Comprehensive Serials Services

Background
This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in collaboration with The Virginia Association of State College and University Purchasing Professionals (VASCUPP).
The goal of this contract is to establish comprehensive print, online, and other format serial or continuations services for VASCUPP member institutions.
VASCUPP aims to leverage cooperative procurement opportunities to achieve economies of scale, resulting in lower prices and reduced administrative costs.

Work Details
The Contractor shall provide comprehensive services for print and electronic periodicals, continuations, e-journal packages, publishers' series, online databases (including aggregated databases), and other electronic resources.
Specific services include:
- Provision of all serials, orders, renewals, cancellations, handling of claims, and invoicing.
- Assigning a specific in-house account representative for managing orders and inquiries.
- Acknowledging new orders within two business days for online formats and delivering the first issue within eight weeks for North American publishers.
- Handling subscription renewals with notifications on excessive price increases.
- Providing a flexible online claims service for missing issues.
- Maintaining an online serials management system with accurate records of active orders and subscription data.

Period of Performance
The term of this contract is five (5) years with options for two (2) additional five (5) year renewals as negotiated.

Place of Performance
The services will be performed primarily at Virginia Tech's main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, but may extend to other VASCUPP member institutions across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must register as a vendor within the eVA system to participate in this procurement process. Additionally, they are encouraged to facilitate participation through partnerships with SWaM-certified subcontractors.
Insurance coverages required include:
- Workers' Compensation
- Employers Liability ($100,000)
- General Liability ($2 million)
- Automobile Liability ($500,000).