PWS_AHEC Collection Management 25-30.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

(Includes associated Performance Requirements Summary (PRS)) Collection Management System for the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center

PART 1 GENERAL INFORMATION

1. General This is a non-personal service(s) contract under which the personnel rendering the service(s) are not subject, either by the contract’s terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees.

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction: This is a non-personal service(s) contract to provide a system to manage physical and digital archival collections and facilitate their discovery online for the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC).

1.2 Background: The USAHEC provides collection management services for the U.S. Army War College (USAWC). USAHEC collections include archives consisting of 18,979 linear feet of manuscript material, 3,809 linear feet of photographs, 8,690 films,10,577 sound recordings, Academic Library (486,000 books, 28,000 periodicals, 325,000 authority publications), and Education and Exhibits (75,000 artifacts). USAHEC is seeking a system, commonly referred to as a “Collection Management System” (CMS), to manage and provide access to its archival collections, comprising both analog and digitized materials. USAHEC is looking for a commercial off the shelf (COTS) system that can be customized and/or upgradeable to meet the government’s specific requirements.

1.3 Scope: The Contractor shall provide non-personal service(s). The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items necessary to perform services as described in the PWS and associated contract documents, except for those items specified in Part 3 Government Property and Services. The Contractor shall perform to the standards and acceptable quality levels identified in this PWS and associated contract documents.

1.4 Objectives: The objective of this contract is to provide a Collection Management system that allows government staff to manage archival materials and provides a public user interface with search engine to view, download, and access those materials.

1.5 General Information:

1.5.1 Quality Control Plan (QCP): This acquisition is for commercial services and will be performed using Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 procedures. The contractor’s existing quality assurance system shall be utilized In Accordance With (IAW) FAR 12.208.

1.5.2 Quality Assurance: The Government will evaluate the Contractor’s performance under this contract IAW the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the Contractor has performed IAW the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the acceptable quality levels (performance thresholds).

1.5.3 Recognized Holidays: The following provides information on recognized holidays for the purpose of the PWS. If submittal of any tasks or documentation (e.g., deliverables, submittals, etc.) deadlines fall on a holiday, the closest workday prior to the holiday will apply as the deadline for submittal.

1.5.3.1 U.S. Holidays: Work shall not be performed on U.S. federally recognized holidays occurring during the normal workweek unless otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer. When a U.S. holiday occurs on a Saturday or a Sunday, the holiday is observed on the preceding Friday or following Monday, respectively.

Independence Day

1.5.4 Government Facility Office Hours: The Government facility office hours are 0700 to 1700, Monday through Friday except U.S. Holidays identified in paragraph 1.5.3.1 above or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings.

1.5.4.1 Contractor Support Hours: The Contractor shall provide support between the hours of 0600 to 1700, Monday through Friday except U.S. Holidays identified in paragraph 1.5.3.1 above or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings. The Contractor shall maintain an adequate workforce at all times, for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this PWS when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

1.5.5 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at a location from which the Contractor can perform all aspects of this Contract. All travel to and

1.6 Clearance Requirements: Reserved.

1.7 Installation Access: Access to U.S. installations, buildings and controlled areas is limited to personnel who meet security criteria and are authorized. Failure to submit required information/data and obtain required documentation or clearances will be grounds for denying access to U.S. installations, buildings, and controlled areas. The Contractor shall ensure that any subcontractors used in performance of this contract complies with these requirements and that all employees, of both the Contractor and any subcontractor utilized by the Contractor, are made aware of and comply with these requirements.

The Contractor shall be aware of and comply with the requirements associated with Installation Access Control. The Government is not liable for any costs associated with performance delays due solely to a firm’s failure to comply with Installation Access Control System (IACS) processing requirements.

The Contractor shall return installation passes and/or issued identification to the issuing IACS office when the contract is completed or when a Contractor employee no longer requires access. This includes when an individual is terminated or at the expiration of their employment or when the contract ends (whether due to expiration, termination, or cancellation).

