Draft Request for Proposals Notice for the Books & Non-Print Materials and Related Support Competition

THIS IS A DRAFT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NOTICE ONLY. This Draft Request for Proposals Notice is a means of obtaining feedback from contractors concerning the requirements stated below, under the Description of the Requirement, which is part of the acquisition planning and market research phase for this procurement. The industry input received from this Draft Request for Proposals Notice will aid in the refinement of the official solicitation package. 

This Draft Request for Proposals Notice does not constitute a solicitation.  Instead, it is an opportunity for the Library of Congress (LOC), Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK), to open a dialogue with vendors, allowing them to preview pre-decisional draft documentation, ask questions of the Government, and receive responses.  The Government intends to address most, if not all, relevant questions, and will post these questions and answers as an attachment to this Draft Request for Proposals Notice at a future date.

SUBJECT: Draft Request for Proposals Notice for the Books & Non-Print Materials and Related Support Competition.

INTRODUCTION:

The Library of Congress (Library) requires contract support to provide Books and Non-Print Materials and Related Support. The Library provides these services under the Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK). In accordance with 2 U.S.C. § 182c (f)(1), the Library is authorized to provide Books and Non-Print Materials and Related Support on behalf of participating federal libraries, federal information centers, other entities of the federal Government, and the District of Columbia. Libraries and other federal offices centralize the acquisition of Books and Non-Print Materials through qualified firms to reduce the Government's time and labor investment in acquiring information needed to support agency missions. Section 103 of P.L. 106-481 (2 U.S.C. 182c) is FEDLINK’s statutory authority to provide "the procurement of commercial information services, publications in any format, and library support services,...related accounting services,...related education, information and support services."

As permitted by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10, this is a market research tool being utilized for informational and planning purposes. Your responses will assist the Government in refining its Request for Proposals (RFP), to be issued at a later date.

This notice shall not be construed as a final RFP or as any commitment or obligation on the part of the Government to issue a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this request, so quotes will not be considered. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this Draft Request for Proposals Notice or any follow-up information requests.

Response is strictly voluntary – it is not mandatory to submit a response to this notice to participate in any formal RFP process that may take place in the future. However, it should be noted that information gathered through this notice may significantly influence our final RFP package. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any solicitations posted as a result of this Draft Request for Proposals Notice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUIREMENT:

The period of performance for Books and Non-Print Materials and Related Support is a 5-year base with no options.  Books and Non-Print Materials and Related Support will be a multiple-award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract.

Scope of Work:

The contractor shall provide Books and Non-Print Materials and Related Support from contractors, publishers, distributors, or producers of books and media (non-serial publications) and associated customer/technical support to federal libraries, information centers, and other federal offices for the FEDLINK program. The contractor shall also perform a variety of associated duties that support the execution and administration of Library acquisitions operations, and the delivery and physical processing of materials. The contractor may provide technical processing only for materials supplied under this contract.

Project Requirements

The anticipated NAICS code is 424920: Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers

Description of Performance Areas

The following Performance Areas describe the intended focus of this contract:

• Lot 1 - Firm Order: A firm order is a one-time order for a specific title or titles for a specific number of copies.

• Lot 2 - Technical/Physical Processing: The contractor may provide technical processing only for materials supplied under this contract, performing physical processing, or cataloging to supply materials to the customer in shelf-ready condition. The contractor may provide a computer-based order processing system for the customer to make the acquisitions control process more effective and efficient.

• Lot 3 - Leasing Plan: The contractor shall lease or license monograph (non- serial) publications to customers in response to orders for specific titles or according to a customer profile upon issuance of a valid and fully executed order. The customer leases publications from the supplier instead of buying them and retains an option to purchase leased items at a reduced price when the term of the lease is over.

An offeror must offer and be able to supply requirements as described in Lot 1 or Lot 3, or both. An offeror must supply library materials as described in Lot 1 or Lot 3 in order to be eligible to offer or supply services under Lot 2.

See draft attachments for the full Project Requirements.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

All interested contractors are invited to submit, in writing, questions, comments and concerns regarding this Draft Request for Proposals Notice and its attachments.

Questions that the Government is especially interested in receiving contractor feedback on are as follows:

1. Is there additional information your business would need to help you prepare your proposal?
2. Are the requirements outlined in the Statement of Work clear?
3. What questions do you have concerning Sections L & M of the solicitation?
4. Will your ordering platform be able to handle incidentals in support of Lot 1 – Firm Orders as described in C.3.1.13. Incidentals?
5. What questions do you have concerning Section C.3.1.8. FEDLINK Monthly Cancellation and Deobligation Reports to FEDLINK and Attachment J.1 - FEDLINK Monthly Cancellation and Deobligation Report?

FORMAT OF RESPONSES

Please provide your company’s questions, comments, and concerns (with contact information) on no more than two (2) single-sided pages, 12-point font, minimum one-inch margins, in Microsoft Word format with a “.docx” or “.doc” extension or in Adobe format with a “.pdf” extension. All responses should be unclassified and for general access by the Government. Any proprietary information submitted must be clearly and separately identified and marked and will be appropriately protected. The Government will NOT be responsible for any proprietary information not clearly marked. Any material provided may be used in development of future solicitations.

All responses shall be submitted via e-mail on or before 5:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), August 29, 2025, to the Contracting Officer, Katherine Bowen (e-mail: katbowen@loc.gov), and to FEDLINK Contracts (e-mail: FEDLINKcontracts@loc.gov). Late responses may not be accepted.

A Question and Answer document (answering most, if not all) relevant questions will be posted at a later date as an attachment to this announcement.