ave., Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5001. The Library has recently transitioned to a digital library. In addition, the NCEI Archives is co-located with the Library. This extensive archive is one of the world’s most significant archives of earth data, with comprehensive oceanic, atmospheric, and geophysical data collections covering many thousands of square feet.

Current staffing is comprised: two full-time contractor staff.

Other locations: The government may require the Contractor to provide library staff at NOAA libraries as yet to be determined on either a permanent or temporary basis.

1.2 SCOPE

The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel to perform library and archives tasks primarily at the following library locations: NOAA Central Library, Betty Petersen Library, and NCEI Library and Archives. Performance may be required at other permanent or temporary locations as defined by task orders. Future performance locations may be any of NOAA’s 20 research libraries located within CONUS and OCONUS; a complete list of locations can be found at https://library.noaa.gov/About/Library-Network.

1.3 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this contract is to provide staffing to achieve a complete program of library and archives activities that fulfills the missions of the respective NOAA line offices and programs where each library or archives location resides. In some cases, contract staffing will serve to supplement and support the efforts of full-time equivalent (FTE) government librarians and archivists; in other cases the contract staff will work alone to fulfill the local library’s mission and goals.

The types of activities that will be performed by contractor staff in order to fulfill each library’s mission includes:

• Metadata creation and maintenance in compliance with national standards;

• Research and reference activities in response to NOAA staff requests;

• Interlibrary loan and document delivery services;

• Bibliometric analysis of NOAA publications;

about:blank https://library.noaa.gov/About/Library-Network

• Scientific writing, copy editing, and document Sect. 508 mediation, including monitoring internal manuscript approval process prior to approval for publication;

• Library outreach including facilitation of seminars, workshops, and trainings; creation and promotion of library outreach materials such as newsletters, announcements and web pages; may include promotion and facilitation of such special installations as NOAA’s Science on a Sphere;

• Maintenance and upkeep of Library collections including deaccession and accession of items, selection of new titles and journals based on user needs, processing of gifts and donations, maintenance and trouble-shooting of electronic subscriptions, digitization of library collection materials and regular physical collection maintenance and maintenance of library metrics;

• Receipt, cataloging, evaluation, consolidation, disposition, metadata development, maintenance, shelving of archival records in a major scientific earth science archive.

1.4 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The following documents may be helpful to the Contractor in performing the work deliverables listed through this work statement.

• American Library Association, et al, 2006. Anglo-American Cataloging Rules Homepage (http://www.aacr2.org/)

• Library of Congress, 2019. The MARC Standards (https://www.loc.gov/marc/)

• Library of Congress, 2019. NACO – Name Authority Cooperative Program

(https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/naco/index.html)

• Library of Congress, 2019. Library of Congress Classification Outline (https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/)

• Library of Congress, 2015. Classification and Shelf-listing (https://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/classification/)

• OCLC, 2019. About RDA (https://www.oclc.org/en/rda/about.html)

• U.S. General Services Administration, 2020. Create Accessible Documents

(https://section508.gov/create/documents)

• U.S. General Services Administration, 2020. Federal Travel Regulations (https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/regulations/federal-travel-regulation-ftr)

• Web of Science Group, 2019. EndNote (https://endnote.com/)

1.5 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

This contract includes a Performance Requirements Summary (PRS). The PRS plays an integral role in the administration of the contract. In addition to any applicable inspection clauses or other related terms and conditions contained in the contract, the PRS shall serve as a primary tool for inspection and acceptance of services as facilitated by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Evaluation of the Contractor’s overall performance shall be in accordance with the performance standards set forth in the PRS, and will be conducted by the COR. The PRS constitutes a material aspect of the contract and will not be changed or otherwise modified without prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

2.0 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS/TASKS

2.1 TASK ONE. Metadata Creation and Maintenance Services

2.1.1 The creation of Metadata for new and existing materials for inclusion in the NOAA Library and Information Network Catalog (NOAALINC) and in the NOAA Institutional Repository must be performed by the contractor. Material formats requiring metadata will include: books, serials, journals, technical documents, videos, audio-visuals, maps, electronic documents and other formats not yet specified.

Creation of metadata records in the WorldCat database, the Symphony Integrated Library System, and any other online database that NCL deems necessary to its work, must be performed by the contractor using Government supplied workstations and networks. Other software that the government will supply and that the Contractor may need to use may include: OCLC Connexion, SirsiDynix Workflows, Excel and other systems.