1.7.1 Background Checks: Contractor and all associated subcontractor employees shall provide all information required for background checks to meet installation access requirements to be accomplished by installation Provost Marshal Office, Director of Emergency Services or Security Office. Contractor workforce must comply with all personal identity verification requirements (FAR clause 52.204‐9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel) as directed by DOD, HQDA and/or local policy. In addition to the changes otherwise authorized by the changes clause of this contract, should the Force Protection Condition (FPCON) at any individual facility or installation change, the Government may require changes in contractor security matters or processes.

1.7.2 Common Access Cards (CAC): For contractors that do not require CAC but require access to a DoD facility or installation. Contractor and all associated sub‐contractors employees shall comply with adjudication standards and procedures using the National Crime Information Center Interstate Identification Index (NCIC‐III) and Terrorist Screening Database (Army Directive 2014‐05/AR 190‐13), applicable installation, facility and area commander installation/facility access and local security policies and procedures (provided by government representative); or, at OCONUS locations, in accordance with status of forces agreements and other theater regulations.

1.8 Physical Security: The Contractor shall safeguard all Government equipment, information, and property provided for Contractor use. At the close of each work period, Government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured IAW the Army Physical Security Program (AR 190-13.)

1.8.1 Operations Security (OPSEC) Requirements: Contractor personnel shall adhere to facility security policies and restrictions. The Contractor shall immediately report suspicious activities to security personnel. government-issued access badges shall not be worn outside designated facilities where visible to the general public.

1.8.2 Key (Card) Control: RESERVED

1.9 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings: The Contractor shall attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office IAW FAR Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, COR, and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review the Contractor's performance. At these meetings the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor's performance and the Contractor shall apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

1.9.1 The Contractor shall attend, participate in, and furnish input to scheduled and unscheduled meetings, conferences, and briefings that relate to the functions and services herein as required by the Government to provide effective communication and impart necessary information. The Contract Manager or designated representative shall attend meetings as requested by the Government. Meeting attendees shall at times include Contractor managerial, supervisory, and other personnel knowledgeable of the subject matter. Meetings may start or end outside of regular duty hours.

1.10 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): Refer to Part 2 of this PWS for the definition of a COR. As determined by the Contracting Officer, a COR will be appointed and identified by letter of designation, a copy of which will be provided to the Contractor by the Contracting Officer. The designation letter states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates, or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR is not authorized to obligate the Government. If the work is not written in the contract, the COR is not authorized to request new work. The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract, perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance, maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract, issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, specifications, monitor Contractor's performance and notifies both the Contracting Officer and Contractor of any deficiencies, coordinate availability of Government property, and coordinate site entry of Contractor personnel.

1.11 Contractor Points of Contact: The following personnel are considered key personnel by the Government: Contract Manager and Alternate Contract Manager. The Contractor shall provide a Contract Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an Alternate Contract Manager, who shall act for the Contractor when the Contract Manager is absent shall be provided in writing to the Contracting Officer Representative no later than 5 days post award. (Deliverable 1). The Contract Manager and Alternate Contract Manager shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The Contract Manager or Alternate Contract Manager shall be available during operating hours listed in PWS 1.5.4.

1.11.1 Key Personnel Qualifications: The contractor must supply a project manager to oversee the migration and set up of the system. This individual must have a minimum of one year of experience overseeing the migration and set up of the system.

1.11.2 Additional Key Personnel Requirements: Certain experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for successful accomplishment of the work to be performed under this contract. These Key Personnel must be identified by name within the contractor’s offer for their resumes (and any additional documents) to be evaluated during the source selection process.

1.11.2.1 The contractor agrees that such personnel shall not be removed or replaced within the performance of this contract unless the following measures are taken:

a. If one or more of the key personnel, for any reason, becomes or is expected to become unavailable for work under this contract for a continuous period exceeding 30 work days, or is expected to devote substantially less effort to the work than indicated in the proposal or initially anticipated, the contractor shall, subject to the concurrence of the KO or COR, promptly replace personnel with personnel who possess equal or better qualifications as the original employee.

b. All requests for approval of substitutions hereunder must be in writing and provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions. The request must contain a resume for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the KO or COR. The KO or COR must concur in writing with the change.

1.11.2.2. If the KO or COR determines that suitable and timely replacement of Key Personnel who have been reassigned, terminated, or have otherwise become unavailable for the contract work is not reasonably forthcoming or that the resultant reduction of productive effort would be so substantial as to impair successful completion of the contract, the KO may terminate the contract for default or for the convenience of the Government, as appropriate, or make an equitable adjustment to the contract to compensate the Government for any resultant delay, loss or damage.

