Draft - Statement of Requirements (SOR).docx

Statement of Requirements Air University Library Periodicals Contract

1.0 PURPOSE. The Air University Library (AUL) requires serial subscriptions to a list of print and electronic journals in order to support the mission of Air University (AU). The contractor shall furnish all qualified personnel, facilities, and supplies for the placement of subscriptions to single or multiple addresses for domestic and foreign serials and periodicals published in paper and other formats, and for related services.

AUL is an academic library located on Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. AU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and serves as the center for professional military education for the United States Air Force. Additional information on the centers and schools can be found on the AU website at: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/.

2.0 DESCRIPTION OF ITEMS. The following items are required for performance under this contract:

2.1 Basic Subscription Service: The contractor shall provide basic subscription services that would include all the tasks necessary to execute and manage orders for new and renewal subscriptions to serial publications, both print and electronic. Required titles and formats are in the attached Title List. Required tasks include:

2.1.1 Ordering and renewing subscriptions: The contractor shall ensure all orders are placed in a timely manner to ensure no breaks in coverage occur.

2.1.2 Serving as AUL’s fiscal agent with publishers, including making timely prepayments and processing refunds.

2.1.3 The contractor’s system must supply detailed, volume-level and issue-level metadata for all active serial titles.

2.1.3.1 This must include verifiable dispatch dates indicating when specific volumes and issues were dispatched by the publisher.

2.1.3.2 This data must be accessible via the web-based portal to enable AUL to systematically reconcile and compare publisher dispatch timelines against local library receipt records.

2.1.4 Facilitating timely access and claiming delivery of ordered subscriptions, both print and electronic.

2.1.5 Claiming Services:

2.1.5.1 The contractor shall provide claiming services for the life of the subscriptions.

2.1.5.2 The contractor shall possess, maintain, and utilize Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) capabilities to facilitate the electronic submission, transmission, processing, and tracking of claims. The contractor’s systems must support standard EDI transaction sets (Secure File Transfer Protocol [S/FTP] connection standards) to enable automated, seamless claiming transactions.

2.1.5.3 Documentation on claims procedures/instructions shall be provided, e.g. manuals, reference guides, web documents, etc. The contractor's online claims service must also provide information showing volume and issue information for titles, and when specific volumes and issues were dispatched by the publisher so that AUL can compare to local receipts, when available.

2.1.5.4 The contractor’s EDI claiming capabilities and workflow processes must be fully compatible and integrated with the library services platform Alma (by Ex Libris). This includes, but is not limited to, supporting:

2.1.5.4.1 Automated claim submissions directly from the Alma system.

2.1.4.5.2 The contractor is responsible for collaborating with the Air University Library (AUL) technical administrators to test, configure, and maintain stable integration with the Alma platform throughout the performance period of the contract.

2.1.5.4 The contractor shall offer a secure, web-based electronic claims portal.

2.1.5.5 The contractor shall offer email claim services as a backup to the web-based portal.

2.1.5.6 The contractor shall place all claims with the publisher within five working days after receipt.

2.1.5.7 The contractor shall include a copy of the original order to the publisher and the payment information for initial claim submissions.

2.1.5.8 The contractor shall provide a quarterly listing via email of all outstanding claims and any responses received from the publishers. The report shall include publisher’s claims time limits.

2.1.6 Memberships: Contractor will identify subscriptions that require membership on the quote.

2.1.7 Option Year Renewals: No later than 120 days prior to subscription expirations, the contractor will provide a complete list of current subscriptions as indicated in Paragraph 2.2.3 Renewal List.

2.1.7.1 For new titles added during an option year renewal, the contractor shall provide pricing projections for all remaining option years on the contract.

2.1.8 Subscription Status Information: Contractor shall notify AUL via email of any irregularity or change in publication status (e.g., non-cancelable, slow, irregular, discontinued, order direct, split title, not due for renewal at this time, period restricted, establishing contact with publisher, temporarily suspended publication, foreign title, estimated price, changes in publisher packages, etc.).

2.1.9 Cancellations and Refunds:

2.1.9.1 If funds are recovered they must be promptly credited to the Government and no administrative fee shall be charged.

2.1.9.2 If no funds will be recovered under a cancellation, the contractor shall notify the contracting officer and AUL.

2.1.9.3 In the case where replacement is unavailable and credits are offered, the contractor shall make a credit in full of all amounts refunded by the publishers.

2.1.9.4 If publications are only available through a direct order arrangement, are discontinued, suspended, otherwise unavailable or have had a title change, the contractor shall notify AUL and issue a credit if the subscription has already been invoiced.

2.1.10 Administrative Services: The contractor shall provide the following administrative services:

2.2. Reports and Title Lists: The contractor shall provide lists containing all or part of the following information as specified by AUL.

2.2.1.12 Online/Digital Access Method (IP authentication, username/password, email etc.)

2.2.1.16 Local information lines: at least one field shall be provided to store AUL’s internal data; must be able to store a minimum of 30 characters

2.2.2 Financial Summary Report: all contractor instigated credit or debit invoices to AUL for services provided.

2.2.3 Renewal List: The renewal list must be provided in an Excel format during the month of August for titles to be renewed in the upcoming option year. It should follow the same format as the Initial Title list as laid out in paragraph 2.2.1.

2.3 The Government reserves the right to add, change or delete up to 25 titles each year.

2.4 Web-Based Serials Management System: The contractor shall provide a web based system to provide information regarding new and renewal subscriptions information. Access to the system should not require a client, specific web browser, add-ons, extensions or plugins to be installed. At a minimum, the electronic system must include the following features:

2.4.1 Search Features:

· Title or Series

· ISSN

· Publisher

· Contractor reference number (if applicable)

2.4.2 Display features:

· Bibliographic/order information for each serial title including title, publisher, ISSN, frequency

· Invoice payment information for, at a minimum, the current and previous year

· Full order details to include local information

· Ship-to address

· Specific publisher terms (for example, is the title non-cancelable? Is it also available as part of membership? Additional titles/items included in subscription, etc.)

· Hyperlinks to publisher websites and email addresses when available to assist with claiming decisions.

· Information about publisher delays and when the next issue is expected when available

· For electronic subscriptions: provide licensing, registration, and access information when available (for example, URL for electronic access, if a proxy server is allowed, if electronic content purchased is retained if subscription lapses, if remote access is allowed, if the title is only accessible via username and password, etc.)

· Information regarding format changes, publisher changes, Open Access changes, and publisher package changes when applicable.

· Allow AUL to set up different levels of access and permissions for various staff members.

3.0 DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS:

3.1 BILL TO AND SHIPPING LOCATIONS:

Billing Address: (in addition to invoicing in WAWF, send detailed invoice to address below)

AUL

600 CHENNAULT CIR

BLDG 1405 RM 160

MAXWELL AFB, AL 36112

Shipping Addresses: (see attached title list for details)

AUL

600 CHENNAULT CIR

BLDG 1405 RM 160

MAXWELL AFB, AL 36112

AUL-GUNTER

610 MCDONALD ST.

BUILDING 1018

MONTGOMERY, AL 36114

Attachments:

Attachment 1 – FY27 Final Title List