InformationRetrievalRFPAmend1.doc

Document Title:

FEDLINK INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

Document Number:

RFP LCFDL15R7000

Page

STANDARD FORM 1449

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

LCFDL15R7000

(No Collect Calls)

8. OFFER DUE DATE/ LOCAL TIME

INFORMATION CALL:

4:30 PM, EST

FORMCHECKBOX

UNRESTRICTED

FORMCHECKBOX

SET-ASIDE: FOR

FORMCHECKBOX

SMALL BUSINESS

FORMCHECKBOX

HUBZONE SMALL BUSINESS

FORMCHECKBOX

8(A)NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINATION UNLESS BLOCK IS MARKED

FORMCHECKBOX

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

FORMCHECKBOX

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

FORMCHECKBOX

RFQ

FORMCHECKBOX

IFB

FORMCHECKBOX

RFP

17a. VENDOR/OFFEROR

OFFEROR

CODE

FACILITY CODE

Vendor/Offeror Name and Address:

TO BE SHOWN ON EACH ORDER ISSUED UNDER ANY

CONTRACT RESULTING FROM THIS SOLICITATION

Duns Number:

FORMCHECKBOX

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

FORMCHECKBOX

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

FORMCHECKBOX

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.

FORMCHECKBOX

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.

FORMCHECKBOX

FORMCHECKBOX

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 LCFDL15R7000. 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

B.1. PRICING PROPOSAL. All products and pricing offered must be associated with the appropriate Contract Line Item Number (CLIN).

Base Year

Option Year I

Option Year II

B.2. VOLUME DISCOUNTS. Vendors 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.

Vendors 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).

B.3. Contract Type

The Library of Congress intends to issue multiple award IDIQ contracts. Individual orders may be placed on a firm fixed unit prices basis, the cumulative value of which will not exceed the maximum defined in the contract (B.4.) 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 vendors 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.

Individual orders will be competed among the contract holders up to the total maximum dollar value. The Government reserves the right to reopen competition to new potential contract holders annually.

B.4. Minimum/Maximum:

The minimum contract amount under each IDIQ contract is $500.00. The maximum cumulative amount that the Government may order and the vendor will be required to supply is $160,000,000.00.

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1.

BACKGROUND. 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 Vendors 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 Vendors.

The Library of Congress FEDLINK program works with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council (SSLC) to develop a government-wide solution for information services. The SSLC has designated LC/FEDLINK as the lead agency for this effort. All branches of the government are invited to participate in LC/FEDLINK’s information services solution to further maximize the benefits.

C.2. SCOPE. The objective of this contract is for acquisition of or access to commercial off-the-shelf electronic information resources for the FEDLINK program. Information products and services shall be available for ordering agencies with multiple organizational levels and geographic locations nationwide and/or worldwide.

Contracts may be divided into four lots as follows:

Lot 1 – Electronic Databases/Publications

Lot 2 – Document Delivery Services

Lot 3 – Associated Publication

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.

C.3.

REQUIREMENTS.

C.3.1.

LOT 1 – ELECTRONIC DATABASES/PUBLICATIONS.

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. Vendors 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 managed by the vendor 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 Vendor. 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 Vendor 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 (e.g. 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 Vendor 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.3.1.1.

SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

(a) System Access Authorizations, User IDs, Passwords. The Vendor will be responsible for issuing and maintaining IDs that are necessary to access the Vendor’s databases or other electronic publications. The Vendor will issue IDs for new Customers or additional users promptly. The Vendor will establish procedures for Customers to request IDs and will identify any restrictions on use of IDs.

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

(c) Undelivered or Unacceptable Materials. The Vendor 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. Vendors 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 Vendor’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 Vendor 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 Vendor 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 Vendor 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 Vendor 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.3.3. Vendors will indicate on invoices when Customers with prepaid subscriptions will receive the volume discounts established under Section B.2. Vendors 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 Vendor 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, Vendors 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, Vendors 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.3.2. LOT 2 - DOCUMENT DELIVERY SERVICES.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. Lot 2 covers Vendors who provide copies of published and unpublished materials in response to specific citation requests. Vendors must provide products and services under either Lot 1 or Lot 2. Products/services offered include:

(a) Document Delivery Service. The Vendor 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 Vendor may retrieve or duplicate documents from the Vendor’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 Vendor may retrieve documents from remote information retrieval files in response to specific citation requests from the customer.

(b) Public Records Searching and Delivery. The Vendor 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 Vendor 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 Vendor to establish the accuracy of the bibliographic component of the citation of a requested item. The Vendor 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 Vendor 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 Vendor 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 Vendor will carry the notice “Document Delivery Service Item.”

C.3.2.1.

SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Order Cancellation.

(1) By the Customer. The Customer may cancel an order after placement but before shipment. In such cases the Vendor 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 Vendor may not assess a cancellation fee.