1.12 Contractor Employee Behavior: All Contractor personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties must identify themselves, to include proper marking of signature blocks in correspondence, to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. The Contractor shall ensure that all documents or reports, produced by Contractors are suitably marked as Contractor products or that Contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

1.12.1 Contractor Identification Badges: Contractor personnel shall be easily identifiable through the display of badges.

1.12.2 Contractor professionalism and ethical behavior in all conduct, both on- and off-duty, with all persons or entities within the scope of performance of the contract, including but not limited to Faculty, Staff, and other personnel of the United States Army War College, the Carlisle Barracks installation, and the U.S. Army. Constructive criticism is welcome in voicing concerns with policies, technologies, and other items of interest. Personal attacks or other unprofessional conduct will be subject to zero tolerance without exception.

1.13 Contractor Travel: The Contractor may be required to travel to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, during the performance of this contract to attend meetings, conferences, and/or training. All travel shall be at the expense of the contractor.

1.14 Other Direct Costs (ODCs): Reserved.

1.15 Data Rights: The Government has unlimited rights to all documents and materials produced under this contract. All documents and materials, to include the source codes of software, produced under this contract shall be Government owned and are the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership and copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the Contractor without written permission from the Contracting Officer. All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

1.16 Non-Disclosure Requirements: Performance under this contract may require the Contractor to access data and information proprietary to a Government agency, another Government Contractor, or of such nature that its dissemination or use other than as specified in this work statement would be averse to the interests of the Government or others. The Contractor and Contractor personnel shall not divulge, or release data or information developed, or obtained under performance of this PWS, except to authorized Government personnel or upon written approval of the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall not use, disclose, or reproduce proprietary data, which bears a restrictive legend, other than as specified in this PWS. All documentation showing individual names or other personal information shall be controlled and protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 552a.

1.17 Protection of Government and Contract Information: Per Public Use Notice of Limitations stated by Defense Media Activity and contained at www.dma.mil/Services/Visual- Information/References/Limitations/, the Contractor shall not cite any information (e.g., contract information, pictures, locations, etc.) obtained from the Government through this contract on any hard copy or digital marketing tools to include its company website. Information shall not be used in a manner that could imply endorsement of an individual, for-profit business, non- profit organization, or any other non-Federal entity (including DoD contractors), product, or service. This applies to both domestic and international users. Endorsement of a non-Federal entity, event, product, service, or enterprise may be neither stated nor implied.

1.18 Non-Disclosure Statements: Reserved

1.19 Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): Reserved

1.20 Phase In /Phase Out Period: To minimize decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have personnel on board, during the 90-day phase in / phase out periods. During the phase in period, the Contractor shall become familiar with performance requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract start date.

1.21 Safety: Reserved

1.22 Environmental Compliance: Reserved

1.23 Required Training: Reserved.

1.23.1 Anti-Terrorism (AT) “Level I” Training: All contractor employees, to include subcontractor employees, requiring access Army installations, facilities and controlled access areas shall complete AT Level I Awareness training within 30 calendar days after contract start date or effective date of incorporation of this requirement into the contract, whichever is applicable. The contractor shall submit certificates of completion for each affected contractor employee and subcontractor employee, to the COR or to the contracting officer, if a COR is not assigned, within five (5) calendar days after completion of training by all employees and subcontractor personnel. AT level I Awareness training is available at the following website: http://jko.jten.mil. (Deliverable 2).

1.23.2 iWATCH Training: The contractor and all associated sub‐ contractors shall brief all employees on the local iWATCH Army program (training standards provided by the requiring activity ATO). This local developed training will be used to inform employees of the types of behavior to watch for and instruct employees to report suspicious activity to the COR. This training shall be completed within 30 calendar days of contract award or new employees commence contract performance with the results reported to the COR NLT five (5) calendar days after completion https://www.armywarcollege.edu/iwatch (Deliverable 3).

