Please note: VIVA's RFP for full-text resources is provided on the web for information purposes only. All inquiries for information (including vendors wishing to obtain official copies) should be directed to: Iris Moubray, C.P.M., VCO, Senior Buyer, J.M.U. (Phone) 540/568-3132 (Fax) 540/568-7935.



JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY

Request for Proposal

RFP M 0150



ELECTRONIC FULL TEXT DATABASES
January 5, 1998

CONTENTS:
I. PURPOSE

II. BACKGROUND

III. STATEMENT OF NEEDS

A. Database Description and Coverage

B. Search Capability

C. User Interface

D. Printing and Downloading

E. Access

F. Format

G. Database Customizing

H. Hours of Service

I. Authentication

J. Copyright Permission

K. Archiving

L. Response Time

M. Training

N. Documentation

O. Management Reports

P. Maintenance

Q. Connectivity

R. Vendor Data

S. Enhancements

T. Start Date

U. Trial Access

V. Demonstration

IV. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

V. EVALUATION AND AWARD CRITERIA

VI. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

VII. SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

VIII. METHOD OF PAYMENT

IX. PRICING SCHEDULE

ATTACHMENT A: Data Sheet to be completed by the firm

ATTACHMENT B: List of Participating Institutions and Numbers of Students

ADDENDUM NO.: ONE

 

 

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
RFP #M 0150

Issue Date: January 5, 1998

Title: Electronic Full Text Databases

Issuing Agency: Commonwealth of Virginia
James Madison University
Procurement Services
One Court Square MSC8502
Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Using Agency: Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA)


Sealed Proposals Will Be Received Until February 10, 1998, 3 PM, For Furnishing The Services Described Herein.

IF PROPOSALS ARE MAILED, SEND DIRECTLY TO THE ISSUING AGENCY SHOWN ABOVE. IF PROPOSALS ARE HAND DELIVERED, DELIVER TO: One Court Square, Third Floor, Room 300, Harrisonburg, VA 22807.

All Inquiries For Information Should Be Directed To: Iris Moubray, C.P.M., VCO, Senior Buyer, (Phone) 540/568-3132 (Fax) 540/568-7935.

In compliance with this Proposal and to all the conditions imposed herein, the undersigned offers and agrees to furnish the goods/services in accordance with the attached signed proposal or as mutually agreed upon by subsequent negotiation.

Name and Address of Firm: _______________________________
_______________________________

_______________________________


By: _______________________________
Signature in Ink

Name: _______________________________
Please Print

Title: _______________________________

FEI/FIN No.__________________________ Phone: _____________________________

Date: _______________________________ Fax #:______________________________


I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit sealed proposals from qualified sources to establish contract(s) through competitive negotiations for the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) to provide access to electronic full text databases covering a broad range of disciplines.

Specific objectives include:

(1) Providing databases with full text articles and indexing from high quality publications with coverage including, but not necessarily limited to the following categories: humanities, social sciences, sciences, business, health, computers, technology and general interest.

(2) Providing a robust and user friendly search engine which operates efficiently and effectively with standard WWW browsers.

(3) Providing Internet access to database(s) loaded and maintained by the contractor(s).

II. BACKGROUND

The Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) is a consortium of the libraries of the colleges and universities of the Commonwealth of Virginia. VIVA's mission is to provide, in an equitable, cooperative, and cost effective manner, enhanced access to library and information resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia's academic libraries serving the higher education community.

VIVA has two main areas of activities: 1) activities to enhance support of interlibrary lending among the libraries; and 2) shared access to online library resources. Projects to support interlibrary lending include purchasing and installing Ariel system for the electronic transmission of articles and developing protocols and procedures to achieve a 48-hour response standard for interlibrary lending requests within the Commonwealth. Projects to support shared access to online library resources include collective subscriptions to remote, online databases; purchase or lease of online databases to be locally mounted by one or more of the six electronic resource center libraries (and made available to the other member libraries); and digitization projects.

From the beginning of the VIVA consortium, the libraries of the Commonwealth's independent (private, not-for-profit) colleges and universities have participated to the maximum extent feasible. In all cases from 1994 to the present, a subset of the private institutions participated in VIVA purchases using their own funds. During the 1998-2000 Biennium, additional funds may be made available by the Virginia General Assembly for the private institutions to participate more fully in database purchases.

The goal of the VIVA project is to use networked resources, client-server architecture, and a robust state-wide network, Net.Work.Virginia (http://www.NetworkVirginia.net), to make library resources accessible to participants. Institutions use a variety of protocols to access electronic materials, but the World Wide Web (HTTP protocol) is the preferred method of access. The speed of networked connections varies from institution to institution and campus to campus.

