JA DAFL Cat and ILL Subscription Redacted.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

March 2023 SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE Page 2 of 6

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) [ Official Signature Block ]

Signature

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

March 2023 SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE Page 3 of 6

I. Contracting Activity.

773 Enterprise Source Squadron 1517 Billy Mitchell Blvd, Bldg 954 San Antonio, TX 78236-1865

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

Due to circumstances described herein, the activity requests authority to purchase the Cataloging and Interlibrary loan subscription using Other Than Full and Open Competition as prescribed by FAR 13.106-1(b) (soliciting from a single source), and 13.501(a)(Sole source acquisitions). This individual action will result in the award of a new Firm Fixed Price Contract. This sole source requirement will be acquired from the following organization: OCLC, Inc.

The Department of the AF Libraries require a Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan product that meets the libraries mission to provide quality and technically capable materials as stated in AFI 34-150. The mission of DAF Libraries is outlined in DoDI 1015.10 stating DoD Libraries will provide information resources and services required to accomplish the mission. The DAF libraries support military personnel assigned to contingency operations, remote sites, and military missions IAW DoDI 1015.10, Military Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Programs. The program provides professional military and voluntary education programs materials and services. Libraries also provide facilities, resources, and services to enhance the quality of life, regeneration, and resiliency for authorized customers. These resources relate to various overarching goals of the DAF such as recreation, physical wellness, emotional resiliency, and educational pursuits.

To meet these needs, the DAF libraries must procure resources that can be accessed globally, including in areas with low or no internet access, and provide the below stated requirements. These resources need to include access to quality-of-life resources. In order to meet these needs, the DAF Libraries need access to OCLC's database subscription. OCLC provides access to bibliographic, abstract, and full-text information. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog (OPAC) in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. OCLC's Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan subscriptions enable DAF libraries to participate in loaning and borrowing resources from other libraries around the world. The resources from OCLC enable DAF libraries to provide additional resources without the cost of purchasing. Additionally, this access will help the DAF Libraries provide its users with resources for cataloging and interlibrary loans that are necessary to the education programs and are accessible to remote locations as well. DAF Libraries process and circulate over 3 million items each year. DAF Libraries borrowed and loaned over 90K items each year with other libraries worldwide. This is not possible without the subscriptions that the DAF and DOD Libraries have with OCLC for Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The proposed effort covered by this individual J&A is for a 12-month subscription to OCLC Catalog and Interlibrary Loan resource subscription. The requirement is for a subscription database that provides OCLC Catalog systems for the Department of the AF Library Program, not available from any other source, and supplements the library's collection of educational materials. They host the data on servers in Dublin, Ohio (with backups around the nation), and the data is provided in a format suitable to libraries. No other vendor collects, updates, curates, and distributes the amount of bibliographic data that OCLC can provide to subscribers (members). OCLC has the exclusive rights to provide these systems to libraries and other educational institutions. WorldCat, which is only available through OCLC, provides a hub for data, as well as services and applications to find anything held in library collections efficiently and quickly from anywhere.

Without the OCLC catalog, the Academic and Tech libraries would not be able to search for books nor update and catalog records. The cataloging and library applications exclusively offered by OCLC are vital references for the AFSVC to accomplish a multitude of missions. Without this sole source acquisition, the DAF Academic and

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Technical library users and staff would not have access to critical, one-of-a-kind products necessary for daily functioning and educational support. OCLC is the only vendor available for MWR/General and the Academic and Technical Libraries to use for Interlibrary Loan resource sharing worldwide to meet DAF libraries user's needs.

The new contract will have a period of performance of 12 months and four (4) CLINS:

Base Year: 31 Aug 2024 - 30 Aug 2025

CLIN 0001 - Cataloging Tech and Academic Subscription

CLIN 0002 - Interlibrary Loan Tech and Academic Subscription

CLIN 0003 - Interlibrary Loan MWR Subscription

CLIN 0004 - Holdings Registration MWR Subscription

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

DAFFARS 5313.901 -10 U.S.C. 3572, Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901)

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

The OCLC subscription offers an all-encompassing collection and services that provide high quality resources that can be accessible in all locations via the OCLC Platform. The depth and breadth of OCLC Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan content make it the only feasible supplier that can meet the DAF libraries' needs and provide customers with an all-inclusive database. There are no other comparable services that would cover all of these aspects in one place with the same functionality and access. Without this acquisition, the DAF Libraries' mission to provide timely and instantly accessible cataloging and interlibrary loan information that can be downloaded would be seriously harmed or delayed without the latest, up-to-the minute information and full service capabilities available from this subscription.

OCLC has exclusive legal copyright to its cataloging and interlibrary loan resources and is a direct order company. OCLC is a proprietary platform that DAF Libraries programs already maintains current collections of all DAF Libraries for over 30 years. The established collection cannot be moved to another platform without the significant loss of the already stored collection. DAF Libraries Program wants to maintain the established collection. OCLC is the only known source capable of providing the item described above for the Department of Defense to accomplish the libraries' mission.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

Market research confirms that OCLC is the only known source that can satisfy the Government's requirements and is intended to support the DAF Libraries Program. The Government published a Sources Sought Notice on SAM.gov, Notice ID FA805224PRE06A on 23 April 2024 with a response due date/time of 4:00 PM CDT on 07 May 2024. After a lack of response was received, the sources sought notice was extended to 15 May 2024. The notice identified NAICS 519290 for Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services. Additionally, the posting outlined the minimum characteristics that a similar service would have to meet to fulfill the requirement and requested that any interested firms submit a capabilities package indicating their interest and capacity to fulfill the requirement. One response was received: OCLC, Inc. After further review and research, NAICS code 519210 - Libraries and Archives seemed to be more accurate for this requirement therefore a new sources sought notice was posted (FA805224PRE06B) on 10 July 2024 with a response date of 15 July 2024. Again only one response was received which was OCLC, Inc.

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VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The CO determination that the price will be fair and reasonable is based on a review of historical data and will be reviewed against the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) to determine reasonableness.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

In accordance with FAR part 10, market research was conducted by 773 ESS via sources sought notice to canvass potential vendors. See section VI

The AFSVC/VCL and the DOD Library forum continually surveys the commercial library market in order to determine if competition is available. Library staff reviewed relevant professional journals and publications to acquire information on the capabilities available in the market. The products of other service providers were also compared and reviewed annually at library technology conferences. The libraries are in constant contact with other agency librarians to assess the competitive environment for this supply.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

Based on market research, OCLC, Inc., is the only known vendor capable of performing this requirement.

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

OCLC, Inc.

6565 KILGOUR PL.

DUBLIN, OH 43017 USA

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

Moving forward, the Contracting Office intends to hold an Industry Day to attract potential vendors.

Additionally, the Contracting Office will attend the annual library/educational conference to monitor and evaluate potential sources of supply. They will also post sources sought notices to survey the market to determine if there are any viable vendors capable of fulfilling this requirement. The results of the market research will dictate the acquisition strategy.

AFSVC/VCL will continue to survey the market for vendors to obtain competition through publishers' advertisements, annual professional conferences, vendor demonstrations, customer suggestions and new publication reviews in conducting its surveys.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my signature above, I certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my responsibility, is both accurate and complete.