1.23.3 OPSEC Training: All Contractor employees, including subcontractors, shall complete OPSEC “Level I” training within 30 days of employment under this contract. Verification of the training shall be provided to the COR within five (5) days after completion of the training (Deliverable 4). OPSEC “Level I” training is available athttp://www.cdse.edu/catalog/elearning/GS130.html. Contractor personnel must complete refresher training every 12 months. Verification of the training shall be provided to the COR within five (5) days after completion of the training.

1.23.4 Information Assurance (IA) Training Reserved

1.23.5 Personnel Security Clearance Training: Reserved

1.23.6 Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Reserved

1.23.7 Additional Training Requirements: Contractor shall accomplish any additional training that the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, local commanders may determine necessary for personnel working on military installations or working with military personnel (not to exceed 10 hours of instruction per contract).

1.24 Government Property and Services: Reserved

PART 2 DEFINITIONS & ACRONYMS

2. Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions: Although not inclusive of every term used within this PWS, the following provides a list of definitions used throughout this PWS and commonly used in the acquisition field.

Archival Hierarchy – means the parent-child structure of an archival collection. Ex: an item is the child of a folder; a folder is the child of a box; the box is a child of a collection.

Archive – means a physical or digital collection of historical records.

Chain of Custody -- means the succession of offices or persons who have held materials from the moment they were created.

Checksum -- means a unique alphanumeric value that represents the bitstream of an individual computer file or set of files; these values are used to verify a file has remained in its original state (i.e. “fixity”).

Collection Management System (CMS) – means a system that hosts archival digital media and information about that media and provides a searchable public interface.

Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) -- means software that is commercially produced and sold in a retail store, online, etc.

Contracting Officer – means a person with the authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government. Note: The only individual who can legally bind the Government.

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) – As defined in DFARS 202.101, means an individual designated and authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer to perform specific technical or administrative functions. DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5000.72, Part II Definitions states the following when defining a COR: “Defined in subpart 202.101 of Reference (f). Any individual delegated responsibilities pursuant to subpart 1.602-2 of Reference (e), regardless of local terminology, must be certified IAW this instruction. For example, local terminology can be COR, Contracting Officer’s technical representative, technical point of contact, technical representative, alternate COR, administrative COR, assistant COR, line-item manager, task order manager, quality assurance personnel, quality assurance evaluator, or COR management.” In addition, Army Regulation 70-13, Chapter 2, paragraph 2-2g, states, in part, the following when providing other surveillance support personnel to assist the COR when needed, “…These other surveillance support personnel may serve as on-site representatives of the COR in performance of actual contract surveillance if they meet all COR requirements and have been appointed by the Contracting Officer as alternate CORs.”

Contractor – means a supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Controlled Vocabulary -- means an enumerated list of terms preselected from natural language and chiefly used to aid discovery in information retrieval systems.

Day – means, unless otherwise specified, a calendar day.

Defective Service – means a service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

Deliverable – means anything that can be physically delivered but may include non- manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) -- means a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring.

Government Property - means all property owned or leased by the Government. Government property includes both Government-furnished and Contractor-acquired property. Government property includes material, equipment, special tooling, special test equipment, and real property. Government property does not include intellectual property and software.

Integrity -- means the quality of being whole and unaltered through loss, tampering, or corruption.

Intelligent character recognition (ICR) -- means a type of machine learning software that can recognize and convert handwritten and typed text into a digital format.

Metadata -- means information about a record, data, or resource that promotes discovery, structures data objects, and supports the administration and preservation of records.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) -- means the process that converts an image of text into a machine-readable text format.

Original Order -- means the organization and sequence of records established by the creator of the records.

Persistent URL – means a permanent link that connects to a specific digital object / resource, such as an article, image, or eBook, and does not change over time.

Physical Security – means that part of security concerned with physical measures designed to safeguard personnel; to prevent unauthorized access to equipment, installations, material, and documents; and to safeguard against espionage, sabotage, damage, and theft.

Quality Assurance – (or Government contract quality assurance) means the various functions, including, inspection, performed by the Government to determine whether a Contractor has fulfilled the contract obligations pertaining to quality and quantity.

