RFPLCFDL14R7000.doc

Document Title:

FEDLINK INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

Document Number:

RFP LCFDL14R7000

Page

SECTION A STANDARD FORM 1449

Offeror to complete shaded blocks 17(a), 17(b), 30(a), 30(b) & 30(c)

LCFDL14R7000

(No Collect Calls)

8. OFFER DUE DATE/ LOCAL TIME

INFORMATION CALL:

2:00 PM EST

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UNRESTRICTED

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SET-ASIDE: FOR

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SMALL BUSINESS

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HUBZONE SMALL BUSINESS

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8(A)NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINATION UNLESS BLOCK IS MARKED

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SEE SCHEDULE

12.DISCOUNT TERMS

Important: When responding, complete all lightly shaded blocks and return the entire package to the address that follows.

The Library of Congress

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13a. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER

Office of Contracts and Grants Management

UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

FEDLINK Contracts Section, LA-318

13b. RATING

101 Independence Avenue, S.E.

Washington, DC 20540-9414

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

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RFQ

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IFB

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RFP

17a. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

OFFEROR

CODE

FACILITY CODE

Contractor/Offeror Name and Address:

TO BE SHOWN ON EACH ORDER ISSUED UNDER ANY

CONTRACT RESULTING FROM THIS SOLICITATION

Duns Number:

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17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER

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SEE ADDENDUM

DO NOT COMPLETE BLOCKS 19 THROUGH 24.

SEE SCHEDULE OF SERVICES BEGINNING ON PAGE 4

(Attach Additional Sheet as Necessary)

SEE BLOCK 15

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27a. solicitation incorporates by reference FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 and 52.212-5 are attached. Addenda FORMCHECKBOX are FORMCHECKBOX are not attached.

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27b. contract/purchase order incorporates by reference FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 is attached.

Addenda FORMCHECKBOX are FORMCHECKBOX are not attached.

28.

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AWARD OF CONTRACT: REFERENCE__________________OFFER DATED____________ . YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION (BLOCK 5), INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE SET FORTH HEREIN, IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

Prescribed by GSA ( FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

A.1 SUMMARY OF OFFER

Offeror’s Name:

DUNS Number:

Tax ID Number:

Offeror’s Address:

Offeror’s Telephone:

Offeror’s Fax:

Small Business

Small Disadvantaged

8(a)

HUBZone Small Business

Woman-Owned Small Business

Veteran-Owned Small Business

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

Large Business

Woman-Owned Large Business

Joint Venture

Business Type:

(Check all that apply) Authorized Negotiators: (List each individual’s information)

Contract Line Item Number(s) (CLINs) Offered (Check all that apply):

B.2.1. Electronic Databases/Publications

B.2.3. Vendor Associated Publications

B.2.2. Document Delivery

B.2.4 Specialized Access/Products Integration

Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales to Federal Government:

CERTIFICATION

By signing below, the Offeror represents that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the information included in this offer is complete, accurate and true. The undersigned certifies that no changes have been made to the solicitation and that the hard copies submitted with the proposal are identical to the Request for Proposal issued under solicitation number LCFDL14R7000. Unless an exception is specifically stated, all terms and conditions as stated herein are accepted.

A.2. TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION B -

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

Prices are firm during each fiscal-year performance period, and not subject to increase during each fiscal year performance period under this contract, but may increase from the base year (and option year to option year) subject to the yearly cap imposed by Subsection B.1.

Contract period will be for one base year period with four one-year options through 9/30/2018. The Government reserves the right to reopen competition to new potential contractors annually.

Prices, services, terms and conditions found in catalogs or brochures do not apply to the extent that they modify or conflict with the prices, services terms and conditions of this contract. LC/FEDLINK Customers may sign basic software license agreements for products or services acquired under this contract; however, terms and conditions of this contract, Federal Law, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) take precedence over any such license or other agreement. The rights and obligations provided by the contract will take precedence over the rights and obligations set forth in any licensing agreements provided to LC/FEDLINK Customers by the Contractor. The Agency’s incorporation of a licensing agreement into a contract via contract modification excludes terms of the licensing agreement that contravene, modify or conflict with the contract. Furthermore, even if the Agency agrees to incorporate a licensing agreement into the contract, the Agency does not agree to provisions that address the following matters: indemnification; interest penalty payments; compliance with industry standards not imposed by law; choice of law; choice of venue or forum; arbitration; and provisions mandating alternate dispute resolution. Consistent with Section H.13, any licensing agreements incorporated into a delivery order pursuant to this contract will be governed by the contract payment terms including, but not limited to fees, increase, interest, and taxes.

