SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- In-House Conservation Services for Bound and Flat Paper Materials
- Notice Date
- 10/27/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 519120
— Libraries and Archives
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 105, Bethesda, Maryland, 20894, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20894
- Solicitation Number
- NIHLM2016692
- Archive Date
- 11/24/2015
- Point of Contact
- Maryann Carroll, Phone: 3014517329
- E-Mail Address
-
maryann.carroll@nih.gov
(maryann.carroll@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement which will be considered by the National Library of Medicine. This Sources Sought Notice is not a Request for Quotations (RFQ), nor is an RFQ available. Interested firms responding to this Sources Sought Notice must provide a capability statement that displays the following: (a) Microsoft Word or PDF file in 12 point font; (b) DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code); (c) Technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses; (d) Staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (e) Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (f) Prior completed projects of similar nature; (g) Corporate experience and management capability; and (h) Examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. The capability statement should contain enough sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding your capabilities; however, the statement should not exceed 6 pages (excluding attachments.) This sources sought notice requires capability statements to be submitted via eCPS.: 1) Electronic copy via the NLM electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) website at https://ecps.nih.gov/NLM. For directions on using eCPS, go to https://ecps.nih.gov/NLM/home/howto NOTE: To submit your electronic capability statement using eCPS, all offerors must have a valid NIH External Directory Account, which provides authentication and serves as a vehicle for secure transmission of documents and communication with the NLM. The NIH External Directory Account registration process may take up to 24 hours to become active. Submission of proposals by facsimile or e-mail is not accepted. All capability statements must be submitted electronically no later than 10:00am eastern time on November 9th, 2015 via the method indicated above. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). -------------------------------------------- DRAFT STATEMENT OF WORK TITLE: In-House Conservation Services for Bound and Flat Paper Materials I. Statement of Work A. Background Information The History of Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) located on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, MD maintains a pre-eminent collection of the world's published medical literature, including books, journal volumes, pamphlets, and theses, printed from the 15th through the early 20th century; manuscripts ranging in date from the 11th century to the present; fine prints, and other graphic materials from the 15th century to the present; and historical audiovisuals up through 1970. The collection consists of more than 600,000 printed works, 4,000 linear feet of modern manuscripts, 3,000 historical audiovisuals, and 60,000 historical prints and photographs. Certain items in its collection are in a deteriorated condition and require conservation treatment or rehousing. B. Objectives This contract shall provide the services of a professional book conservator, working on-site at the National Library of Medicine, who will perform repairs to bound and flat paper collection items, design and construct housings and exhibit mounts, prepare books for scanning, write condition and treatments reports, and provide collection maintenance to the book and manuscript collections. The contractor may also provide technical guidance to NLM staff engaged in book and paper repair and participate in training sessions on book preservation for NLM staff. II. Services to be Performed A. General Requirements Most of the work will be performed in the NLM's Conservation Lab, which is equipped with a well-lighted work bench, conservation lab equipment, and general office supplies. The contractor will be supplied with an NIH ID card and parking permit. Additional conservation supplies and small equipment, as needed, shall be supplied by the government. B. Specific Requirements The contractor shall provide a maximum of 1653 hours of work time during each year (12 month period) of the contract. Normally, during each month of the contract a a maximum of 138 hours shall be provided. Normally work will be performed during at least two weeks of every month. The hours will be on a regular schedule to be arranged with the project officer with some room for flexibility. All work shall be performed in accordance with accepted principles of rare book conservation and in adherence to American Institute for Conservation (AIC) "Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice" (available at http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/aic/pubs/ethics.html). III. Duties may include any of the following: Working under the supervision of the Conservation Librarian in the History of Medicine Division the conservator shall: A. Maintenance of historic collection of books and manuscripts including: 1. performing repairs to bound volumes and manuscripts, using appropriate conservation materials and techniques 2. writing condition reports including digital photo documentation for bound and flat paper items using an online database 3. constructing custom-fitted protective housings for all repaired items and other individual collections as needed using appropriate materials and structures 4. performing preservation assessments of collections including surveys 5. carrying out regular maintenance of the collection, such as cleaning shelved books 6. identifying the need for ordering supplies required for treatments 7. applying NLM property stamp and bookplate to volumes 8. writing accurate condition and treatment reports including photo documentation and compiling American Research Libraries statistics for all treatments using an online database. Contractor must know how to search computer database for bibliographic information. 9. participating in research with conservation librarian 10. participates in disaster recovery of collections as needed B. Preparation of volumes for reformatting including scanning, filming, or photography such as: 1. writing a condition report using an online database with digital photo documentation for all items to be reformatted after repair is completed 2. surveying collections before scanning or photography to determine need for disbinding or minor repairs or other factors which may necessitate special handling in scanning or photography 3. disbinding or loosening sewing of tightly-bound volumes, performing minor paper repairs, repairing or detaching foldout plates 4. handling and setting up books for scanning and photography 5. packing items for shipment and inspecting items returned after reformatting complete C. Providing input in the design and set-up of exhibits, including: 1. inspecting conditions for exhibition including light levels, temperature, and humidity, etc. 2. designing and constructing exhibit mounts 3. creating facsimiles for exhibit using scanner and software 4. affixing collections items or facsimiles to mounts D. Advising and training of NLM staff including: 1. providing technical guidance to NLM staff and contractors engaged in book and flat paper repair 2. holding training sessions for NLM staff on handling, housing, identifying problems, etc. 3. holding demonstration sessions or tours for visitors E. Reporting Within five working days after the end of each month, the contractor shall prepare and Submit the following: 1. invoice (template provided by Conservation Librarian) 2. written report and statistics including: - number of hours worked - type of work performed - number of volumes and/or leaves repaired - number of housings constructed IV. Qualifications of contract personnel The work shall be performed by a single conservator, working at the NLM. Proposers shall submit detailed information regarding the training, academic background, experience, and availability of the personnel proposed for this project. Documentation shall include a detailed résumé, describing the proposer's education, training, experience, and achievements, and references, including current telephone numbers, from experienced conservators who have recent knowledge of the proposer's work. They shall also submit a narrative, describing the techniques, materials, principles, practices, and ethics that the proposer would employ to accomplish the goals of this contract. A site visit will be planned to review a portfolio of the proposer's current work. The portfolio should include multiple examples of various repairs to manuscripts and bound books, exhibit mounts, and protective housings. The number of hours that the offeror can supply each year shall be indicated. Proposed personnel shall demonstrate: 1. a Master's or Bachelor's degree 2. at least eight years of combined training and experience 3. training from a qualified conservator, apprenticeship, or formal library conservation training program as verified by examples of various book treatments and housings as seen in the portfolio. The proposer will be asked to explain the treatments and show written and photo documentation of all treatments, mounts, and housing in the portfolio 4. knowledge and experience in the ethics, principles, practices, and techniques employed in the conservation of printed and manuscript materials, both bound and manuscript materials, using conservation materials and techniques, and in the construction of protective housings and exhibit supports, using conservation materials and structures 5. demonstrated ability to work independently, making sound decisions concerning conservation treatments and techniques 6. on-going interest in new conservation techniques, materials, and theory, as evinced by professional activities, publications, and continuing education 7. good written and oral communication skills and the ability to work well with others in a collegial atmosphere
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