Quality Assurance Expert (QAE) – means a technical expert appointed by the Government to conduct routine checks of the services provided by the Contractor to ensure compliance with stated requirements.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) – means the key Government-developed surveillance process document and is applied to Performance-Based Service Contracting (PBSC). The QASP is used for managing Contractor performance assessment by ensuring that systematic quality assurance methods validate that Contractor quality control efforts are timely, effective, and are delivering the results specified in the contract or task order. The QASP directly corresponds to the performance objectives and standards (i.e., quality, quantity, timeliness) specified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). It provides specific details on how the Government will survey, observe, test, sample, evaluate, and document Contractor performance results to determine if the Contractor has met the required standards for each objective in the PWS. The QASP, with very few if any exceptions, is an internal to Government document.

Quality Control – means all necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product or service shall meet contract requirements.

Risk Management Framework (RMF) -- means the standard process established by the National Institute of Standard and Technology that integrates security, privacy, and cyber supply chain risk management activities into the system development life cycle.

Statement – means the specific results-based activities required to satisfy objectives. A statement contains a result, the context of the statement, and the required action(s).

Statements focus on “what” is to be accomplished; however, they are not prescriptive in describing “how” the outcome is to be achieved. Each objective may have several statements to flesh out the areas necessary to meet the objective. Statements are similar to Level 3 in a Work Breakdown Structure.

Subcontractor – means one that enters into a contract with a prime Contractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with the subcontractor.

Workday - The number of hours per day the Contractor provides services IAW the contract.

Work Week - Monday through Friday, unless otherwise specified.

2.2 Acronyms: Although not inclusive of every term used within this PWS, or that may be included in an acquisition, the following provides a list of acronyms commonly used in the acquisition field.

PART 3

GOVERNMENT PROPERTY (GP) AND SERVICES

3. Government Property and Services

3.1 Services: The Government will provide existing digital information, databases, Excel spreadsheets, and collection management system data to facilitate migration into a new system.

3.2 Facilities: Reserved

3.3 Utilities: Reserved

3.4 Equipment: Reserved

3.5 Materials: Reserved.

3.6 Common Access Cards (CAC): Reserved.

PART 4

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES

4. Contractor Furnished Property and Services

4.1 General: The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items necessary to perform services described in the PWS and associated contract documents, except for those items specified in Part 3 Government Property and Services.

4.2 Secret Facility Clearance: Reserved.

4.3 Materials: Reserved.

PART 5

SPECIFIC TASKS

5. Specific Tasks

5.1 Basic Services: The vendor shall provide an established (i.e. COTS) system that provides accountability, description, publication, and search/discovery for USAHEC’s physical and digital archival collection. Those services shall include the tracking of physical and digital assets throughout their lifecycle: acquisition, processing, ingest, use, and deaccession. The vendor shall furnish all accesses, training, and facilitate the migration of the existing government data into the vendor provided hosted service.

The Government requires a system that shall provide a public user interface that shall allow patrons to search, access, review, and download digitized materials and view our non-digitized holdings; and a backend that allows users to track, modify, and review materials.

5.2 Tasks.

Functions consist of the following:

5.2.1 Accountability.

Accountability refers to the systematic tracking and documentation of materials throughout their lifecycle, from acquisition to deaccession, to ensure their authenticity, integrity, and preservation. This involves maintaining a transparent and thorough record of all actions, decisions, and changes made to the materials, including their arrangement, use, digitization, and relationships to other materials within the collection. Thus, archivists can establish a clear chain of custody, provide evidence of provenance, and facilitate the long-term management and accessibility of the collection.

5.2.1.1 Unique identifiers. System shall generate an unlimited number of unique digital object identifiers/record IDs. Record IDs shall not be repurposed/re-used after a record is deleted.

5.2.1.2 Archival Hierarchy. System shall provide the ability to build, maintain, and display a- defined, contextual archival hierarchy (ex. collection, series, sub-series, box, folder, item).

5.2.1.3 Relationships. System shall maintain relationships between items, including metadata to item, and items in hierarchy. Items shall be associated with corresponding digital surrogates (i.e. digitized manuscripts, photos, etc.).

5.2.1.4 Documentation. System shall be able to store administrative documentation and link or attach to records at the appropriate level of hierarchy. Examples include purchase documentation, accession records, gift agreements, legal transfer records, deaccession documentation, copyright data, access agreements, and conservation treatment reports. Administrative documentation shall not be released / displayed to customers via the public user interface.

