A -- EVALUATION AND TESTING OF BOOK DEACIDIFICATION AND RELATED PROCESSES

Notice Date

August 29, 2000

Adminstrative Office

The Library Of Congress, Contracts & Logistics Service, COTR: Morgan Day, C&L, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540-9410

ZIP Code

20540-9410

Solicitation Number

RFI01-0001

Point of Contact

Kaye Klinker, Contracting Officer, (202) 707-8608

Description

The Library of Congress, to encourage and facilitate the development of mass deacidification and related mass preservation technologies (such as paper strengthening), will provide evaluation and testing opportunities as well as technical information to interested parties who wish to submit their technology for Library evaluation. The Library will enter into cost sharing arrangements with parties submitting their technology. For each party interested in participating in this three step program, the Library will evaluate book/paper deacidification technology and provide an assessment of progress toward meeting the Library's deacidification requirements as contained in its Request for Proposals (RFP90-21) dated 09/13/90 (copies available from the CO upon request). For mass deacidification, the focus is on the preservation requirements (extension of life of paper, complete deacidification, alkaline reserve), but additional information will be gathered on each party's potential for mass scale processing as well as potential for and experience with selecting, shipping, receiving, and refiling library materials and for performing related work on-site at customer locations; process related damages, personnel and environmental health, safety, and regulatory issues; and other challenges to the successful use of the technology for preserving Library collections. Any company that, at the time of application, (1) is currently utilizing the specified technology to offer for a fee mass deacidification services within the continental U.S. to individuals and/or institutions or which intends to offer such services within 12 months by utilizing a fully operational technology that has not been evaluated and tested within the last four years by the Library, (2) is either legally incorporated as a U.S. business entity or capable of demonstrating through its business plan its intention to be fully incorporated as a U.S. business within one year, and (3) believes its process can meet all of the Library's advertised deacidification technical requirements as noted above can apply to the Library during the next four years for evaluation and testing of that process. The company soliciting such evaluation and testing must demonstrate to a legal certainty that it either (a) owns a viable patent or patents to such process(es), (b) possesses a current license or licenses to utilize such process(es), or (c) is employing a process(es) that can be proven to be in the public domain. STEP 1: Parties that request the Library's evaluation of a mass deacidification process must be able to demostrate in Step 1 that they are potentially able to provide mass deacidification services by providing with their request to the Library and at their expense, the following information and samples: -The parties' name(s), address(es), principal(s), deacidification process inventor(s), and patents and licenses held or pending related to the offered process. -Description of the deacidification chemistry, process, and existing and planned facilities owned or to be owned by the parties, as well as information on any toxicological or environmental impact of the process and/or any of the bi-products, and available data concerning the occupational safety of the process operation. -Available data on the effectiveness of the process in extending the live of papers, providing complete deacidification, and depositing adequate, uniform permanent alkaline reserve. -Up to fifty (50) Library of Congress test books and five (5) cubic feet of Library-furnished unbound paper materials that have been processed by the technology, within thirty (30) days of receipt of such materials after submission of the request. -A list of customers that are using or others who are evaluating the deacidification services. STEP 2: After all of the above information is received, if a determination is made that the party demonstrates potential for providing mass deacidification technology meeting Library technical requirements, the Library will proceed to Step 2 as follows: -Meet with the principals to negotiate a contract and time schedule for the evaluation. -Establish a team of technical specialists to assist in the evaluation of the process. -Evaluate all of the materials, data, and other information submitted and any additional information that may be requested. -Conduct a site visit at a mutually agreed time to assess the existing deacidification plant, facilities, process, and operations. Provide a small sample of up to five hundred (500) books and up to fifty (50) cubic feet of unbound paper-based materials to be deacidified by the proposed technology. The expense of the deacidification of the sample books shall be borne by the offeror and/or the Library, at a cost detemined by mutual agreement between the Library and the offeror. -Perform laboratory analyses on processed books and manuscripts from the samples furnished by the Library for treatment. Analyses may include pH measurements, test for alkaline reserve, completeness of deacidification, and extension of life of the papers as measured by accelerated aging, as well as scanning electron microscopy and any other tests deemed by the Library to be useful for establishing the effectiveness of the process. -Evaluate the samples of books and manuscript materials for any process-related damage(s) or other unacceptable side-effects on the treated samples, such as process-induced odors in treated materials; blocking, cockling, tearing, staining, discoloration, or yellowing of paper; bleeding or feathering of inks or other media; warping of binding boards; degradation and/or chemical changes in book cloths, buckrams, or other covering materials; degradation of binding or other adhesives or damage to sewn or adhesive binding structures; loosening or damage to labels; excessive chemical deposits on covers, paper stock, photographic images or other non-porous materials such as coated or super-calendered paper; and damage to plastic components of books and other treated objects. -Evaluate processing turn-around times to determine whether books and other treated materials would be returned and refiled for use within a period of time that is deemed reasonable to the Library. Even though a process has technical merit, the Library may choose not to evaluate and test it if, in addition to an acceptable time for selecting, shipping, treating, returning, and refiling the materials, the process requires, for example, several additional days of pre-drying and several days or weeks for rehumidifying, airing, or removing process-related odors from treated materials. -Document all evaluations, analyses, and findings in a written report to be made available to the preservation community for their use in making preservation decisions. -Meet with each party to review the findings in the report and receive their comments. STEP 3: The parties that successfully demonstrate that they have the potential to meet the Library's mass deacidification technical requirements may request a more detailed evaluation of their process in Step 3. The evaluation may be consistent with that described in the Library's RFP90-21, and it may include initiatives aimed at process optimization and demonstration of limited production capabilities, while consistently meeting the Library's technical requirements. Process enhancement and limited production initiatives shall be undertaken only when they are determined to be in the best interest of the Library. Such initiatives are dependent upon timing, the availability of funding, and/or Congressional approval when appropriate. The Library has no interest in evaluating and testing any paper strengthening or paper splitting technology that does not, at the same time, stabilize and add longevity to acid paper at levels specified by the Library. Parameters for evaluating and testing any mass preservation technology other than deacidification (such as paper strengthening and paper splitting) will be similar to the guidelines outlined above for mass deacidification processing, with details of the stages of this examination and publication of the results to be devised in mutual agreement between the Library and the offeror. Parties interested in participating in the evaluation and testing program described above must provide the information and samples no later than 48 months from the date of this notice to be considered under the five (5) year open season. When responding to this notice, please cite RFI01-0001.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20000831/ASOL007.HTM (W-242 SN491162)