2.1.2 Creation of metadata records for materials according to Resource Description and Access (RDA) and/or Anglo- American Cataloging Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2) rules, using MARC21 format standards, utilizing Library of Congress subject headings and using Library of Congress Classification, as locally defined and applied by NCL is the responsibility of the contractor and must be performed in accordance with the performance thresholds set forth in PRS 1. Upgrade of http://www.aacr2.org/ https://www.loc.gov/marc/ https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/naco/index.html https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/ https://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/classification/ https://www.oclc.org/en/rda/about.html https://section508.gov/create/documents https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/regulations/federal-travel-regulation-ftr https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/regulations/federal-travel-regulation-ftr https://endnote.com/ existing metadata records to these standards, as directed by NCL, may be required and must be completed by the contractor. In the case where other standards are used, or local rules apply, the Contractor will be directed by NCRL staff.

The creation of online authority metadata as part of the Library of Congress Program for Cooperative Cataloging Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO), must be performed by the contractor.

The creation of locally-defined index terms for descriptive metadata and the creation of metadata using these terms for specialized purposes identified by NCRL, must be performed by the contractor.

The creation of persistent identifiers for materials, such as digital object identifiers, using systems supplied by NCRL, must be performed by the contractor.

2.1.3 Digital upload of new or existing records to appropriate local library databases as identified by NCL, including creation, as necessary, of related records for serials control, circulation, holdings locations, and other purposes, must all be performed by the contractor

2.2 TASK TWO. Reference and Research Services, Customer Service

2.2.1 Reference and research services must be provided by the contractor to NOAA staff, and, as time allows, non-NOAA requestors. In order to answer inquiries and obtain information requested by NOAA staff, the contractor must use NOAALINC catalog, online and local databases, the electronic and the physical library collections, NOAA web pages, NOAA staff experts and any other appropriate resource in order to answer inquiries and obtain information requested by NOAA staff. In-coming questions must be screened by the contractor and those which can be answered with simple, readily available information must be provided with accurate responses. More complex, in-depth and time-intensive requests must be responded to by the contractor, in coordination and under the direction of the federal Head of Research Services. In the more complex cases, the contractor must create in-depth bibliographies, web pages, EndNote libraries, finding aids and any other work product that is responsive to the NOAA staff member’s question.

2.2.2 In providing reference services, a complete answer, or if this is not possible, an initial answer, must be delivered by the contractor within 24 hours. Any inquiry that the contractor is not able to answer within 24 hours must be escalated to the federal Head of Research Services.

2.2.3 On-site assistance to staff visiting the libraries, including assistance with retrieval of collection materials, and assistance with any aspect of using the physical library must be provided by the contractor.

2.3 TASK THREE. Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services

2.3.1 Initiation of interlibrary loan borrowing requests for NOAA staff and transmission of responses to incoming interlibrary loan lending requests from other libraries, must be successfully performed by the contractor using an electronic system provided by NCL. Borrowing requests for NOAA staff located at facilities without local library services may also be initiated if the Director, NCRL, approves. Upon request of NOAA staff, scans of collection materials must be furnished by the contractor (document delivery). All available appropriate resources must be used by the contractor to include, but not limited to: online journals, databases and the physical collections to fulfill these document delivery requests.

2.3.2 The Contractor shall respond to incoming inquiries on a daily basis and shall fulfill NOAA staff requests within an average of 72 hours – depending upon the availability of the item.

2.4 TASK FOUR. Bibliometric Analysis of NOAA Publications

2.4.1 Bibliometric analysis of NOAA peer-reviewed publications utilizing the Web of Science database, EndNote, and other NCL-provided tools must be conducted by the contractor. The types of bibliometric projects may range from single researcher impact reports to entire program analysis required in lab reviews. Specific metrics may include: publication metrics to analyze the research output of a group or lab; journal metrics to illustrate the relative importance of a journal;

citation metrics to help determine the relative quality and impact of a single article or the research output of a group;

network analysis to examine and visualize the relationships between publications; and others. In addition, the contractor shall be required to assist with related bibliometrics work such as data cleaning, web page updates and presentation and document preparation. For more information about NCL’s bibliometrics program see NCL’s guide:

https://libguides.library.noaa.gov/bibliometrics.

2.4.2 Bibliometric analysis at the NOAA Central Library under the guidance of the federal Senior Bibliometrics Librarian must be conducted by the contractor. Bibliometric work at other libraries may be done according to local requirements with or without the guidance of the NCL.

