SPECIAL NOTICE
T -- T--Intent to Award Notice
- Notice Date
- 3/12/2021 7:43:31 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 519120
— Libraries and Archives
- Contracting Office
- OFC OF ACQUSITION GRANTS-NATIONAL RESTON VA 20192 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20192
- Solicitation Number
- 140G0121Q0069
- Response Due
- 3/19/2021 8:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 03/26/2021
- Point of Contact
- Englehart, Julie, Phone: 703-648-7306, Fax: 703-648-7899
- E-Mail Address
-
jenglehart@usgs.gov
(jenglehart@usgs.gov)
- Description
- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a requirement for a sole source Purchase Order with OCLC, Inc. for the following Bibliographic Utilities Licenses: WorldCat Discovery Services Cataloging/Metadata Subscription WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Subscription (with IFM) EZproxy Analytics The period of performance of the resulting award will be, July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, and will include four 12-month option years. The USGS has a need for the identified packaged products to manage and maintain library records and services in support of the mission and is aware of no other source that can provide the Bibliographic Utility Licenses stated above as a packaged deliverable. Therefore, it intends to make a direct award to OCLC, Inc. under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) � only one source reasonably available pursuant to the procedures under FAR 13.5 used in accordance with 41 U.S.C.1901 or the authority of 41 U.S.C.1903. This is not a request for competitive quotations or proposals but rather an intent to sole source notification. Questions or concerns may be addressed to the Contracting Officer, Julie Englehart at jenglehart@usgs.gov no later than 10:00 AM ET, Friday, March 19, 2021. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be Personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been removed. By posting this notice, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION PURSUANT TO THE PROCEDURES OF FAR SUB-PART 13.5 -- SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS 1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior (DOI), United States Geological Survey (USGS), plans to contract on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.501(a) where procedures in FAR subpart 13.5 will be used in accordance with 41 U.S.C.1901 or the authority of 41 U.S.C.1903. 2. Nature of Action Being Approved. This action is to execute a 5-year (base and four option years) sole source Purchase Order pursuant to the procedures under FAR 13.5 - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. 3. Description of Supplies or Services. The USGS has a need to purchase the following products and services from OCLC, Inc.: WorldCat Discovery Services Cataloging/Metadata Subscription WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Subscription (with IFM) EZproxy Analytics The subscriptions will be for a 12-month base period that will run, July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, and will include four 12-month option years. 4. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) �- only one source reasonably available pursuant to the procedures under FAR 13.5 used in accordance with 41 U.S.C.1901 or the authority of 41 U.S.C.1903. 5. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 4. The Government has need for packaged products to manage and maintain library records and services in support of the mission. The mission of the USGS Library is to establish the best scientific foundation possible to help guide decisions and evaluate actions critical to the USGS mission. Comprehensive, accurate, and consistent access to bibliographic records, lending and borrowing options, seamless authentication, and peer-reviewed scientific literature is critical to fulfilling this mission. In order to fulfill the mission, the USGS has a need to purchase proprietary products/services from OCLC, Inc. (OCLC). OCLC is a global library cooperative that provides shared technology services, original research and community programs for its membership and the library community at large. OCLC is the sole producer, owner, and distributer of its proprietary products and services. OCLC's proprietary data platform, WorldCat, is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of 15,600 libraries in 107 countries that participate in the OCLC global cooperative. Subscribing member libraries collectively maintain WorldCat's database, the world's largest bibliographic database. The WorldCat platform serves as the foundation for other subscription OCLC services (such as cataloging, resources sharing, collection management, and analytics). WorldCat is owned and operated solely by OCLC, Inc. Purchase of the WorldCat Discovery Service will allow for power searching by library staff as well as single search box discovery of electronic, digital, and physical library collections for the broader USGS user community. Part of the WorldCat Discovery package is the interface FirstSearch. Using this search interface gives libraries seamless access to searching not only WorldCat records but also database content provided within the package. In addition to WorldCat, FirstSearch package includes 13 databases. Some are 3rd-party content, however there isn�t the option to remove those from the WorldCat package; therefore, the USGS is required to purchase the package as a whole. OCLC's Cataloging and Metadata subscription benefits the USGS Library through the ongoing work and expertise of OCLC and worldwide member libraries who continue to collectively create, enhance, and share quality records stored in WorldCat. A subscription grants unlimited access to records for the purpose of copy cataloging and integrating records with updates automatically sent by OCLC. These services improve the discoverability of the USGS Library collections. WorldShare Interlibrary Loan (ILL) grants access to more than 10,000 libraries with collections that can be viewed immediately in WorldCat. WorldShare ILL simplifies the process of borrowing materials by sharing other libraries� holdings, policies, and fees before a request is processed. If a library is unable to fulfill a request, it is automatically routed to the next identified library in the que of available sources. Interlibrary Loan Fee management (IFM) is an additional function enabling libraries to easily reconcile all ILL fees monthly and pay through OCLC�s invoice system. This service is part of the WorldShare ILL services package. EZproxy Analytics is a hosted service commonly used by large academic and federal library systems to authenticate affiliated users and provide access to subscription-based electronic database resources and full-text electronic content. Use of EZproxy enables the library to move away from IP authenticated access towards user credentials and role-based access management that leverages USGS/DOI Active Directory to provide single sign-on for USGS scientists. Since the initial procurement of EZproxy in 2018, OCLC has interfaced the product with WorldCat allowing users to integrate their user authentication with license management and streamlined access to the collections and services of WorldCat. This integration into OCLC�s proprietary platform makes EZproxy the most economical and sensible choice for the USGS Library being that we have a need to purchase the WorldCat license and these two proprietary pieces have been integrated. EZproxy Analytics aids the USGS Library in providing enhanced usage metrics and analytics to USGS Senior leadership for better informed decision support. 6. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted. In 2021, the USGS conducted market research and reviewed professional literature, searched the internet, and collected feedback from library colleagues and industry leaders to confirm that the products and services provided by OCLC are not available from another source. The market research in 2021 was also conducted to evaluate alternatives to products and services offered by OCLC. It was found that there are no other packaged options that fulfill the full needs of the USGS Library. OCLC is the sole producer, owner, and distributer of its proprietary products and services. Note: The USGS library purchases many platforms and research reference sources. Purchase of the aforementioned suite of products complement the existing catalog of products offered by the library and does not preclude other acquisitions of similar data or sources of data. 7. Future Plans to Permit Competition. The requirements will be reviewed on an annual basis to evaluate if there are any new products/services in the marketplace that might be able to fulfill the USGS� needs. Should alternative products/services be identified, the requirements of this procurement will be revisited, and competed to the maximum extent practicable.
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