To support Customer agencies’ procurement decisions, the Contractor shall clearly state whether its products and services are compliant with Section 508.

Orders placed against this IDIQ contract use the procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and are considered to be issued under full and open competition. Ordering offices do not need to seek further competition, synopsize the requirement, make a separate determination of fair and reasonable pricing, or consider small business programs. By placing an order against this contract, the ordering office has concluded that the order represents the best value and results in the lowest cost alternative to meet the government’s needs.

The minimum contract amount of this IDIQ contract will be $__tbd__. The maximum cumulative amount that the Government may order and the Contractor will be required to supply under this contract is $ tbd annually.

B.1. PRICING PROPOSAL. All products and pricing offered must be associated with the appropriate Contract Line Item Number (CLIN). The Contractor will indicate a yearly cap on price increases and explain how price cap was determined. The template below is provided as guidance to Offerors on how to submit a pricing proposal. While all pricing situations may not fit the template, it must be used to the maximum extent possible. Contractor will recreate the template when preparing its price proposal.

Ba B.2. Base Year Pricing – FY14

B.2.2. Document Delivery Services (C.3.)

B.2.2.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.2.3. Vendor Associated Publications (C.4.)

B.2.3.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.3. Option Year 1 – FY15 (10/1/14– 9/30/15)

B.3.2. Document Delivery Services (C.3.)

B.3.2.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.3.3. Vendor Associated Publications (C.4.)

B.3.3.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.4. Option Year 2 – FY16 (10/1/15 – 9/30/16)

B.4.2. Document Delivery Services (C.3.)

B.4.2.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.4.3. Vendor Associated Publications (C.4.)

B.4.3.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.5. Option Year 3 – FY17 (10/1/16 – 9/30/17)

B.5.2. Document Delivery Services (C.3.)

B.5.2.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.5.3. Vendor Associated Publications (C.4.)

B.5.3.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.6. Option Year 4 – FY18 (10/1/17 – 9/30/18)

B.6.2. Document Delivery Services (C.3.)

B.6.2.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.6.3. Vendor Associated Publications (C.4.)

B.6.3.1. Rush Order/Delivery Service

B.2. VOLUME DISCOUNTS. Contractors that meet the following criteria are asked to offer sales-volume discounts in addition to the discounts offered in the initial Pricing Proposal in Section B.1:

Had sales to the Federal government in the previous fiscal year that exceeded $3 million under NAICS codes 511199, 518210, 519120, 519130 and/or 519190.

Contractors are asked to offer sales-volume discounts when total spending through the FEDLINK contracts exceeds the dollar-value thresholds shown in the following table. Sales against these thresholds will be based on the aggregate dollar value of all purchases made by federal agencies and entities, regardless of whether the spending occurs through the Transfer option or the Direct Express option or is made by transaction, subscription, or block. Once a dollar-value threshold is reached, it will automatically be given to all federal agencies and entities. Additional volume discounts will be applicable within 30 days from the end of the calendar month in which the volume threshold is reached. Once a volume discount threshold is reached, and the discount achieved, it carries forward for the life of the contract. Prices do not reset at the beginning of option years. For customers with prepaid or block subscriptions, vendors must remit the entire discount in U.S. dollars at the end of the next quarterly reporting period, consistent with Section C.2.2.(d)(3).

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1.

INTRODUCTION. The objective of this solicitation is to establish an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for acquisition of or access to commercial off-the-shelf electronic information resources for the FEDLINK program.

C.1.1.

LC/FEDLINK AUTHORIZATION. Over 40 years ago, the Library of Congress (LC) began working with libraries and information centers in Federal agencies to negotiate centralized contracts with providers of online database services, books, journals, and other information materials. The program first operated under the Economy Act and a delegation of procurement authority under the Brooks Act. Since that time, the contracts established by the Library’s FEDLINK program have satisfied the technical requirements of the Federal library and information community and the strictures of Government procurement and fiscal law. As members of a nationwide interagency consortium, FEDLINK customer agencies earn volume discounts and avoid costly, duplicative contracting actions.

Building upon the program’s success and recognizing the importance of information resources, in 2001 the Congress enacted a statutory revolving fund for FEDLINK. The LC/FEDLINK revolving fund statute, codified at 2 U.S.C. § 182c (f)(1), authorizes the LC/FEDLINK program to provide the following services “on behalf of participating Federal libraries, Federal information centers, other entities of the Federal Government, and the District of Columbia:

(A) The procurement of commercial information services, publications in any format, and library support services.

(B) Related accounting services.

(C) Related education, information, and support services.