2.5 TASK FIVE. Scientific writing, copy editing, manuscript approvals, Sect. 508 preparation of NOAA publications

2.5.1 Performance and assistance with scientific writing and copy-editing tasks related to the production of NOAA reports and articles must be provided by the contractor. Specific tasks will be assigned by local federal staff but generally will focus on the performance objective to confirm and correct bibliographic references. Any specific task within scope, required to achieve the performance objective must be performed by the contractor.

2.5.2 Only NOAA provided software is authorized for use by the contractor to track, and monitor the manuscript approval process specified by the local line office or laboratory; any software that is not specifically provided to the contractor by NOAA shall not be used. Ensuring that each manuscript is approved by all required levels of supervisory or peer review personnel before it is approved for publication is the responsibility of the contractor.

2.5.3 NOAA publications that are intended to be displayed on any externally-facing websites, databases, or the NOAA Institutional Repository must meet the standards of Sect. 508 of the federal U.S. Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, either at the time of the document’s initial creation or later, after a paper version of the NOAA publication is digitized is the responsibility of the contractor. Acceptance criteria for this task is outlined in the NCL Subject Guide: Section 508 Compliance (https://libguides.library.noaa.gov/Section508).

2.6 TASK SIX. Library Outreach

2.6.1 Instructional and/or promotional content promoting library services and collections and dissemination of them via library web pages, social media tools, emails, printed materials and other media that the Government will determine as appropriate must be created by the contractor.

2.6.2 The creation and presentation of trainings, demonstrations, webinars, and exhibits featuring library services and collections must be performed by the contractor. In-office visits and staff all-hands meetings and other gatherings to present information about library services and collections the contractor must conduct or participate in. Additionally, demonstrations of government-provided installations such as Science on a Sphere the contractor must assist or conduct. In the case of conducting demonstrations of government-provided content or installations, the government will provide all necessary training.

2.6.3 The design and implementation of user needs assessments for collection development, creation methods for library users to provide feedback about library services and collections, and assistance with the development and implementation of usability testing of library web pages must be performed by the contractor.

2.7 TASK SEVEN. Maintenance and Upkeep of Library Collections, Metrics

2.7.1 Processing of physical materials for library collections to include barcodes, property stamps, security tags and spine labels, as necessary must be performed by the. Shelving of physical library materials in accordance with Library of Congress Classification numbers, or in accordance with a local numbering system must be performed by the contractor. In order to ensure the libraries’ collection is in order and easily retrievable by library users, the contractor must check and fix the order of the library collection for filing accuracy and maintain it in accordance with the Performance Thresholds outlined in the PRS.

2.7.2 The government-provided integrated library system must be used by the contractor to create library patron records for users, and to loan out and check-in circulated library materials. Inventory and maintenance process system must be used by the contractor to perform other inventory and maintenance processes necessary to track and control the library’s https://libguides.library.noaa.gov/bibliometrics https://libguides.library.noaa.gov/Section508 collections. Any other local government-provided databases to control library materials, must be used by the contractor.

Creation of local databases for collection maintenance purposes may also be required of the contractor.

2.7.3 Traditional librarian tasks including but not limited to opening and closing the libraries, resolving easy problems with facilities, library equipment and other standard business equipment and responsibility for keeping the libraries in physical order so they are useful to library users and visitors, must be performed by the contractor. In an event there is a facilities issue of which the contractor cannot resolve, they must immediately inform an on-site Government employee.

The contractor shall be responsible for lifting library materials, loading and pushing book trucks, reaching for items from tall shelves, packing boxes and other physical library-related tasks.

2.7.4 The contractor shall produce library usage statistics and metrics such as: electronic resource downloads, circulation statistics, and reference and research metrics so that the government can measure the usefulness of the library to NOAA staff. Other statistics may also be produced at the request of the government, including web page views and server log statistics, as necessary. The contractor shall produce periodic library reports summarizing important metrics and detailing accomplishments, as defined and directed by the government.

2.7.5 Problems with electronic access to digital library collections must be resolved by the contractor by working with the NCRL journal contractor or with the publisher. Problems that are not easily resolved shall be reported to the federal library staff at the NOAA Central Library within 48 hours.

2.7.6 The digitization of print library collections by identifying targets for digitization, locating items, creating shipping lists, and quality-checking files produced by the digitization vendor requires contractor assistance that must be provided.

Digitizing items using local equipment as requested by the government, may also be required of the contractor.