5.2.1.5 Availability Status. System shall provide availability information at single or multiple levels of hierarchy and allow user-defined categories of non-availability to be assigned (ex. on loan/exhibit, conservation, processing, distribution/access restriction, etc.).

5.2.1.6 Digital Object Storage. System shall host complex/embedded digital objects (ex. PDFs, multi-page TIFF/JPG images, ZIP files, audio and video files, compiled databases, etc., plus any associated metadata, transcription files, etc. with the items).

5.2.1.7 Bulk Import/Export. System shall support individual and batch import/export capability for all records in multiple formats and schemas (ex. TXT, CSV, XML, DAT, MRC, MARCXML, PDF, WAV, MP4, JPG, DOCX, PPTX, TIF, tab/text/comma-delimited, MARC, EAD, METS, DC, etc.).

5.2.1.8 Bulk Ingest. System shall be capable of automated bulk ingest for ease of transfer with/between existing platforms and archival professions standard platforms (ex. ContentDM, SharePoint, Bagit, Outlook PST files, etc.).

5.2.1.9 Barcodes & Scanners. System shall be compatible with Honeywell barcode scanners and read bar codes on physical items.

5.2.1.10 Chain of Custody. System shall be able to track chain of custody and location, via barcode, from the point of acquisition through and after the deaccession/disposal process.

5.2.1.11 Audit Trail. System shall provide an automatically generated audit trail of the records changes made to the system as well as collections materials. Audit trail shall include name of the user who made the change, time and date change was made, as well as a record of the change made. Audit trail shall be maintained to the item level for the complete lifecycle of the collection materials. Audit trail shall record if an item has been deleted or deaccessioned.

5.2.1.12 Logic Based Search. System shall support the use of a logical based search system like Boolean Logic and utilize logic operators (i.e. AND, OR, NOT) and other standard search syntax such as the use of quotation marks for exact phrase searching, nesting, wildcards, truncation, and proximity operators to locate materials.

5.2.1.13 Checksums. The system shall generate checksums for all digital files and automatically verify these on a scheduled basis. If any discrepancies or integrity issues are detected, the system shall generate an automatic report for review by administrators.

5.2.1.14 File Integrity. Accessing or opening an original file, whether by users or administrators, shall not modify, alter, or overwrite the original file in any way, preserving its integrity.

5.2.1.15 Space Utilization. System shall be able to associate an assigned (i.e. spatial) volume (ex. inches, linear foot, etc.) to specific box types (i.e. narrow, wide, flat, etc.) and locations (i.e. shelf, drawer, etc.) for the purpose of calculating space utilization.

5.2.1.16 Physical Location Status. System shall automatically update location/chain of custody status upon internal/external circulation or movement (i.e. temporary location) and return of archival materials (i.e. home location).

5.2.1.17 Circulation. System shall be capable of circulating (i.e. check-in and checkout to users) and tracking collection, box, and item location (i.e. shelf, drawer, etc.) via barcode.

5.2.2 Description.

Archival description is the process of creating and editing metadata to document and the content, structure, and context of archival materials at all levels, from individual items to entire collections. This involves assigning standardized descriptive, technical, administrative, and structural metadata to facilitate discovery, access, and use of the materials, while also ensuring their authenticity and integrity. By providing detailed and accurate descriptions, archivists enable researchers and users to effectively locate, understand, and utilize archival materials.

5.2.2.1 Bulk Edits. System shall be able to bulk edit and update (i.e. insert, modify, or delete text string) archival records at specified level of hierarchy (ex. batch subject change at collection level, bulk addition of notes at the box level, etc.).

5.2.2.2 Global Editing. System shall support global editing (i.e. insert, modify, or delete text string) for all system records/files.

5.2.2.3 OCR. System shall provide the option to perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) upon import/ingest of material. OCR content shall be automatically indexed and searchable.

5.2.2.4 Item Level Records. System shall allow the creation of customizable item-level records.

5.2.2.5 Metadata. System shall support unlimited metadata fields for each record, allowing users to add, modify, and delete metadata fields as needed. Each metadata field should be customizable in terms of data type (e.g., text, number, date), validation rules, and default values. Changes to metadata fields should be made dynamically without system downtime. Administrators should be able to adjust the visibility of each metadata field in the public user interface, toggling them between public and private without any disruption to system service.