With this authorization, LC/FEDLINK establishes centralized IDIQ contracts against which Federal offices in all branches of government (executive, including Department of Defense; legislative; and judicial), independent agencies, and contractors authorized to use federal sources of supply under FAR part 51 are authorized to place orders. Legal offices, laboratories, information and data centers, analysts, scientists and other end-users in Federal agencies may acquire their electronic resources and publications through LC/FEDLINK. The program also provides accounting services: receiving and processing invoices for Customers who transfer funds to the program and making centralized payments to Contractors.

LC/FEDLINK contractual agreements are established through formal procurement processes that meet the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and follow the guidance provided by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). The contracts are negotiated to achieve the lowest possible price and most favorable terms and conditions.

C.1.2.

STRATEGIC SOURCING INITIATIVE. The Federal Government wants to improve the leveraging of its buying power and has taken a number of steps to prioritize government-wide strategic sourcing so that agencies can take advantage of reduced prices, related increased administrative efficiencies, and other benefits. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established the Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council (SSLC) to increase the number of strategic sourcing solutions available and reduce redundant contract vehicles. The SSLC is made up of the agencies that spend over 90% of Federal procurement dollars and was established in OMB Memorandum M-13-02, issued on December 5, 2012 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-02_0.pdf).

Each of the solutions being developed under the auspices of the SSLC is led by a lead agency with the assistance of an interagency team comprised of agency commodity experts. The Library of Congress FEDLINK program is working with OMB and the SSLC to develop a government-wide solution for information services. The SSLC has designated LC/FEDLINK as the lead agency for this effort.

Accordingly, LC/FEDLINK was advised in the development of this solicitation by agency information services experts, and many of the provisions of this document directly reflect their input and their agencies’ needs. This solicitation also includes provisions that will improve the agencies’ commodity management practices so they can continually improve how they buy and manage the goods and services being acquired under this agreement. If the IDIQ contract that results from this solicitation is successful in responding to agencies’ requirements and achieves the SSLC’s strategic sourcing goals for volume-based buying and better commodity management, SSLC agencies will be asked to use this vehicle to the maximum extent practicable in meeting their information services requirements. All branches of the government are invited to participate in LC/FEDLINK’s information services solution to further maximize the benefits.

C.1.3. SCOPE. Contractors will be capable of providing products/services for ordering agencies with multiple organizational levels and geographic locations nationwide and/or worldwide. The Contractor will also be capable of handling multiple purchase orders simultaneously. Contracts may be divided into four lots as follows:

Lot 1 – Electronic Databases/Publications

Lot 2 – Document Delivery Services

Lot 3 – Associated Publications

Lot 4 – Specialized Access/Product Integration

Contractors must offer products/services under Lot 1 in order to provide products/services under Lot 3, and must offer products/services under either Lot 1 and/or Lot 2 in order to provide products/services under Lot 4.

Note that electronic training and online courses are not the focus of this solicitation and are out-of-scope for this contract. Only educational, electronic training, and online courses that supplement, support or are directly related to products and services offered under Lot 1 are allowed. This offering is limited and directly related to the products/services offered under Lot 1.

As further explained below, this solicitation marks the first time that LC/FEDLINK will be managing the acquisition of information products and services for all federal agencies and entities participating in the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI). As one fundamental purpose of the FSSI is to aggregate government purchases and increase savings, a Contractor’s ability to offer volume discounts based on aggregated government-wide purchases and to produce timely and accurate purchasing information take on increased importance to customers using a contract. Consequently, this new LC/FEDLINK informational retrieval services solicitation contains provisions that differ from those in the previous contracts with regard to: a generalized program funding fee; tiered discounts based on increased sales volume; and information reporting.

C.2.

LOT 1 – ELECTRONIC DATABASES/PUBLICATIONS.

C.2.1.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. Lot 1 is the core of this contract. It covers publishers and vendors who provide access to commercial off‑the‑shelf electronic materials in many publication formats as described below. Contractors must provide products and services under either Lot 1 or Lot 2.

(a) Information Retrieval Databases. Electronic information retrieval database vendors provide access, search and retrieval of information from databases and other electronic publications installed on a server at the vendor’s facility and made available through the vendor’s search interface. The system may be accessed and search results delivered via the Internet/Web, dedicated lines/ports or newsfeeds. Access is typically controlled through Internet protocol (IP) addresses or passwords for individual users. Authorized users can search and retrieve text on-demand, view records on their desktop and download or print items in a variety of record formats. Information retrieval services may be priced by transaction, subscription, or in blocks.

(b) Current Awareness Service. Variously known as personalized alerts, trackers, SDIs (selective dissemination of information), or table of contents services, current awareness services monitor electronic databases/publications and report items that match a user-specific interest profile or search strategy. Current awareness search results are delivered to the user electronically. Current awareness services may be priced by transaction, by subscription or in blocks.