2.7.7 During and following an emergency situation the contractor must ensure physical library collections are reasonably secure and safe and follow any established notification protocol. An example of such an emergency is a water pipe leak or other emergency that threatens the security and integrity of the library collections.

2.7.8 Assistance with the physical inventory of library equipment and property must be performed by the contractor.

2.8 TASK EIGHT. Archival Tasks

2.8.1 The contractor shall support receiving, cataloging, evaluation, consolidation, disposition, metadata development, maintenance, shelving, and management of the National Center for Environmental Information’s (NCEI) physical archive holdings, including but not limited to paper documents, magnetic tapes and various other digital media, fiche, film and other physical media.

2.8.2 In the preparation of transferring of the records to the appropriate records retention center the contractor must review, separate and inventory contents of records and non-records containers maintained by NCEI at various facilities;

create or update NCEI and such other standards-compliant catalog metadata as NOAA Central Library and/or WorldCat;

coordinate with NOAA Central Library to ensure that publications are annotated with appropriate information to link publications to archival holdings; confirm that analog documentation matches digital archival contents prior to transferring or disposing of analog documentation

2.8.3 NCEI-supplied databases and specialized systems, as well as common office automation and other software tools must be used by the contractor. Much of the work will be technical, requiring knowledge of library and data science best practices, standards-based metadata, and an ability to develop effective workflow, tracking and reporting processes.

However, due to the nature of the material, the contractor will occasionally require lifting boxes of media, some of which may weigh more than 40 pounds (similar to a case of copier paper).

2.8.4 The physical safety and security of archive records during and following any emergency situation, such as a water leak or other emergency that threatens the security and integrity of the physical archives and compliance with any established notification protocol, must be ensured by the contractor.

2.9 TASK NINE. Property Accountability/Property Contact

2.9.1 If requested, assistance to the federal Property Custodian in conducting the annual inventory of NOAA assigned property in the Library as the Property Contact, must be performed by the contractor. The appropriate NOAA training which will enable the contractor to access the NOAA Sunflower property management system must be completed by the contractor. This is necessary to maintain current custodial records for all accountable property within their assigned custodial area to include physically signing property down to the end user level through the use of hand receipts.

Furthermore, prompt submission of appropriate reports to the Property Accountability Officer for lost, missing, stolen, destroyed, damaged, or rendered unserviceable accountable personal property, will be required of the contractor. Under no circumstances may the contractor exceed their specified role in the accountable property process. For more details on the Property Contact roles see:

https://www.pps.noaa.gov/property_officials_critical_elements/Property%20Contacts%20Roles.pdf.

3.0 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

3.1 QUALIFIED PERSONNEL

Staffing of qualified librarians to perform all requirements specified in this PWS must be furnished and provided by the contractor. Prior experience appropriate to the tasks outlined in the PWS must be provided and maintained by the contractor, including, but not limited to cataloging and metadata production, reference, bibliometrics, scientific writing skills, archival experience and library systems and web page skills. Based on the work required at the time, some tasks can be performed by paraprofessional or less-experienced library staff. These tasks include: collection maintenance, interlibrary loan and document delivery services, and some metadata tasks.

3.1.1 Specific qualifications for the personnel required by this contract are outlined below:

• Librarian III. Qualifications: A Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLS) from a college or university accredited by the American Library Association (ALA), plus 3-4 years of equivalent full-time experience as a professional librarian;

• Librarian II. Qualifications: A Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLS) from a college or university accredited by the American Library Association (ALA), plus 2-3 years of equivalent full-time experience as a professional librarian;

• Librarian I. Qualifications: A Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLS) from a college or university accredited by the American Library Association (ALA), plus 1-2 years of equivalent full-time experience as a professional librarian;

• Library Technician/Paraprofessional: Associate’s Degree from a recognized college or technical school, plus one year of experience.

3.1.2 During the period of contract performance, the Government will have the opportunity to review the resumes of all proposed contractor personnel.

3.1.3 Currently contract personnel are required at four locations. If requirements change, additional or fewer staff may be required as the need dictates, including additional staff at other locations not indicated below.

• NOAA Central Library in Silver Spring, Maryland, the Government will require 1 librarian III, six librarian II and 2 paraprofessionals.

• Betty Petersen Memorial Library, College Park, Maryland, the Government will require one full-time librarian III with a background in meteorology, climatology, remote sensing, and related disciplines. The Contractor shall manage all aspects of a one-person scientific library.