See Attachment B for a list of participating institutions, including total numbers of full-time equivalent (FTE) students.






III. STATEMENT OF NEEDS

The contractor shall clearly indicate in their responses if what they are proposing is in the general release, in testing, in development, in planning, not available, or is a custom development available for an additional charge. For proposed capabilities not currently available, the contractor shall indicate the scheduled date of release.


A. DATABASE DESCRIPTION AND COVERAGE

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall provide a description of the full contents of the database, indicating the coverage in each part of the database, e.g., type of material, dates of coverage, extent of coverage (full-text, abstracts, index citation). The description shall include an executive summary of the proposed services.

1. The contractor shall offer full-text databases which meet the following minimum criteria:

(a) Broad coverage of academic disciplines including the humanities, social sciences, sciences, business, computers, technology, health, and general interest;

(b) A minimum of three years of coverage. The contractor shall specify the years of coverage, indicating whether coverage is ongoing, or if coverage is based on a rolling subscription that deletes earlier years;

(c) Continuous updates on at least a weekly basis with daily updates preferred. The contractor shall specify the update schedule;

(d) Comprehensive indexing and abstracting of materials.

The contractor shall describe any other indexes and abstracts of periodical articles or other materials in addition to the full-text material.

3. The contractor shall provide a list of currently available journals covered in the database(s) including dates of coverage.

4. The contractor shall provide a separate list limited to only currently available full-text journal titles.

The contractor shall specify any materials (including illustrations, charts, brief articles, notes, covers, advertisements, etc.) omitted from the electronic full-text database.

The contractor shall clarify whether it is the database publisher, or a third party database provider, and shall describe its specific relationship to the database publisher. Contractors that are not the database publisher shall clarify their role in providing access to the proposed database(s), specify any restrictions in use, and detail any limitations from the database(s) available from the publisher.

The contractor shall describe the availability and access to any backfiles of materials, which extends coverage beyond the minimum criteria of three years.

The contractor shall describe the availability of non-periodical reference materials, e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, medical guides, company directories.

The contractor shall describe capabilities for displaying within the citation or adjacent to the citation, information on whether or not the local library owns the cited journal.

The contractor shall describe any mechanism for systematic, advance notification of changes in the database(s), i.e., additions and deletions of full-text coverage, etc.

DESIRABLE:

Online listing of full-text titles. The contractor should provide, in a readily accessible online format, a current and accurate list of full-text titles; the list should not include any other (non-full-text) titles.

B. SEARCH CAPABILITY

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall provide detailed information regarding the proposed system's search capabilities and on how search results are displayed.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should offer:

1. Author, title, and subject search capability;

2. The ability to limit searching to full-text materials only;

3. The ability to limit searching by the following:

a. Date;
b. Language;
c. Country of publication;
d. Journal or source title;
e. Type of material;

4. Boolean operators;

5. Proximity searching;

6. The ability to limit searching by language;

7. The ability to limit searches to materials held by the local library;

8. The ability to limit searching to scholarly or refereed articles;

9. The ability to search multiple databases simultaneously;

10. Right-hand and internal (wildcard) truncation;

11. Keyword capability, including all conventional database records fields, including but not limited to author, article title, journal title, abstracts, descriptors, language, and year of publication;

12. Browsing of specific journal titles, by date or volume;

13. Browsing of major index fields;

14. Default records display in reverse chronological order;

15. Provision for marking records.

C. USER INTERFACE

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall provide a detailed description of the user interface, including menu and help screen design specifying availability of context sensitive and/or menu help functions. The contractor shall further describe support for customized help files.

D. PRINTING AND DOWNLOADING

MANDATORY:

1. The contractor shall describe all methods currently available for printing and downloading information and shall further detail any requirements for local printer configuration and specify how the service handles graphs, illustrations, etc.

2. The contractor shall offer at a minimum:

a. Display of citations and full-text articles on user's workstation;

b. Ability to print citations and full-text articles on attached or networked printers, as designated by the local institution;

c. Ability to download citations and full-text articles on local computers or disks.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should offer:

1. Ability to deliver full-text via electronic mail;

2. Ability to deliver full-text to user's fax machine;

3. Ability to route requests to document delivery departments at respective institutions.


E. ACCESS

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall:

1. Provide access to the database via the World Wide Web, through the use of Netscape 3.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0, as well as later versions of these browsers.

2. Describe any other options for accessing databases.

3. Indicate any limitations in functionality based on method of access.

4. Describe any special requirements or clients, including plug-ins, needed to access databases.

5. Describe the minimum and maximum modem transfer speed required for connectivity by off-campus users.

DESIRABLE:

1. The contractor should provide access to sub-sections of the database, so that particular databases, journal titles and articles may be addressed individually. Each element should have a separate and permanent URL listing which libraries may use as a bookmark or Web link.