Profiles may be specific to individuals, groups of associated users, or may be predefined by the Contractor. Examples would be: a scientist might establish an alert for research on environmental toxins; an agency may set up a regular search for citations to articles published by its grantees; a librarian might subscribe to table of contents service for journals used by library customers; a contractor might establish a standard profile for updates on legislative or regulatory action on telecommunications reform.

(c) Portal and Content Integration Services Portal (“gateway” or “meta-search”) services provide a single search interface to information resources in a wide array of formats via communications links to disparate information retrieval systems. Portals provide centralized access and federated searching of Web sites or products and/or other electronic information retrieval systems. Portals usually provide a common interface or command language for integrated searching, and may offer centralized administration and billing for use of remote fee-for-service or proprietary systems. Systems accessed via the portal and charges billed through the portal must fall within the scope of this solicitation. Portal services may be priced by transaction, by subscription or in blocks.

Content integration services involve combining content from disparate sources and providing users with a unified view of and access to that content. Content integration can consolidate content sources under a single interface enabling users to discover, search, navigate, and manipulate consistent content. Integration services may apply taxonomies, uniform tagging, metadata, indexing, ontology and vocabularies to content. The content can be normalized, optimized and migrated to a wide array of end-user applications, platforms, enterprise portals, or content management systems. Content integration services facilitate sharing, discovery, delivery, and usability of content. Content integration services may be priced by quantity (eg. transaction, blocks, content) or by subscription.

(d) Electronic Serials. Electronic serials (e-journals) are publications that typically include articles, illustrations, and other materials that appear in an issue of a journal, magazine or other periodical publication. E-journals may be published solely in electronic format or may be electronic versions of traditional print periodicals. E-journals frequently incorporate hyperlinks or multi-media elements. They are usually provided on a subscription basis to a defined group of users within an organization or to a consortium of institutions. The Contractor will provide access to an archive or back issues of the e-journals, by maintaining the files centrally or allowing the subscriber to retain an archival copy.

Note that book jobbers and serials agents are covered by separate LC/FEDLINK solicitations and agreements and are not the subject of this procurement.

(e) Electronic Books. Electronic books that library patrons can search, borrow, read, and return via the Web or other Internet channels. E‑books may be published as full text collections or individual titles. E-books may be electronic versions of print titles, or may be works published solely in electronic format. E‑books frequently incorporate interactive learning tools, such as hyperlinks or multi-media elements. They are usually provided for the institutional library or information center market on a subscription basis. The vendor typically provides access to e-books while maintaining the files centrally. Library subscribers may incorporate e-books bibliographic records into their existing information retrieval catalogs for users’ desktop access.

Note that book jobbers and serials agents are covered by separate LC/FEDLINK solicitations and agreements and are not the subject of this procurement.

C.2.2. SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

(a) System Access Authorizations, User IDs, Passwords. The Contractor, not the LC/FEDLINK office, will be responsible for issuing and maintaining IDs that are necessary to access the Contractor’s databases or other electronic publications. This does not include IDs that may be required by the Customer’s local system, telecommunications or Internet provider. Customer system access IDs will not be billed to the LC/FEDLINK office itself, but will be associated with individual customers. The Contractor will issue IDs for new Customers or additional users promptly. The Contractor will establish procedures for Customers to request IDs and will identify any restrictions on use of IDs.

(b) Canceling IDs. Upon Customer request, the Contractor will promptly cancel individual IDs and terminate charges associated with continued service for those IDs in accordance with the terms of the contract. Except when the Customer’s funding is exhausted, the Contractor will not terminate IDs during the fiscal year without advance notification. The Contractor will establish procedures for Customers to cancel IDs.

(c) Undelivered or Unacceptable Materials. The Contractor will provide a way for Customers to “claim” electronic files that are undelivered or unacceptable, such as: undelivered current awareness reports or electronic journal issues normally distributed via e-mail; files corrupted in transmission; or alert or tracker reports that do not match personalized profiles or are outdated.

(d) Subscriptions. Subscriptions may be offered for information retrieval services, electronic books, and electronic serials as well as for other electronic media and print publications. Subscriptions are ordered at the beginning of the subscription period; the subscription period may cross fiscal years. Contractors will describe subscriptions in terms of four elements: what, for whom (i.e. agency, individuals), how much and for how long. Examples might be:

( an agency purchases an institutional subscription for unlimited usage of all files available on the Contractor’s database system for a period not to exceed 12 months;

( group of federal laboratories subscribes to a chemistry-related subset of files available on a system, for 1,000 hours per month for a total of six months, with usage over 1,000 hours per month billed at regular transactional rates; or

( a service academy subscribes to an electronic journal for its faculty, staff and students, all of whom will access the journal via the Internet from IP addresses within the same Internet domain.

