Cataloger's Desktop Production and Development

Notice Type: Sources Sought Request For: Capability Statements (not a proposal) Posted Date: February 24, 2014 Response Date: March 24, 2014 Title of Project: Cataloger's Desktop Production and Development (A proprietary online Cataloging Documentation Management and Delivery System) I. General Overview The Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) of the Library of Congress (LC) is seeking to support on-going production and modernization of its web-based cataloging knowledgebase service, Cataloger's Desktop ("Desktop"). This sources sought notice is being used to determine if sufficient interest and capability exists regarding a potential future solicitation. This notice is provided as information to the marketplace and an invitation for potential offerors to express interest and provide information regarding their relevant capabilities. Information submitted in response to this notice may be used as a basis for a future solicitation and/or as a basis for more in-depth research of an organization's capability. This Sources Sought Notice is for procurement planning purposes. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED AS A RESULT OF THIS NOTICE. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this notice or any follow up information requests. Interested parties should submit Capability Statements via email to Janet Mata-Hitz at jmata@loc.gov and carbon copy Shameema Rhaman at srah@loc.gov. Capability statements should be limited to no longer than 10 pages and include the following information: 1) Company Name, DUNS Number, Address, Point of Contact, phone number and email address; 2) Corporate structure (corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, professional corporation, etc.); 3) References, including name, phone number and email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses; 4) A statement as to whether the firm is interested in working as a prime contractor or a subcontractor; 5) "A demonstration of the vendor's technology and its ability to meet LC's objectives. (See Item III, Capability Statements and Item IV, Sample Response Outline.) II. Background 1. Overview Cataloger's Desktop ("Desktop") is a searchable information delivery system consisting of 300+ pre-selected information resources. Cataloger's Desktop's objective is to help library professionals quickly find the information they need to create bibliographic metadata for incoming library resources. The service's target audience is library staff working in cataloging areas. Cataloger's Desktop is currently used by approximately 10,000 librarians at roughly 1,000 institutions. Most users hold advanced degrees in library and information science; however, subscribers' computer experience varies widely. It is therefore very important that the user experience be as intuitive as possible. The Library of Congress (LC) is seeking capability statements from vendors who can support: 1. Desktop's maintenance and hosting (production) 2. Multiple discrete product improvements (above current capabilities). 2. General Functional Architecture The main Cataloger's Desktop design components are currently comprised of: a. Subscription management system. The current system allows subscriptions to be managed at the institution level. This includes the ability of LC personnel to add and remove subscriptions. It also includes the provision for each institution to setup and manage its own users. b. Data store. A current Host and Delivery System supports 300+ resources, and has the ability to add/delete/update resources as they are identified. The current system deploys to HTML, XML, Folio InfoBase, MS Word, MS Power Point, PDF or XPS resources in a web browser. Although most of these resources are hosted on the Cataloger's Desktop server, some reside on their native servers and are accessed using Desktop as a gateway. c. User interface (U-I). The user interface supports routine cataloging / metadata creation activity by providing easy navigating and consistent functional steps. For example, printing, copying, searching, and bookmarking follow the same steps regardless of where the user is in Desktop. III. Capability Statement The capability statement should briefly describe the company's expertise, experience, and understanding of the following areas: a. Production Support: - Ability to perform routine maintenance, such as applying software patches, daily system backups, system performance monitoring, and disaster recovery. - The ability to support the 300+ resources in Desktop and crawl them for updates on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. - Ability to provide updates for 36 resources which are processed from Folio infobase markup to XML markup. - The ability to provide servers located at an Internet co-location facility that provides system and application monitoring, backups, redundancy and failover, and hosting bureau service, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. System availability should be maintained at no less than 99.95% over a one year period. b. Types of Product Improvements Sought: The following possible system enhancements have been identified by LOC: - Resource Administration - An administrative feature that would enable LC staff to add, remove, or edit knowledgebase resources. - Customizable Menu - A feature that would allow end-users to setup and save customized menus. - Ability to rank and comment on resources - System that provides end-users with the ability to rank and comment on individual resources. Rankings and comments could be shared with other users. - Mobile Client - User interface optimized for tablets (e.g., iPads) for the Android and/or iOS operating systems. - Contractor Recommended Enhancements - Based on your experience, recommend any system enhancements that you feel will improve the heuristics of Cataloger's Desktop. This Sources Sought Notice does not prescribe a design, except to express an expectation that Cataloger's Desktop will be built based on the functionality of the existing system, will continue on-going production uninterrupted, and evolve as new technologies and designs are identified and implemented. The central product design should be focused on the end user. Resource content must be updatable on at least a quarterly basis. System design must also be modular so that additional resources can be easily added, edited or removed by LC staff. IV. Sample Response Outline Following is a suggested outline for Respondents to use in submitting their capability statements and for oral presentation, if invited. a. A description/diagram of the major steps/components the proposed internet technology used to search and archive designated sites. This should cover web crawling, indexing, storing of data, and search query where applicable. b. An example of a customized search engine developed for a client with needs similar to the Library's. c. The outline should show the ability to support the General Functional Architecture described in Background, Item 2. d. The ability to create/support the enhancements identified as improvements sought. e. Architecture- Briefly describe the architectural concepts for the proposed system, including reliability and security characteristics. This should include a high level conceptual diagram of the main technologies you would recommend. Describe your organization's ability to implement the requirements. f. Implementation Methodology- Provide an outline of significant high level milestones with approximate timeframes for this type of project. V. ORAL PRESENTATIONS In response to capability statements, the Library reserves the right to invite a select number of respondents to present their capability. These presentations can be conducted either in-person or via the web. The oral presentation is required to be specific and relative to the specific requirements stated above, and should include your proposed solution. Respondents invited to give oral presentations will be provided a 3-hour window to perform their oral presentation to Library staff. This time limit shall be strictly enforced. VI. Contact Information Primary Point of Contact (POC): POC Name: Janet Mata-Hitz POC Phone: 202 707-3532 POC email: jmata@loc.gov Secondary Point of Contact (POC): POC Name: Shameema Rhaman POC Phone: 202 707-3812 POC email: srah@loc.gov Due Date: Responses must be received in Microsoft Word format by 4:00 PM on March 24, 2014, to the Point of Contacts above. You may also submit supplemental hardcopy materials such as brochures, etc. (5 copies each) to the POC at the following address - no later than specified due date: Library of Congress Office of Contracts and Grants Management 101 Independence Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20540-9411