OCLC Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan Subscription

145019-25-0022KAW

08/19/2025 AMENDED DESCRIPTION TO SHOW TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.

***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) ACQUISITION AND GRANTS OFFICE (AGO) WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-BOULDER (WAD), NOAA CENTRAL AND REGIONAL LIBRARIES (NCRL) AND SEATTLE REGIONAL LIBRARY (SRL) INTEND TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH OCLC, INC. OUT OF DUBLIN, OHIO FOR A SUBSCRIPTION TO THE ONLINE COMPUTER LIBRARY CENTER (OCLC) DATABASE FOR CATALOGING AND INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL) SERVICES.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NOAA REQUIREMENT THAT OCLC, INC. IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF THE OCLC DATABASE FOR CATALOGING AND ILL SERVICES. OCLC, INC. HAS SPENT OVER 50 YEARS DEVELOPING A WORLDWIDE SHARED CATALOG OF LIBRARY RESOURCES. THIS CATALOG, WORLDCAT, IS UTILIZED BY AND CONTRIBUTED TO BY MORE THAN 72,000 LIBRARIES IN 170 COUNTRIES AND IS CONSIDERED THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR PROVIDING CATALOGING AND ILL SERVICES ACROSS LIBRARIES. NO OTHER SERVICE PROVIDES THE SCOPE AND BREADTH OF MATERIALS AND PARTICIPATING LIBRARIES. OCLC, INC. PROVIDES THE SINGLE RESOURCE USED BY ALL TYPE OF LIBRARIES TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES FORM PUBLIC TO ACADEMIC TO GOVERNMENT RESEARCH LIBRARIES. OCLC CATALOGIN SERVICE PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE PROGRAM FOR COOPERATIVE CATALOGIN DATABASES FOR PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM FOR COOPERATIVE CATALOGING INITIATIVES INCLUDING BIBCO, CONSER, NACO, AND SACO. PARTICIPATION IN THESE PROGRAMS ALLOWS NOAA LIBRARY STAFF TO CREATE ORIGINAL CATALOGING AND AUTHORITY RECORDS FOR NOAA RESEARHERS AND FOR WORKS BY NOAA RESEARCHERS WHICH ENABLES THE DISSEMINATION OF NOAA RESEARCH THROUGH A DATABASE USED BY A MASSIVE COMMUNITY OF LIBRARIES AROUND THE WORLD. OCLC, INC. HAS LONG BEEN THE LONE SUPPLIER OPERATING IN THIS SPACE AND IS ALSO THE LONE SELLER OF ITS PROPRIETARY SERVICES, INCLUDING CONNEXION AND ILLIAD.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Cataloging utility that allows for the entering and display of special characters and scripts, including non-Latin scripts (Cyrillic, etc.)
• Cataloging utility that displays data in standard formats, including MARC-8 and UTF-8, and makes use of standard encoding formats, including MARC 21
• Ability to perform full suite of standard library cataloging operations, including creation of new records and editing of existing records, validation of record fields using MARC standard, use of automation macros for labor-saving, etc.
• Ability to add or delete library holdings to/from existing records in shared database
• Established Online Union Catalog utilized by the majority of major US academic/research libraries and libraries world-wide.
• Ability to access Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) databases, including BIBCO, CONCER, NACO, and SACO
• Ability to make edits to cataloging and authority records in PCC databases
• Access to millions of records from thousands of libraries that can be utilized for copy cataloging and to determine lenders for interlibrary loan requests.
• Ability to both upload and download catalog records from / to the Library's LSP, ExLibris Alma
• Access to a registry of at least 10,000 libraries with information such as location, hours, lending policies, and library contacts
• Ability to place requests for materials from the interlibrary loan departments of all major US academic and research libraries as well as world-wide libraries such as the British Lending Library via one interface
• Ability to send and receive journal articles electronically to ensure timely delivery of requests
• Ability to track requests including such statuses as: where a request is in the lending string, shipped, overdue, etc.
• Ability to set-up lending policies that will automatically deflect requests for materials that are not loaned by the library.
• Demonstrated ease of usability for searchers; clean interface with multiple options for refining search such as, but not limited to, database, content, format, author, year, language.

THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE WILL BE FROM DATE OF AWARD FOR 12 MONTHS.

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.