(2) By the Vendor. The Vendor will cancel orders which cannot be filled within specified turnaround time. The Vendor 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 Vendor determines that a timely, quality document cannot be supplied. No cancellation fee may be assessed by the Vendor for an order canceled by the Vendor or the Vendor’s agent.

(b) Management Data/Reports. To help the Customer track and manage its document delivery activity, the Vendor 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 Vendor 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.3.3.

LOT 3 - ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS. Lot 3 is only open to Vendors who qualify under Lot 1. Vendors that offer electronic database/publications under Lot 1 may also provide their own commercial off‑the-shelf print, video, microform or multimedia publications. The Vendor will provide electronic access to its catalog of available publications.

C.3.4.

LOT 4 - SPECIALIZED ACCESS / PRODUCT INTEGRATION. Lot 4 is only open to Vendors who qualify under Lot 1 and/or Lot 2. Under Lot 4, Vendors may tailor their electronic publication packages for individual Customers. Vendors 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 Vendor will address how their Customer-specific products will be updated and maintained. Vendors may provide database searching, translations, training, consultant services, analysis, research and other professional assistance associated with the electronic information resources they offer. Professional assistance will be priced on a per-item basis, not an hourly basis (e.g., per search, per summary report, per translation, etc.) Vendors 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 Vendor is required to pay all appropriate royalty or copyright royalty fees for the use of or link to full text publications. The Vendor will provide Customers with a statement that their products and services comply with the copyright provisions.

The Vendor may offer specialized groupings of its existing electronic information retrieval databases/publications, 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. The Vendor 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. The Vendor may prepare a special interface to its electronic database/publication for a Customer, such as provide an access and search link between a Customer’s portal and the Vendor’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 Vendor’s system for the Customer’s end-users to see when accessing the special grouping of files. Customer-specific grouping of files, custom interfaces, and access and searching of Customer-specific material may require a separate statement of work and will be negotiated at the task order level on an individual basis.

The Vendor may provide subject and technical expertise to Customers in searching the Vendor’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 Vendor’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 may require a separate statement of work and will be 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.4.

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.

(a) FULFILLMENT TIME. The Vendor 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 Vendor 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.

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

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

(d) SHIPPING. Physical items will be shipped FOB destination by best method as determined by the Vendor 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 Vendor may pass the shipping charge through to the Customer. The Vendor will supply the Customer with proof of actual shipping costs upon request.

(e) REPLACING PHYSICALLY UNSATISFACTORY ITEMS. The Vendor 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.

(f) UNDELIVERED ITEMS. The Vendor is entirely responsible for materials in transit, including delivery from a remote source. The Vendor 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 Government.

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 by FEDLINK agency POCs in accordance with Section I.3. FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (MAY 2015).

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 for when orders may be placed under this contract will be 12 months from date of award, with two one-year options, as follows:

F.3.

PLACE OF DELIVERY. The place of delivery is F.O.B. destination in accordance with FAR 52.247-34 (Nov 1991) unless the Customer agrees to an alternate arrangement. All deliveries will be made to the Customer address specified in each Order.

F.4. LC52.211-1 DELIVERIES (APR 2015)

All deliveries submitted to the CO or the COR or other Library personnel designated to receive deliverables shall clearly indicate the following information:

a. Agency/Requiring Library Service Unit and MAIL STOP/Room Number

b. Description of information/data being submitted

c. Contract Number

d. Contractor Name and Address

(End of clause)

G.1. LC52.201-3 CONTRACTADMINISTRATION (Apr 2015) This contract will be administered by:

Library Contracting Officer

Janet Mata-Hitz

The Library of Congress

Office of Contracts & Grants Mgmt

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington D.C. 20540-9414

Phone: 202-707-3532

Email: jmata@loc.gov

Library Contract Specialist

Deborah Burroughs

The Library of Congress

Office of Contracts & Grants Mgmt

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington D.C. 20540-9414

Phone: 202-707-0460

Email: dbur@loc.gov

Contractor Contract Administrator [Fill-in Contractor Administrator name]

The Library of Congress

Office of Contracts & Grants Mgmt

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington D.C. 20540-9414

Phone: [Fill-in Contractor Administrator phone]

Email: [Fill-in Contractor Administrator email]

(End of clause)

G.1.2. Contracting Officer's Authority. The CO is the only person authorized to issue amendments and modifications to the solicitation/contract, approve changes in any of the requirements under the solicitation/contract, or obligate funds. Notwithstanding any clause/provision contained elsewhere in this contract, the authority to modify the contract remains solely with the CO. If the Vendor makes any contract changes at the direction of any person other than the CO, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract price to cover any increases in charges that may result. The CO has the authority to perform any and all post-award functions in administering and enforcing the contract in accordance with its terms and conditions.

G.1.3.

