SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT NLM Discovery & Delivery Platform

This Small Business Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government. This notice is intended strictly for Market Research. This is a Request for Information only. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Library of Medicine (NLM) is conducting a market survey to help determine the availability and technical capability of qualified small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and/or HUBZone small businesses capable of serving the needs identified in the draft statement of work. 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. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: Project Title National Library of Medicine Discovery and Delivery Platform Background Information The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is constantly striving to maximize the visibility, use, and value of the overall collections and make access to the library resources seamless and simple for patrons to use. LocatorPlus, NLM's online public access catalog (OPAC), has been the front-end search interface to many NLM resources managed in the Voyager integrated library system (ILS) since 1999. However, as information concepts and technology advance, the underlying technology, functionality, and user interface of conventional OPACs become obsolete and are therefore no longer aligned with user expectations. LocatorPlus is no exception. In an age when most users are accustomed to powerful search engines, NLM needs to offer a modern, comprehensive discovery and delivery interface that enables users to quickly and seamlessly access the rich bibliographic data, electronic resources, and full text content of the wide range of NLM collections. This procurement intends to enhance the NLM's search interface by replacing LocatorPlus with a state-of-the-art discovery and delivery solution produced by the library information system industry. Objectives NLM is issuing this Statement of Work (SOW) for purchasing web-based discovery and delivery software. The Library seeks to acquire the software hosted by a vendor with the technical expertise, resources, and experience to provide NLM with an industry-leading search platform. Scope of Work The scope of this procurement is the acquisition of web-based discovery and delivery software as well as the technical, management, and support services for implementing and maintaining the platform. Description of Work The vendor shall host discovery and delivery software that provides a single, modern, and intuitive search platform for NLM's physical, electronic, and digital resources. It must interoperate with the library's ILS to enable users to remain in the search platform for research and traditional OPAC functionality such as requests for physical materials in the NLM collections. The software architecture should be open and extensively configurable, customizable, and expandable for incorporation of additional collection resources and for further NLM development in response to future needs. The vendor must establish security policies, procedures, and practices that meet the relevant security requirements set forth by the U.S. Federal Government. A draft of the Statement of Work is attached. Confidentiality of Information In accordance with FAR 52.227-14(b), the contractor shall guarantee strict confidentiality of the information/data that it is provided by the Government during the performance of the contract. The Government has determined that the information/data that the Contractor will be provided during the performance of the contract is of a sensitive nature and cannot be disclosed in any manner. The Contractor, in whole or in part, can only make disclosure of the information/data, after the Contractor receives prior written approval from the Contracting Officer. Whenever the Contractor is uncertain with regard to the proper handling of information/data under the contract, the Contractor shall obtain a written determination from the Contracting Officer. Interested firms responding to this sources sought notice must adhere to the following: (a) Provide a capability statement demonstrating relevant experience, skills and ability to fulfill the Government's requirements for the above. The capability statement should contain enough sufficient detail for the Government to make an informed decision regarding your capabilities, however, the statement should not exceed 10 pages. (b) The capability statement must identify the responder's business type and size. (c ) The capability statement must provide company name and address, point of contact, phone/fax/email and NAICS Code(s). (d) All capability statements must be submitted electronically no later than 12:00 pm eastern standard time on Thursday, October 30, 2014 to Ryan Singletary ryan.singletary@nih.gov. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality, No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). A determination by the Government to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside is within the discretion of the Government. If capability statements are not received from at least two responsible businesses by the response date or if the Government determines that no small business concerns are capable of performing this requirement based upon an evaluation of the capability statements submitted, the Government may proceed with a full and open competition. NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.