2. The contractor should offer VIVA the possibility of dedicated access to the database site.

F. FORMAT

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall specify the format of the database(s):

1. Indicate whether the database is text or image.

2. Indicate the type of image format (e.g., tiff, pdf).

3. Describe how records are tagged/indexed.


G. DATABASE CUSTOMIZING

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe any options for customizing services.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should offer options to customize:

1. Searching, displays, print and download options;

2. Time-outs.


H. HOURS OF SERVICE


MANDATORY:

The contractor shall outline the hours of service and describe times, if any, that the service is not available. The contractor shall outline the times when maintenance is routinely performed.
DESIRABLE:

The contractor should offer access to the service twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven days a week.


I. AUTHENTICATION

MANDATORY:

Contractor shall detail the options available for registration/certification to allow qualified users access. The contractor shall:

1. Describe the login procedure.

2. Detail the levels of authorization required for access.

3. Specify levels of authorization controlled by the contractor and by the local institution.

4. Detail the use of IP addresses in authentication.

5. Specify what constitutes a qualified user.

6. Detail how the service identifies qualified users.

7. Specify any usage restrictions on the services.

8. Describe any restriction on concurrent usage and detail how usage in monitored.

9. Describe how the system handles passwords, including masking, character restrictions, minimum length of passwords, ability to script passwords, etc.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should be able to provide a simple authentication process for access from all college computers and for all college affiliated users off campus or at home. The normal on-site process should not require the user to enter a password. The authentication process should work with a local or institution-specific system.


J. COPYRIGHT PERMISSION

MANDATORY:

1. The contractor shall specify current arrangements for handling copyright and royalty fees.

2. The contractor shall specify whether VIVA may use paper or electronic copies derived directly or indirectly from the electronic database with the same rights and limitations that apply to paper copies made from print publications in compliance with Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Act of the U.S. and with guidelines developed by the National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU).

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should place no restrictions, beyond those of fair use, on interlibrary loan use of the database.

K. ARCHIVING

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe archiving methods used to ensure permanent and reliable access to databases.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should archive all full-text materials and make them available to VIVA on a permanent basis.

L. RESPONSE TIME

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall provide detailed information on response time based on simultaneous use, including average response time per search during peak loads (defined as 50 simultaneous users) and maximum response time per search during peak loads.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should be able to maintain adequate response time, defined as an average of two (2) seconds per search for 95% of all searches performed during peak loads (50 simultaneous users) and a maximum of five (5) seconds per search for 95% of all searches during peak loads.


M. TRAINING

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe nature and extent of training to be provided and provide proposed training schedule and sample training materials, if any.

DESIRABLE:

1. The contractor should provide training to library staff.

2. The contractor should provide a free mechanism for arranging additional ports or other access means to accommodate the high volume of use during periodic training sessions for students and faculty at each institution.

N. DOCUMENTATION

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe available user documentation and provide copies to VIVA to review
if requested.

O. MANAGEMENT REPORTS


MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe the types of management reports that can be generated, including, but not limited to, use by institution, database, journal title, etc., as well as data on access contention, failures, etc. The contractor shall include sample management reports.

DESIRABLE:

1. Contractor should provide routine management reports at least monthly and customized reports as requested by VIVA.

2. The contractor should provide management reports to each library on a title by title basis, in a variety of accessible and flexible formats, e.g., spreadsheet, downloadable Web document.

P. MAINTENANCE

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe procedures for ongoing maintenance/support for the service. Contractor shall provide information on guaranteed response times for requests for maintenance/support.

DESIRABLE:

1. The contractor should provide maintenance support 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

2. The contractor should offer a toll free telephone number for maintenance calls and other support services.

Q. CONNECTIVITY

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall:

1. Describe handling of timeout and/or reset. Specify whether the contractor or local institution controls timeout timing.

2. Describe how the service handles notification of impending termination of connections.

3. Describe logout procedures and consequences of improper logout.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should provide access to an unlimited number of users.

R. VENDOR DATA

1. Longevity. The contractor shall have been actively engaged in the business of providing service to academic libraries for a minimum of three (3) years.

2. Financial Disclosure. The contractor should provide full disclosure of financial statements for at least the last three (3) business years.

3. Personnel. The contractor shall provide general descriptions of the educational background and experience of personnel with whom VIVA staff and committee members will be expected to work on a regular basis. Contractor shall specify the total number and general level of experience of professional librarians or other technical specialists employed. The contractor shall provide a specific representative (include name, title, phone number, and length of time with the firm) for the project and shall provide continued customer support and technical assistance during the project.

