Jennifer Zwahlen

Jennifer Zwahlen serves as a secondary contracting professional within the Contracts Services office of the Library of Congress, supporting the agency’s mission to preserve and expand public access to the nation’s cultural heritage through strategic procurement of information technology and media services. She contributes to the acquisition lifecycle for complex digital stewardship initiatives, including digitization systems, metadata platforms, and accessibility-focused media solutions. Her work ensures that technical procurement aligns with the Library’s long-term goals in digital preservation, archival access, and inclusive user experiences, typically handling solicitations under firm-fixed-price and time-and-materials contract types for specialized service providers. Zwahlen collaborates closely with a focused set of contractors including the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Accessibility Services Inc., and the University of Washington, among others. These partnerships reflect a preference for mission-aligned organizations with deep expertise in accessible media, digital archiving, and specialized library technologies. Her working relationships are characterized by sustained engagement with vendors possessing proven capabilities in assistive technologies and cultural heritage digitization, often involving multi-year performance-based contracts that emphasize compliance with Section 508 and WCAG standards. Her procurement activity shows no reliance on socioeconomic set-asides, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on technical merit and domain-specific capability over socioeconomic categorization, prioritizing the quality and suitability of solutions over vendor classification. Zwahlen’s procurement focus centers on NAICS categories including 512110 (Motion Picture and Video Production), 541690 (Scientific and Technical Consulting Services), and 334310 (Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing). She routinely acquires services and equipment related to high-resolution audiovisual digitization, metadata enrichment systems, digital preservation platforms, and specialized accessibility hardware, demonstrating technical expertise in the intersection of cultural preservation and emerging media technologies.