CORs for Orders Issued Under the Contract. For Transfer Customers, the designated COR orders issued under the contract will be the Customer agency point of contact identified on the 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 Vendor 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.” Even though Federal agencies are defined as “Customers”, the Library of Congress and vendor shall be the parties to any contracts or agreements resulting from the solicitation. The Library of Congress retains the right to exercise any right or obligation owed to a Customer.

G.2.1.

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

Vendors are required to offer both the Transfer Pay and Direct Express options to LC/FEDLINK Customers. Vendors are required to remit the FEDLINK Funding Fee to LC/FEDLINK for all Transfer sales in addition to Direct sales.

G.2.1.(a) Transfer. Under the Transfer pay option, a Customer transfers both the estimated annual amount they plan to spend on the Vendor’s products or services. On behalf of the Customer, an LC/FEDLINK Contracting Office issues an order to the Vendor in the service dollar amount specified on the Customer’s IAA. After receiving the delivery order, the Vendor provides service to the Customer and submits the Customer’s invoices to LC/FEDLINK for payment. LC/FEDLINK reviews the invoices, rejects improper ones, and pays acceptable ones. The Vendor remits a FEDLINK Funding Fee to LC/FEDLINK for Transfer purchases. The Library of Congress and vendor shall be the parties to all Transfer Pay orders. Transfer pay processing is described in detail in section G.3.

G.2.1.(b) Direct. Under the Direct Express option, Customers send their agency-generated purchase order directly to the Vendor or use a Government commercial purchase card to initiate purchases with the Vendor. An IAA between the customer and LC/FEDLINK is not required and the Customer does not pay the LC/FEDLINK administrative fee. The Vendor provides service, invoices the Customer directly against the agency purchase order, and is paid directly by the Customer agency. The Vendor remits a FEDLINK Funding Fee to LC/FEDLINK for Direct purchases. Direct processes are described in detail in section G.4.

G.2.2.

FEDLINK PROGRAM FUNDING FEE.

G.2.2.(a) Fee – 0.75% of All Sales. The Vendor will pay LC/FEDLINK a program funding fee in the amount of 0.75% (three quarters of one percent) of all federal sales under this contract. The FEDLINK funding fee reimburses the LC/FEDLINK program for the costs of operating the program and recoups the program’s operating costs from ordering activities. The Vendor may include the fee in the prices offered.

G.2.2.(b) Due Dates. The Vendor must remit the FEDLINK Funding Fee in U.S. dollars within 45 days after the end of each quarterly reporting period as established herein. The Vendor will remit any monies due as a result of the close-out report required at the time the close-out report is submitted.

G.2.2.(c) Payment Method. The Vendor will remit the amount due via through Pay.gov (via credit card) or through electronic funds transfer via Automated Clearing House (ACH). To ensure that the payment is credited properly, the Vendor must identify the electronic transmission as a “FEDLINK Funding Fee” and include the following information: contract number(s), report amount(s), and report period(s). The Vendor must contact the FEDLINK Vendor Services Coordinator as listed in section G.1.4., to make arrangements for payment by credit card or electronic funds transfer.

G.2.2.(d) Delinquent Payment. If the full amount of the fee is not paid within 45 calendar days after the end of the applicable reporting period, it constitutes a contract debt to the United States Government under the terms of FAR 32.6. The Government may exercise all rights under the Debt Collection Act of 1982, including withholding or setting off payments and interest on the debt (see FAR 52.232-17, Interest).

G.2.2.(e) Potential Termination for Default. If the Vendor fails to submit sales reports or fails to pay the fee in a timely manner, the Government may terminate or cancel this contract and all orders issued hereunder. In addition to any other remedies that may be available under law, willful failure or refusal to furnish the required reports, falsification of sales reports, or failure to pay the fee in a timely manner constitutes sufficient cause for terminating the vendor for cause under the termination provisions of the contract.

G.2.3.

VENDOR REPORT OF FEDLINK PROGRAM SALES AND FUNDING FEE.

G.2.3.(a) Quarterly Report to LC/FEDLINK. The Vendor will report the quarterly dollar value (in U.S. dollars and rounded to the nearest whole dollar) of all sales under this contract by government fiscal year quarters (October-December, January-March, April-June, July-September). The dollar value of a sale is the price recorded by the Vendor for products and services ordered by a Customer on an LC/FEDLINK order. The reported contract sales value must include the FEDLINK funding fee as referenced in section G.2.2. The report should list orders placed by LC/FEDLINK and order placed by agencies directly separately. This required report is separate from other required reports described in H.6.

G.2.3.(b) Report Delivery. The Vendor will deliver the report to LC/FEDLINK via email. If no sales occur, the Vendor must show zero on the report for each quarter. The report is due 45 days following the completion of the reporting period. The Vendor must also provide a close-out report within 60 days after the expiration of the contract. The contract will be closed out upon physical completion of the last, outstanding purchase order of the contract. The close-out report must cover all sales not shown in the final quarterly report and reconcile all errors and credits. If the Vendor reported all contract sales and reconciled all errors and credits on the final quarterly report, then show zero sales in the close-out report.