(1) Subscription Invoicing. The Contractor may invoice for the entire subscription price when the order is placed, or may invoice on a regular periodic basis. When subscriptions are prepaid, they should earn significant discounts for the government. Because a customer may have a subscription that covers some usage (for certain users, certain files, etc.) but may pay transactional prices for other usage, it is very important that all usage associated with the subscription be charged to the subscription and reported against it. Subscription invoices will reflect the fiscal year in which the subscription was ordered. Double charging for usage by deducting from a subscription amount and charging transactional fees is prohibited. For subscriptions to electronic publications, the Contractor will provide Customers with a way to determine how much usage there has been under the subscription.

(2) Subscription cancellation and refunds. When in the interest of the Government a Customer finds it necessary to cancel a subscription a refund is due. The Contractor will refund the entire subscription price to a Customer who cancels a subscription before the print issues are received or information retrieval subscription is accessed. For a Customer who cancels an annual information retrieval subscription after usage has begun, the Contractor will pro-rate the annual subscription price so that the customer only pays for the period of actual usage.

It should be noted that print publishers that provide electronic access to their publications sometimes differ in their subscription cancellation policies. Some publishers will not accept mid-term cancellations, and some will not refund money for the unused portion of a subscription. The availability and timing of refunds for cancellations depends on the publishers’ policies.

(3) Volume discounts for subscription holders. Consistent with Section G.4.5(a), Contractors will indicate on invoices when Customers with prepaid subscriptions will receive the volume discounts established under Section B.2. Contractors must remit the entire discount in U.S. dollars at the end of each quarterly reporting period to customers with prepaid subscriptions.

(e) E-Metrics Usage Data. The Contractor will provide or provide Customer access to COUNTER-compliant Customer usage statistics on a monthly basis for the purpose of product usage analysis.

(1) Format. E-metric usage data must be provided via electronic application-ready format. To facilitate management analysis, data manipulation, and reporting, the data format should allow for easy editing, viewing or importing into a standard database management or spreadsheet program. Report formats should include the user group (or FEDLINK ID if available), IP address or range, access profile within the user community and time period.

(2) Required Fields. E-metrics usage data will include cost-per-use data, full text retrieval, and session-specific data by database and/or publisher with the following minimum elements: number of searches, number of materials accessed and/or supplied (displayed, downloaded, saved/archived) to the user; material type (e.g., citation, abstract, full-text, Web pages, image, audio, video, etc.) and materials source (e.g., locally owned accessible materials, accessible links, etc.).

For initiatives and standards relevant to usage statistics, Contractors should refer to the following publications for current information on the measurement of web-based resources:

Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources (COUNTER) is an international initiative designed to service librarians, publishers and intermediaries by facilitating the recording and exchange of online usage. The COUNTER Code of Practice provides guidance on data elements to be measured, definitions of these data elements, output report content and format, as well as on data processing and auditing. To have their usage statistics and report designated “COUNTER-compliant,” vendors must provide usage statistics that conform to the Code of Practice. Additional information may be found at http://www.projectcounter.org/code_practice.html.

International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) Guidelines for Statistical Measures of usage of Web-Based Information Resources (October 4, 2006), Additional information may be found at http://icolc.net/statement/revised-guidelines-statistical-measures-usage-web-based-information-resources.

National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Z39.7-201X Information Services and Use: Metrics & statistics for libraries and information providers – Data Dictionary. For further information, see http://www.niso.org/dictionary/.

(f) Bundled Packages. Upon request from the Customer, Contractors that offer bundled packages will provide the Customer with an itemized list of each component (title by title, database by database, etc.) and itemized pricing in the package. This information provides transparency and assists Customers with price management, analysis and comparison of products, and identifies future purchases.

C.3. LOT 2 - DOCUMENT DELIVERY SERVICES.

C.3.1.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. Lot 2 covers Contractors who provide copies of published and unpublished materials in response to specific citation requests. Contractors must provide products and services under either Lot 1 or Lot 2. The Contractor offers a pay-per-document option for hard-to-find material by means of copying, in compliance with all copyright regulations, and delivering it to the requester. However, general database or Internet searching at the Customer’s request is not covered under this lot. Products/services offered include:

(a) Document Delivery Service. The Contractor will provide electronic or print copies of published and unpublished materials in response to customer specific citation requests. Materials typically include journal and newspaper articles, conference papers and proceedings, annual reports, technical reports, dissertations and theses, and official legal, financial or patent documents. The Contractor may retrieve or duplicate documents from the Contractor’s own internal source files, such as journal issues held in‑house in paper or electronic form, or from external sources, such as the original producer of the item. The Contractor may retrieve documents from remote information retrieval files in response to specific citation requests from the customer.