• National Centers for Environmental Information Library, Asheville, North Carolina, and the Government will require one full-time librarian II with a background in meteorology, climatology, and scientific writing. This Contractor will manage a digital scientific library and assist with document preparation.

• National Centers for Environmental Information Archives, Asheville, North Carolina, and the Government will require one full-time librarian II with backgrounds in archival maintenance.

3.1.4 Phase-In. A copy of a contract personnel list received from the incumbent contractor will be provided to the contractor. Upon request the Government may permit the contractor to provide business cards or applications to current contractor employees. No hiring or interviews are permitted at the government facility or during business hours. All interactions with the incumbent employees must be minimally intrusive to government operations.

https://www.pps.noaa.gov/property_officials_critical_elements/Property%20Contacts%20Roles.pdf

3.1.5 Adequate staffing flexibility to allow for the addition or deletion of personnel upon 30 days advance notice from the Contracting Officer’s Representative must be provided by the contractor. Similarly, expedited replacement of resigned contractor staff must be ensured by the contractor, to prevent a Government loss of productivity. Replacement of any of the contractor workforce must be with individuals with comparable experience and skills. Resumes of replacement personnel must be provided to the Contracting Officer’s Representative for review in sufficient time to satisfactorily submit to and clear the pre-employment background investigation process, which typically requires at least six weeks from when the required information is supplied by the contractor to the Department of Commerce’s Office of Security.

3.2 KEY PERSONNEL: PROJECT MANAGER

3.2.1 The contractor assigned Project Manager (PM) will be responsible for all contractor work performed under this PWS. The PM must be the single point of contact for the Contracting Officer and the COR. During any absence of the PM, only one alternate will have full authority to act for the Contractor on all matters relating to work performed under this contract. Additionally, the PM must not be replaced without prior approval from the Contracting Officer.

3.2.2 Between the hours of 8:30AM and 4:30PM ET, Monday through Friday, the PM must be available via telephone and must respond to a request for discussion or resolution of technical problems within two hours of notification.

3.2.3 Minimum Qualifications:

• Four (4) or more years of position advancement in libraries or archives;

• Two (2) or more years successful experience managing multiple library staff;

• Masters in Library Science

3.3 EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION

Contractor employees working on-site at Government facilities must wear a Government issued identification badge.

When their status is not readily apparent, all contractor employees must identify themselves as contractors (in meetings, when answering Government telephones, on work station signage, etc.) and display the Government issued badge in plain view above the waist at all times. Email messages and work product such as memos, presentations and other documents from contractor employees must contain a signature block identifying the individual as a contractor employee with the company’s name, with a reference to being a NOAA Agency Contractor.

3.4 EMPLOYEE CONDUCT

All applicable Government regulations, policies and procedures (e.g., fire, safety, sanitation, environmental protection, security, “off limits” areas, etc.) the contractor must ensure to comply with when visiting or working at Government facilities. Contractor employees must present with a professional appearance at all times and their conduct must not reflect discredit on the United States or NOAA and the contractor must ensure compliance. Contractor employees must understand and abide by NOAA established rules, regulations and policies concerning safety and security; compliance of all contractor staff is the responsibility of the PM.

3.5 REMOVING EMPLOYEES FOR MISCONDUCT OR SECURITY REASONS

The contractor shall comply with Government direction (in coordination with the Contracting Officer where practical) to remove any contractor employee from NOAA facilities for misconduct or security reasons. Removal does not relieve the contractor of the responsibility to continue providing the services required under the contract. The Contracting Officer should provide the contractor with a written explanation to support any request to remove an employee.

4.0 OTHER APPLICABLE CONDITIONS

4.1 SECURITY

4.1.1 Contractor access to classified information is not currently required under this PWS.

4.1.2 Pre-screening of contractor staff to eliminate anyone who does not meet the following criteria, must be performed by the contractor: the prospective employee must be either a U.S. citizen or, if a non-U.S. Citizen, have official legal status in the United States, including a work permit, commonly referred to as a “Green Card.”

4.1.3 Prior to commencing work under this contract, the contractor must submit, or have their employees submit, the required forms delineated by the Office Security to the Government for processing. Among these forms are, but are not limited to: Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions, and Fingerprint charts.

4.1.4 When notified of a Government rejected suitability assessment form, the contractor must either have the rejected forms made compliant and resubmitted; or withdraw the employee from consideration from working under this contract.

