New and renewal foreign and domestic journal subscriptions in print, print plus online and online formats

Disclaimer: This is not a solicitation. This is not a request for quote (RFQ), invitation for bid (IFB), request for proposal (RFP), request for application (RFA) or an announcement of a solicitation and does not assume the government will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitations in the near future. The information requested herein is for information purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect cost or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information. All information considered proprietary shall be marked accordingly. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with government regulations. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the market place and any responses received will not be considered an offer by the responding party and cannot be returned. No email and telephone inquiries will be accepted and requests for solicitation packages will not granted, as no solicitation has been prepared at this time. Synopsis: Small Business Sources Sought This is a Sources Sought notice that is set aside to small businesses only. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in conducting market research for the purposes of identifying sources who have demonstrated capabilities in the area of library management services. No solicitation of offers is made by this synopsis. 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. Background: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS), Library and Information Services Division (LISD) is handling serial subscriptions for scientific journals, databases, and scholarly periodicals in print, print plus online or online format in support of approximately 20 libraries nationwide and potentially others for approximately 1, 800 different journal titles to be acquired from foreign and domestic sources. Requirements: NOAA requires support for the placement of new and renewal orders for foreign and domestic journal subscriptions in print, print plus online and online formats over the life of the contract. The orders shall be placed within five (5) working days from receipt of delivery order from the Government. NOAA requires support for prompt subscription payments to the publisher, and shall not invoice the Government prior to placing subscription orders. Invoice in electronic format should be submitted to NOAA within one of payment to the publisher. NOAA requires support to process all claims of missing and defective print issues in a timely manner. It is the Contractor's responsibility to ensure replacement issues are received or a credit is issued to NOAA. NOAA requires support to provide an electronic journal management service that will allow the libraries to provide: - Combined usage statistics, subscription details and price information; - Counter complaint reporting functionality to analyze electronic resources by package or individual titles; - Accurate price-per-use information to determine the return on investment (ROI) for every e-journal for acquisition and renewal; - Impact factor analysis tool for gauging the effectiveness of a title over a three year period. NOAA requires an electronic journal service to handle electronic journal management needs. This will improve efficiency by controlling e-journal registration from one place, control collection with coverage data, access rights, and license terms. NOAA requires an intermediary between the Libraries and other publishers or vendors in the establishment of consortiums for electronic publications. This service will be provided at no extra charge to the Government. NOAA requires a web-based service which will allow Libraries access to table of contents, abstracts, and full text for electronic journals available on subscription. NOAA requests a document delivery service if libraries were to need an article quickly from a journal not subscribed by anyone in NOAA. Information Requested: Interested companies must include the following information in their responses: - Name and address of firm; - Size of business and socioeconomic status (i.e., small, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, etc.); - Average annual revenue for the past 3 years and number of employees; - Ownership; - Number of years in business; - Affiliate information; - Parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential subcontractor) or subcontractors (if potential prime); - List of customers, especially Government, covering the past five years (highlight relevant work performed, contract numbers, contract type, dollar value of each procurement); - Point of contact - address and phone number; and - List of existing Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACS) for which pour ware currently qualified Standard product brochures will not be considered a sufficient response to this sources sought synopsis. Submittal Requirements: Telephone responses are NOT solicited. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. This synopsis is not be construed as a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for the solicited information. Please submit your submission via email to the attention of Contact Specialist (CS) Saundra Kpadeh (Saundra.Kpadeh@noaa.gov) no later than April 15, 2013, 2:00pm EST, Silver Spring, MD. The response shall be submitted as Microsoft Word documents, using Version 2007. The response shall be no more 10 single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the cover page), and use a minimum font of 12 point (Times New Roman) on 8 - x 11-inch paper. Each page shall be separately numbered. It is the offeror's responsibility to ensure it arrives by the required date and time. For the purpose of establishing timely receipt of a quotation, the time will be established based upon the electronic copy submission. Contracting Office Address: 1325 East West Highway, Room 11403 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 Primary Point of Contact: Saundra Kpadeh Contract Specialist Saundra.kpadeh@noaa.gov Phone: (301) 628-1405