(b) Public Records Searching and Delivery. The Contractor may retrieve official legal, financial, or patent documents as requested by the Customer. This service will include identification, acquisition, and delivery of the official document. The Contractor will provide the Customer with a statement describing the currency, extent, and completeness of the public record search.

(c) Order Verification. The Customer will verify citations before placing document orders. In cases where more complete verification is required, the Customer may authorize the Contractor to establish the accuracy of the bibliographic component of the citation of a requested item. The Contractor may then assess a flat per-item fee for verification.

(d) Copyright Compliance. All items will be provided in accordance with the provisions of U.S. Copyright Law.

(1) Royalty Fees. The Contractor is required to pay all appropriate royalty or copyright royalty fees for the use of the publications provided before the documents are shipped. Such fees may be paid directly to the copyright owner or to a reproduction rights organization. The Contractor may pass‑through royalty or copyright fees to the Customer. The Customer will be notified when a royalty or copyright fee is in excess of $20.00 per document and be given the opportunity to cancel the order.

(2) Copyright Compliance Notice. To enable the Customer to identify items purchased through the document service, items supplied by the Contractor will carry the notice “Document Delivery Service Item.”

C.3.2. SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Order Cancellation.

(1) By the Customer. The Customer may cancel an order after placement but before shipment. In such cases the Contractor may assess a flat charge for canceling the order. When the Customer rejects an order due to late delivery of the requested item, or unsatisfactory quality of the document, the Contractor may not assess a cancellation fee.

(2) By the Contractor. The Contractor will cancel orders which cannot be filled within specified turnaround time. The Contractor will provide the Customer with a written notice of the cancellation. The notice will be supplied within five working days of the date the order is canceled, or within five working days of the date the Contractor determines that a timely, quality document cannot be supplied. No cancellation fee may be assessed by the Contractor for an order canceled by the Contractor or the Contractor’s agent.

(b) Management Data/Reports. To help the Customer track and manage its document delivery activity, the Contractor will provide document delivery service “usage” data in electronic format suitable for import into spreadsheet or database management applications. The data will include:

(1) identification information: POC, ordering office, ship‑to address or ID; and (2) order information: fiscal year and date of the order, item, quantity, list price, discount, service fee, copyright fee, special delivery fee, extended price

(c) Delivery. Documents may be delivered electronically, by fax, mail or special delivery. The Contractor will specify regular and rush fulfillment times for processing and delivery of all orders, and will provide accurate and complete materials of satisfactory quality within those time frames regardless of the document’s point of origin.

C.4.

LOT 3 - ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS. Lot 3 is only open to Contractors who qualify under Lot 1. Contractors that offer electronic database/publications under Lot 1 may also provide their own commercial off‑the-shelf print, video, microform or multimedia publications. The Contractor will provide electronic access to its catalog of available publications. Book jobbers and serials agents are covered by separate LC/FEDLINK solicitations and agreements and are not the subject of this procurement.

C.5.

LOT 4 - SPECIALIZED ACCESS / PRODUCT INTEGRATION. Lot 4 is only open to Contractors who qualify under Lot 1 and/or Lot 2. Under Lot 4, Contractors may tailor their electronic publication packages for individual Customers. Contractors may work with Customers to provide seamless integration of structured internal and external content into the Customers’ workflow environment (e.g. intranet, extranet, portal, etc.). The Contractor will address how their Customer-specific products will be updated and maintained. For example, a Customer may request that access for the agency be limited to a specific subset of the databases available on a Contractor’s system, or that the Contractor’s electronic publications be accessible via the agency’s intranet. Contractors may provide database searching, translations, training, consultant services, analysis, research and other professional assistance associated with the electronic information resources they offer under Lot 1 and/or Lot 2. Professional assistance will be priced on a per-item basis, not an hourly basis (e.g., per search, per summary report, per translation, etc.) Customer-specific offerings may be described and negotiated by the contracting office on an individual basis.

Contractors must define costs of products/services offered under Lot 4 with as much specificity as possible including the basis of any custom quotes.

All materials will be provided in accordance with the provisions of U.S. Copyright Law. The Contractor is required to pay all appropriate royalty or copyright royalty fees for the use of or link to full text publications. The Contractor will provide Customers with a statement that their products and services comply with the copyright provisions.

C.5.1.