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance will be the NOAA facilities at the following locations:

• NOAA Central Library, 1315 East West Highway, SSMC3, 2nd Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

• Betty Petersen Memorial Library, 5830 University Research Court, College Park, MD 20740

• National Centers for Environmental Information Library and Archives, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801-

4.3 HOURS OF OPERATION

Contractor employees shall generally perform all work between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). The contractor under no circumstance shall work more than a regular 40-hour week without prior approval from the Government.

Contractor personnel shall not generally work on designated federal holidays or at any other time that Government employees are dismissed from working. Examples of circumstances that might result in unforeseen dismissal of employees includes, but is not limited to: inclement weather, loss of electrical power, various emergencies, and early dismissals prior to a major holiday.

With the exception of some tasks involving maintenance of physical collections or physical archives, many tasks under this PWS can be accomplished via telework. Telework requests must be authorized by the COR prior to the commencement of any telework. The PM shall submit telework requests to the COR for approval that include telework plans. Telework plans will consist of specific tasks and estimates of time that the contractor employee will spend on each task during the telework period.

4.4 TRAVEL

Contractor travel may be required to support this requirement. For travel required by the Government that is outside the local commuting area(s), actual travel costs will be reimbursed in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 31.205-46 and Federal Travel Regulations. COR approval must be obtained by the contractor (electronic mail is acceptable) for all reimbursable travel in advance of each travel event. Profit shall not be applied to travel costs.

4.5 PROJECT PLAN

A draft Project Plan must be provided by the contractor at the Post Award Conference for Government review and comment. The final Project Plan must be provided by the contractor to the COR not later than 30 business days after the Post Award Conference.

4.6 PROGRESS REPORTS

Monthly progress reports must be provided to the Contracting Officer and COR by the PM via electronic mail. A summary of all contractor work performed, including a breakdown of labor hours by labor category, all direct costs by line item, an assessment of technical progress, schedule status, any travel conducted and any contractor concerns or recommendations for the previous reporting period must be provided in this report.

4.7 PROGRESS MEETINGS

The PM shall be available to meet with the COR upon request to present deliverables, discuss progress, exchange information and resolve emergent technical problems and issues. These meetings shall take place at the NOAA Central Library, 1315 East West Highway, SSMC3, 2nd Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 or by teleconference.

4.8 GENERAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall provide all written reports in electronic format with read/write capability using applications that are compatible with NOAA workstations (e.g., Windows XP and Microsoft Office Applications).

4.9 SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE

Natalie Smith (Policy) Natalie.D.Smith@noaa.gov (301) 713-3525 ext.213 Pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) as amended by P.L. 105-220 under Title IV (Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998) all Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) developed, procured, maintained and/or used under this contract shall be in compliance with the “Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards” set forth by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also referred to as the “Access Board”) in 36 CFR Part 1194. The complete text of Section 508 Standards can be accessed at http://www.access-board.gov/ or at http://www.section508.gov.

5.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED RESOURCES

5.1 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Government will supply the contractor with personal computers and software necessary. The contractor provide periodical updates on the status of such property to the COR. All Government provided equipment will be maintained by the Government. The contractor will determine operational status of all equipment. It shall be the contractor’s responsibility to notify the COR of any malfunctions or suspected improper equipment performance. Other Government furnished items will be identified as part of work assignments.

5.2 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY

All facilities, materials, equipment and services necessary to fulfill the requirements of this contract the contractor is responsible for furnishing, except for the Government Furnished Resources specified in PWS 5.1.

6.0 GOVERNMENT ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

The COR will review deliverables prior to acceptance and provide the contractor with an e-mail that provides documented reasons for non-acceptance. If the deliverable is acceptable, the COR will send an e-mail to the contractor notifying it that the deliverable has been accepted.

The COR will have the right to reject or require correction of any deficiencies found in the deliverables that are contrary to the information contained in the contract. In the event of a rejected deliverable, the contractor will be notified in writing by the COR of the specific reasons for rejection. The contractor may have an opportunity to correct the rejected deliverable and return it per delivery instructions.

The COR will have 10 business days to review deliverables and make comments. The contractor shall have 10 business days to make corrections and redeliver.

All other review times and schedules for deliverables shall be agreed upon by the parties based on the final approved Project Plan. The contractor shall be responsible for timely delivery to Government personnel in the agreed upon review chain, at each stage of the review. The contractor shall work with personnel reviewing the deliverables to assure that the established schedule is maintained.

mailto:Natalie.D.Smith@noaa.gov http://www.access-board.gov/ http://www.section508.gov/