SPECIAL NOTICE
76 -- CSIRO Journals
- Notice Date
- 12/16/2013
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 519120
— Libraries and Archives
- Contracting Office
- Agricultural Research Service - National Capital Region Business Service Center
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 673922
- Archive Date
- 1/15/2014
- Point of Contact
- James D. Mills, Phone: 3015040901
- E-Mail Address
-
james.mills@ars.usda.gov
(james.mills@ars.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Agricultural Library (NAL) intends to award a sole source contract to CSIRO Publishing to provide electronic access via the internet for all USDA users for selected CSIRO journals, and metadata for the journal articles published in CSIRO for inclusing in NAL's AGRICOLA index. The National Agricultural Library (NAL) is mandated (7 U.S.C. 3101) to serve as the primary agricultural information resource of the United States. One of its functions in that role is the acquisition of information in all aspects of agriculture and allied sciences. In support of this function, the NAL acquires journal publications in electronic format from publishers and makes the journals accessible to USDA employees and library patrons via the internet. In keeping with its charge to collect agricultural and related information, it seeks to maintain a collection of publications in various formats from a variety of publishers and sources. NAL requires electronic access via the internet to CSIRO journals for use by all USDA employees, authorized public on-site users cooperators and volunteers working on behalf of USDA and acting within the scope of their relationship with USDA. Access should include perpetual data rights to the content that is made available to USDA during the performance period. The contractor shall provide, on request by USDA, all subscribed-to purchased content in a mutually agreed-upon non-proprietary format. CSIRO Publishing is an autonomous business unit within Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, CSIRO. CSIRO Publishing operates as an independent science and technology publisher. CSIRO's internationally recognized publishing program covers a wide range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, the plant and animal sciences, and environmental management. CSIRO's products are published in print and electronically, and their product range includes journals, books, magazines and CD-ROMs. CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, is Australia's national science agency. CSIRO is committed to Australia's National Research Priorities, which have to do with climate adaptation, energy transformation, food futures, future manufacturing, mining, human and animal health, water, and ocean resources. CSIRO Publishing operates as an independent science and technology publisher with a global reputation for quality products and services. It's internationally recognized publishing program covers a wide range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, the plant and animal sciences, and environmental management. CSIRO publishes 36 journals, nearly all of which have content of interest to USDA researchers. NAL first acquired electronic access to CSIRO journals in 2007, in response to USDA researchers' demands for access to the journals via NAL's DigiTop service. Since that time, USDA researchers have demonstrated the importance of CSIRO journal content to their research by their heavy use of electronic journals. For example, during calendar year 2011, USDA researchers used CSIRO electronic journals 5,132 times. Besides its extremely important journal content, CSIRO has well developed mechanisms for delivering the content to subscribers. Its platform efficiently provides access to CSIRO journals. CSIRO's continual investment in its information infrastructure and its compliance with newly emerging industry standards makes its information delivery mechanisms extremely good, and allows CSIRO to produce desirable products and services such as its metadata service, as adjuncts to its journal publications. CSIRO is the only vendor that can meet NAL's requirement for CSIRO journal access with perpetual rights to the content issued during the period of performance. CSIRO is the only copyright holder of its publications and thus is the only source of the perpetual data rights NAL seeks. No source other than CSIRO provides the perpetual data rights for CSIRO electronic journals and journal metadata. The CSIRO website does not provide the names of any other vendors. Having perpetual data rights granted by CSIRO will give USDA users access in perpetuity to the electronic journals for which NAL purchases access. If NAL does not request the perpetual data rights to subscribed material, its access to the material it has purchased will end when the term of the subscription ends. Maintaining electronic copies by obtaining the perpetual data rights from publishers fulfils NAL's mandate to preserve our nation's agricultural literature. A second reason for acquiring perpetual data rights to the subscribed content is that NAL plans to load the data locally at NAL, in order to give researchers seamless access to the content through a single search platform. NAL hopes to make this change within the life of this contract. To accomplish this goal, NAL would request the subscribed content in XML (or some similar format) from the publisher and load it on NAL's servers. This transaction would occur on an ongoing basis, as new content was published. NAL can only acquire this data directly from the publisher; there are no resellers who can provide this data. The NAICS Code for this requirement is 519120 Libraries and Archives Authority for this sole source procurement is under 10 U.S.C.2403 (c) (1) as implemented in FAR 6.302-1, one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This notice is not a request for competitive quotations. No solicitation document is available and telephone requests will not be honored. Any firm that believes it can provide the services listed above may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination not to compete this proposed contract based on responses to this notice is solely at the discretion of the Government. The Point of Contact for this action is Mr. James Mills and any response must be emailed to James.Mills@ars.usda.gov. Verbal responses are not acceptable and will not be considered. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement no later than December 31, 2013.
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