Kim A. Westerhaus

Kim A. Westerhaus serves as a Procurement Analyst within the Contracts Services office of the Library of Congress, where she plays a critical role in executing acquisitions that advance the nation’s digital stewardship of cultural and intellectual heritage. She supports the procurement of information technology and media services essential to large-scale digitization, metadata management, and digital preservation initiatives. Her work directly enables public access to archival materials and ensures the sustainability of the Library’s technological infrastructure. Westerhaus typically handles complex service-based acquisitions in the digital content and accessibility domains, coordinating requirements development, market research, and contract administration to align with mission-critical objectives. She maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of specialized contractors, including the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Accessibility Services Inc., and the University of Washington, all of which provide expert services in accessible media, digital archiving, and assistive technology. These partnerships reflect a focus on mission-aligned vendors with deep domain expertise in accessibility and cultural heritage preservation. Westerhaus fosters long-term collaborative engagements, prioritizing vendors with proven capabilities in delivering compliant, scalable digital solutions for federal library systems. Westerhaus’s procurement portfolio reflects a strong preference for full and open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions issued without socioeconomic set-asides. This indicates a strategic emphasis on technical merit and vendor capability over socioeconomic classifications, aligning with the Library’s need for highly specialized, niche expertise that may not be widely available among small business concerns. While small business participation is not formally prioritized through set-asides, her selections consistently favor vendors with demonstrated excellence in accessibility and digital preservation. Her primary procurement focus centers on NAICS 511210 (Software Publishers) and 541519 (Other Computer Related Services), reflecting her specialization in custom software development, digital asset management systems, and accessibility-compliant digital services. She routinely procures solutions for metadata enrichment, audiovisual digitization, screen reader compatibility, and web accessibility compliance, demonstrating deep technical understanding of federal digital preservation standards and ADA-aligned accessibility requirements.