5.2.2.6 Diacritics. System shall allow input and output of foreign language characters and diacritics.

5.2.2.7 Controlled Vocabulary. The system shall support the creation and maintenance of controlled vocabulary and authority records used for metadata creation, linking, keywords, and tags (ex. Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), Name Authority File (NAF), ISO 639-2 language codes, Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), and Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)). The system shall support both native creation of controlled vocabulary/authority records and automatic updates from external sources (e.g., LC, NAF, OCLC, VIAF). Upon updating authority records, the system shall automatically reflect changes to names and headings across appropriate metadata fields for existing system records.

5.2.2.8 Archival Hierarchy. The system shall support the retention and display of the archival hierarchy and relationships between records, enabling users to view and navigate collections in their entirety. The hierarchical structure should visually represent relationships such as parent, child, and sibling records within a collection. Users should be able to expand, collapse, and navigate through levels of the hierarchy to access detailed information for individual records while maintaining context within the larger collection.

5.2.2.9 Spell Check. System shall provide spell check for records, either automatically upon ingest or prior to publication in the public user interface.

5.2.2.10 ICR. System shall provide an Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) capability to scan and index handwriting upon image and/or collection import/upload.

5.2.2.11 AI/ML. System shall use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automatically apply metadata to digital images (e.g. create item summaries, facial recognition to identify and tag individuals in photographs, ability to recognize common objects in images/photographs and apply keyword/subject descriptors, ability to determine subject/topic matter of scanned text documents and apply keyword/subject descriptors, etc.). Metadata applied via AI/ML shall be indexed and searchable in the public user interface.

The Contractor shall comply with all applicable AI-specific requirements, including but not limited to the following:

-NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-127, "Guidance on AI Risk Management" -NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53, Revision 5, "Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations," with a focus on AI-related controls -NIST AI 100.1, “Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0)”, 26 January 2023 -DoD Directive 3000.09, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Principles" -Department of the Army, Office of the Chief Information Officer, "Chief Information Officer Guidance on Generative Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models", 27 June 2024

5.2.2.12 Collection Status. System shall provide the ability to track collection status (ex. unprocessed, in processing, fully processed, etc.) at collection, series, and box levels of hierarchy.

5.2.2.13 Physical Condition. System shall provide the ability to track and report physical condition of archival items. Government currently utilizes a numerical value (1-5) to indicate physical condition of materials.

5.2.3 Publication.

Publication in the context of archival collections refers to the process of making materials available to the public through a user interface, allowing researchers and users to access, view, and download the contents of the collection. Administrators should have the ability to selectively publish or suppress materials, controlling what is made available in the public user interface. This enables institutions to balance accessibility with preservation and protection of sensitive or confidential information.

5.2.3.1 Indexing. System shall automatically index, and provide the system administrator ability to manually re-index, the system when files are uploaded/imported, making them immediately searchable and available in the public user interface.

5.2.3.2 Publication Status. The system shall allow users to publish/unpublish items or set specific items as private, restricting them from public view. Users should have the ability to control access to private items by assigning view permissions to specific individuals or groups. Only users or groups with granted permissions should be able to view or interact with private items, while all others are restricted.

5.2.3.3 Persistent URL. System shall support brief Persistent URLs (i.e. “permalinks“) for item records. URLs shall apply a standardized syntax and / or refer to unique identifiers. All URLs displayed in search results shall be actionable (i.e., hyperlinked to external web page, digital file, etc.).

5.2.3.4 Downloads. The system shall allow users to download archival materials directly from the public user interface, either as single files or in bulk (i.e., multiple files at once).

5.2.3.5 Review Workflow. The system shall include a review workflow for contributions made by interns, volunteers, and staff. This workflow should allow submissions to be reviewed and approved by administrators before publication. Each submission should be assigned a status (e.g., "Pending Review", "Approved", "Rejected", etc.) and include options for reviewers to provide feedback. Only after an administrator’s approval should the content be published and visible in the public user interface.