G.3. TRANSFER PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS

G.3.1. INITIATING TRANSFER PAY SERVICE.

G.3.1.(a) FEDLINK Delivery Order. LC/Contracts will issue Orders to the Vendor for each LC/FEDLINK Customer using the Vendor’s service in the transfer pay mode under the LC/FEDLINK contract. Upon receipt of the official LC Order, the Vendor will begin service for the Customer under the terms of the current contract. The Vendor will not begin or renew any service for any FEDLINK Customer until an order for that Customer for that service for the current fiscal year has been received. The Vendor will not provide products/services to the Customer in excess of the amount indicated on the delivery order. LC/FEDLINK is not liable for products or services provided which exceed the delivery order amount. Vendors will invoice only for supplies delivered or services performed.

G.3.1.(b) Order Acceptance and Notification. Upon receiving the delivery order, the Vendor will contact the Customer immediately to begin service. If the Vendor questions an order or cannot accept an order, the Vendor will notify the Contract Specialist identified on the delivery order within ten (10) days of receipt via email to LC/FEDLINK Contracts at flicc-cl@loc.gov. Performance under any FEDLINK order constitutes Vendor’s acceptance of all contract terms and conditions. The Vendor will inform FEDLINK Fiscal Operations (FFO) in writing of any account identification or user identification the Vendor has assigned to the customer within thirty (30) days of receipt of delivery orders from LC/FEDLINK Contracts via email to Jim Oliver, FEDLINK Vendor Services Coordinator at joli@loc.gov.

G.3.1.(c) Customer Identification. FEDLINK assigns a unique four-character FEDLINK ID to each Transfer Pay Customer. After receiving the delivery order, all Vendor correspondence and oral communications with FEDLINK regarding Customers will identify the Customer by the FEDLINK ID and Order number for the Customer as indicated on the delivery order. The Vendor may also assign its own account numbers, user IDs or other identifiers to Customers, but may only use such identifiers in addition to and not instead of the FEDLINK ID.

G.3.2. FEDLINK INVOICE INSTRUCTIONS. An invoice is the Vendor’s bill or written request for payment under the delivery order for supplies delivered or services performed. The Vendor will invoice only for the amount of supplies delivered or services performed. The Vendor will prepare invoices and submit them to FEDLINK Fiscal Operations (FFO) Invoice Processing, as addressed on the order, for review and processing. All proper invoices (except summary invoices) and all detailed usage reports will include the information specified below and be formatted as specified below. Invoices that do not meet these specifications are defective. FFO will reject them and return them to the Vendor without payment. Invoices for products/services that exceed the funding level authorized on the order will be rejected for insufficient funds and returned to the Vendor without payment. Rejected invoices will be accompanied by a form indicating the reason for rejection. The Vendor will promptly resubmit the invoice when the condition(s) causing the rejection have been corrected. All inquiries relating to FEDLINK vendor payments should be directed to:

The Library of Congress

FEDLINK Fiscal Operations

ATTN: Invoice Processing

John Adams Bldg., Room LA-220

101 Independence Ave., SE

Washington, D.C. 20540-4935

Telephone: (202) 707-4961, Fax: (202) 707-4927; Email: locfliccap@loc.gov G.3.3.

INVOICE INFORMATION. The Vendor will supply the following information on all invoices:

(a) Invoice Data Elements.

(1) Vendor identification:

• Name and address of the Vendor.

• Name and address of the Vendor official to whom payment is to be sent via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) (will be the same as designated in the Contract).

(2) Customer identification:

• FEDLINK ID

• Customer identification. If no user ID or account number is assigned by the Vendor, it should be stated on the invoice.

• Name and address of agency using services

• Complete FEDLINK Delivery Order number (ex: 15-AB.CDEF.0001)

(3) Order information:

• Order date in mm/dd/yyyy format. Order date is the date the FEDLINK customer placed the order with the Vendor and must be within the funding year of the corresponding Delivery Order number cited.

• Invoice number. Invoice number should uniquely identify the invoice.

• Invoice date in mm/dd/yyyy format. (Note: invoice date should not be before the date of order.)

• Contract line item number, where practicable, or descriptive information sufficient to identify. Schedule B item which corresponds to invoiced item.

• Description, quantity, unit, unit price, and extended price of supplies delivered or services performed.

• Discount applicable to individual FEDLINK customers, either by line item or against the invoice total, as appropriate.

• Any prompt payment discount.

• Any other information or documentation required by other specific requirements elsewhere in the contract (such as evidence of shipment, receipt or prepayment).

• An invoice copy submitted as…