Specialized File Groupings. The Contractor may offer specialized groupings of its existing electronic information retrieval databases/publications. The Contractor may establish predefined groupings available to all Customers, may have a predefined access and pricing formula for picking and choosing among files, and/or may set up a specific grouping as requested by particular Customer. Customer-specific grouping of files require a statement of work and will be negotiated on an individual basis.

C.5.2.

Access to the Customer’s Own Files. The Contractor may provide access and searching to electronic databases/publications that are created and maintained by the Customer and made available through the vendor’s system. This does not include custom database creation by the Contractor, nor editing or other maintenance of the Customer’s data or files by the Contractor’s personnel. Access and searching of the Customer’s material requires a statement of work and will be negotiated on an individual basis.

C.5.3.

Special Interface. The Contractor may prepare a special interface to its electronic database/publication for a Customer. Customer-specific interfaces require a statement of work and will be negotiated on an individual basis. For example, the Contractor may:

( provide an access and search link between a Customer’s portal and the Contractor’s web-based system;

( develop ways to reformat database search results so that they are accessible in the Customer’s internal system; or

( prepare a special menu on the Contractor’s system for the Customer’s end-users to see when accessing the special grouping of files C.5.4.

Research Assistance from the Contractor’s Subject or Technical Experts. The Contractor may provide subject and technical expertise to Customers in searching the Contractor’s electronic resources, collating search results, and translating materials. Research assistance might include, for example: helping an end-user formulate an efficient search in the Contractor’s database; or searching for current research on a topic requested by the Customer, collating search results, and preparing a synthesis of findings. These services will be described on a fixed-price deliverables basis (e.g., per search, per number of resources accesses, per research report) not on an open-ended time and materials basis. These services may be offered to all Customers at standard prices established in the contract. For selected Customer requirements, services may be described and negotiated on an individual basis. Under this contract, research assistance does not cover on-site personal services such as staffing library reference desks, nor long-term consultant projects.

C.6.

FEDLINK REQUIREMENTS FOR PHYSCIAL ITEMS ORDERED. The following requirements apply to item orders for documents, print publications or other physical items covered by this contract.

C.6.1.

FULFILLMENT TIME. The Contractor will specify a standard fulfillment time for processing and delivery of all orders, including those shipped directly from the publication/document source to the Customer. The Contractor will provide both regular and rush order service including pricing for the service. So that Customer funds are not committed indefinitely, all orders will either be filled or canceled within 120 days.

C.6.2.

BACKORDERS. When specifically authorized by the Customer, the Contractor may treat difficult‑to‑acquire items as backorders. (See fulfillment time above)

C.6.3.

CANCELLATION. The Contractor will cancel orders that cannot be filled within the specified time frames, unless upon mutual prior agreement between the Customer and the Contractor the fulfillment period is extended.

C.6.4.

SHIPPING. Physical items will be shipped FOB destination by best method as determined by the Contractor to insure a timely delivery date. The Government will not be charged for shipping, except when the Customer has authorized a special delivery method. When the Customer has authorized delivery via overnight mail, messenger service, registered mail, priority mail for overseas shipments, or other such special delivery methods, the Contractor may pass the shipping charge through to the Customer. The Contractor will supply the Customer with proof of actual shipping costs upon request.

C.6.5.

REPLACING PHYSICALLY UNSATISFACTORY ITEMS. The Contractor will replace, at no additional cost to the Customer, any document or publication the Customer determines is physically unsatisfactory, except when the material is flawed as a direct result of the Customer’s error. Physically unsatisfactory material would include, for example: an electronic file that cannot be read or printed; a photocopy that is illegible, over-reduced, improperly collated, or incomplete; a print publication that is not new, is in poor condition, etc.

C.6.6.

UNDELIVERED ITEMS. The Contractor is entirely responsible for materials in transit, including delivery from a remote source. The Contractor will immediately reissue undelivered items less than $10 in value at no additional cost to the Customer, and will assist Customers in tracing undelivered items of greater value, and if the trace fails to locate the materials, will replace them at no additional cost to the Customer.

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

All deliverables required under this contract will be delivered in accordance with standard commercial practices and will be marked with the LC Contract number and the delivery/purchase order number. Deliverables and other documents may also be requested to be submitted electronically.

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Inspection and Acceptance will be conducted in accordance with Section I.3. FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (FEB 2012).

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1.

NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. The following solicitation and/or contract clauses pertinent to this section are hereby incorporated by reference:

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CHAPTER 1)

52.242-15

STOP-WORK ORDER

AUG 1989

52.247-34

F.O.B. DESTINATION

NOV 1991

F.2.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE. The period of performance of this contract will be from date of award through September 30, 2014 with four one-year options through 9/30/2018 as follows:

Base Period:

Date of Award to 9/30/14

Option Year 1:

10/1/14 to 9/30/15

Option Year 2:

10/1/15 to 9/30/16

Option Year 3:

10/1/16 to 9/30/17

Option Year 4:

10/1/17 to 9/30/18 The Library of Congress reserves the right to exercise the option to renew this contract in accordance with the Section I.9 clause FAR 52.217-9. The total period of performance for each order issued under this contract, including option years for the order, cannot exceed September 30, 2019.

F.3.

PLACE OF DELIVERY. The place of delivery is F.O.B. destination in accordance with FAR 52.247-34 unless the Customer agrees to an alternate arrangement. All deliveries will be made to the Customer address specified in each delivery order.

G.1

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

G.1.1.

CONTRACT TYPE. The contracts issued as a result of this solicitation will be indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) firm-fixed unit price contracts pursuant to FAR subpart 16.5. In accordance with 2 U.S.C. § 182c (f)(1)(A), Federal entities in the executive branch (including Department of Defense agencies), the legislative branch, and the judicial branch, independent agencies, and Federal agency contractors that are authorized to use Federal sources of supply under FAR subpart 51.1 may be authorized to place orders under these contracts in accordance with the terms and procedures herein.

G.1.2.

CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS.

(a) Constant Pricing and Discount. The Contractor will maintain constant pricing and discount schedules under this contract for the period from October 1 through September 30 of each fiscal year.

(b) Addition of Products/Services and/or Changes to Contract. For the life of the contract, the contractor will offer no products/services other than those specified herein unless specific application is made to LC/FEDLINK Contracts to modify this contract to incorporate additional products/services and/or changes. Any new products/services or changes which are approved by the LC Contracting Officer will be officially added to the contract by modification. Requests for approval to modify the contract will be sent via fax, email, or hand-carried to:

The Library of Congress

Office of Contracts & Grants Management, FEDLINK Contracts section

ATTN: Deborah L. Burroughs, Senior Contract Specialist John Adams Bldg., Room LA-318 101 Independence Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20540-9414 Email: dbur@loc.gov

G.1.3. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION.

(a) Contract Administrator. This contract will be administered by:

Deborah L Burroughs, Senior Contract Specialist

The Library of Congress

Office of Contracts & Grants Management, FEDLINK Section

John Adams Bldg., Room LA-318

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington D.C. 20540-9414

Phone: (202) 707-4928; Email: dbur@loc.gov (b) Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for the Contract. The designated Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for this contract is:

Georgette Harris, Program Specialist

Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK)

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington D.C. 20540-4935

Phone: (202) 707-4850; Email: gharris@loc.gov

(c) CORs for Orders Issued Under the Contract. For Transfer Customers, the designated COR for a delivery order issued under the contract will be the Customer agency point of contact identified on the delivery order. For Direct Customers, the designated COR (if any) for an order issued under the contract will be as identified by the Direct Customer agency Contracting Officer or other individual authorized to obligate funds in accordance with agency regulations.

G.1.4.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH LC/FEDLINK CUSTOMERS. The Contractor will submit proposed product announcements, notifications of offerings, and other similar correspondence about products or services offered under this contract to LC/FEDLINK for approval before distributing the material to LC/FEDLINK Customers. Submit correspondence, prior to release, for approval via email to:

The Library of Congress

FEDLINK Fiscal Operations

ATTN: James Oliver, Vendor Services Coordinator John Adams Bldg., Room LA-217 101 Independence Ave., SE

Washington, D.C. 20540-4935 Email: joli@loc.gov G.2.

CUSTOMER USE OF FEDLINK CONTRACTS. LC/FEDLINK provides both contracting and accounting support to Federal agencies and organizations authorized to use federal sources of supply. Together, these organizations are referred to herein as “Customers.”

G.2.1.

SELECTION. Customers review all products and services offered and will determine which products and services best meet the Customer agency’s requirements for each order.

G.2.2.

FEDLINK SERVICE OPTIONS. As described below, LC/FEDLINK offers Customers two service options: Transfer Pay and Direct Express.

Contractors are required to offer both the Transfer Pay and Direct Express options to LC/FEDLINK Customers. Beginning with contracts resulting from this solicitation, Contractors are required to remit the FEDLINK Funding Fee to LC/FEDLINK for all Transfer sales in addition to Direct sales.

(a) Transfer. Under the Transfer pay option, a Customer transfers both the estimated annual amount they plan to spend on the Contractor’s products or services and an administrative fee to LC/FEDLINK via interagency agreement (IAA).