5.2.4 Discovery/Search.

Discovery/search refers to the web-based public user interface that enables users to locate and explore archival materials through a simple and advanced search engine, allowing for both basic keyword searches and more refined queries. Users can customize their search results using filters and faceting, narrowing down their search by relevant criteria such as date, creator, or file format. The public user interface facilitates discovery and access to the archival collection, making it easier for researchers to find and engage with relevant materials.

5.2.4.1 Basic and Advanced Search. System shall provide a “basic search” page with a single search field, as well as an “advanced search” page (ex. multiple search boxes that can be modified with various field limiters via drop-down menus, checkboxes, radio buttons, etc.). Both basic and advanced search shall retain last terms searched. System shall provide the ability to highlight search terms in results to aid in user relevance determination.

5.2.4.2 Search Customization. System shall provide the ability to customize searches through the following means:

a. Pre-scoped/pre-limited/pre-faceted searches, etc. to eliminate subsets of results (ex. limit archival results to include only records with digitized content or searching within a specific collection).

b. Limit/filter searches by the following criteria: item type(s), file format(s), subject term(s), author(s), and publication date(s)/range of dates.

5.2.4.3 Search. Both basic and advanced search shall be compliant with the following:

a. System shall ignore “stop words” (e.g. “and”, “or”, “besides”, “in”, “a”, “the”, “do”, “they”, etc.). Stop words should be ignored by default but included if the search query includes operators or phrase matching (i.e. quotation marks).

b. System shall use implicit proximity search, automatically ranking results using the proximity of the search terms.

c. Search function shall be capable of discovery and retrieval of documents that have been OCR & ICR processed.

d. System shall display suggested searches using synonyms of search terms.

e. System shall detect likely misspellings and suggest or display the search results for the correct spelling of the misspelled search term.

f. System shall apply “fuzzy” logic to ensure singular, plural, and variant forms are returned in search results (ex. search for “leader” returns results for “leader”, “leaders”, and “leadership”).

g. System shall apply thesaurus or controlled vocabulary (i.e. LCSH, AAT, TGN, etc.) when running subject term searches.

5.2.4.4 Search Results. The system shall support the following:

a. All results shall be available to user, in ranking order, utilizing additional pages if necessary.

b. System shall include built-in search relevance algorithm. Default display of search results shall be ordered by relevance to the user’s query based on the search terms, operators, and advanced search options employed by the user.

c. System shall support sorting results by publication date ascending (oldest to newest), publication date descending (newest to oldest), and relevance.

d. The system shall display search results with pagination, showing page numbers to allow users to easily navigate through multiple pages of results. Users should be able to go directly to a specific page or move forward and backward through the results.

5.2.4.5 Diacritics. System shall allow input and output of foreign language characters and diacritics.

5.2.4.6 Shareability. System shall provide one-click shareability of search results (ex. e-mail, social media platforms, etc.)

5.2.4.7 User Accounts. System shall provide the ability to create and manage user accounts, including ability to change PIN or contact information, download and upload user/volunteer agreements, provide ability to assign roles and permissions (i.e. read/write) to user accounts, and provide statistics/analytics for user actions (ex. number of records tagged/transcribed). User account creation and password maintenance are automated.

5.2.4.8 Save Folder. System shall be capable of executing “Save to Folder” or saved list feature, with ability to email, export, and/or print a saved list of records. System shall provide this capability for guest users (i.e. by session) as well as registered users (i.e. by username/password/login).

5.2.4.9 Related Content. System shall provide capability to link between related collections/materials (ex. ability to link a father's collection with his son's; link between a unit's collection and collections of individuals who served in that unit; clickable links to other materials by same author, on the same topic, etc.)

5.2.4.10 Web Page. The public user interface shall be compliant with the following:

a. User Interface (UI) shall be compatible with a variety of standard desktop internet browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari. UI shall maintain to support latest versions of each browser and shall be compatible with future browsers.

b. UI shall be compatible with a standard variety of mobile device operating systems, such as Windows, Android, and iOS. UI shall maintain to support latest versions of each operating system.

c. System shall provide web page design and/or web content manager capabilities for flexible and adaptable front-end web page design (ex. drag-and-drop website builder with cut and paste web parts/widgets, “view as you go” capability, etc.).

d. System shall detect and analyze clickthrough behavior to improve future searches for similar terms.