4. Customer list. The contractor shall provide a list of consortia and/or other institutions for whom it has done similar work. This list shall include names, addresses, and phone numbers of contacts for each, with the understanding that they may be contacted for references. In addition, the contractor shall provide a list of any contracts for the last three (3) years that were canceled or from which the contractor was prohibited from bidding because of lack of performance or because Contractor defaulted on a contract.

S. ENHANCEMENTS

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall describe any enhancements planned for the next twelve (12) months. The contractor shall indicate if regular enhancements are provided with no additional charges.

T. START DATE

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall provide a time line and estimate for service initiation.

DESIRABLE:

The contractor should be able to meet a July 1, 1998 start date.

U. TRIAL ACCESS

MANDATORY:

The contractor shall provide at least six weeks of free, trial access to the service beginning February 12, 1998, to the staff at VIVA institutions. The contractor shall provide instructions for this trial access with submitted proposal. The contractor shall specify if the trial access is being provided on any server other than the normal production server.

V. DEMONSTRATION

Demonstrations are tentatively scheduled to be conducted on March 13, 1998, in Richmond, VA. Contractor shall indicate availability to conduct demonstration on that date.


IV. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

A. General Requirements

1. RFP Responses: In order to be considered for selection, Offerors must submit a complete responses to this RFP. One (1) original and nine (9) copies of each proposal must be submitted to the issuing State agency. No other distribution of the proposal shall be made by The firm.
2. Proposal Preparation:

a. Proposals shall be signed by an authorized representative of The firm. All information requested should be submitted. Failure to submit all information request may result in the purchasing agency requiring prompt submissions of missing information and/or giving a lower evaluation of the proposal. Proposals which are substantially incomplete or lack key information may be rejected by the purchasing agency. Mandatory requirements are those required by law or regulation or are such that they cannot be waived and are not subject to negotiation.

b. Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content.

c. Proposals should be organized in the order in which the requirements are presented in the RFP. All pages of the proposal should be numbered. Each paragraph in the proposal should reference the paragraph number of the corresponding section of the RFP. It is also helpful to cite the paragraph number, subletter, and repeat the text of the requirement as it appears in the RFP. If a response covers more than one page, the paragraph number and subletter should be repeated at the top of the next page. The proposal should contain a table of contents which cross references the RFP requirements. Information which The firm desires to present that does not fall within any of the requirements of the RFP should be inserted at the appropriate place or be attached at the end of the proposal and designated as additional material. Proposals that are not organized in this manner risk elimination from consideration if the evaluators are unable to find where the RFP requirements are specifically addressed.

d. Each copy of the proposal should be bound or contained in a single volume where practical. All documentation submitted with the proposal should be contained in that single volume.

e. Ownership of all data, materials and documentation originated and prepared for the State pursuant to the RFP shall belong exclusively to the State and be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by The firm shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; however, The firm must invoke the protection of Section 11-52D of the Code of Virginia, in writing, either before or at the time the data is submitted. The written notice must specifically identify the data or materials to be protected and state the reasons why protection is necessary. The propriety or trade secret materials submitted must be identified by some distinct method such as highlighting or underlining and must indicate only the specific words, figures, or paragraphs that constitute trade secret or propriety information. The classification of an entire proposal document, line item prices and/or total proposal prices as proprietary or trade secrets is not acceptable and will result in rejection and return of the proposal.

Demonstration and/or Verbal Presentation
A hands-on demonstration or verbal presentation may be required of Offerors submitting proposals. The purpose of demonstration is to allow VIVA to observe the functional aspects and to propose questions to the vendor. If demonstrations are required, a mutually agreeable time and place will be scheduled by James Madison University. The firm may be required to demonstrate specific features or to cover specific topics. Demonstrations and/or verbal presentations are an option of the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA and may not be conducted. Therefore, proposals should be complete.

B. Specific Requirements: Proposals should be as thorough and detailed as possible so that the Commonwealth of Virginia -VIVA may properly evaluate your capabilities to provide the required goods and services. Offerors are required to submit the following items as a complete proposal:

1. The return of the RFP cover sheet and all addenda acknowledgments, if any, signed and filled out as required.

2. Complete Data Sheets included as Attachment A to the RFP and other specific items or data requested in RFP.

3. A written narrative statement to include:

a. Experience in providing the goods/services described herein.
b. Approach to providing service.
c. Names, qualifications and experience of personnel to be assigned to the project.
d. Resumes of staff to be assigned to the project.

4. Specific plans for providing the proposed goods/services including:

a. What, when and how services will be performed.
b. Time frame for initiating services.

5. Price.

6. An executive summary of the proposed services.


V. EVALUATION AND AWARD CRITERIA

A. Proposals shall be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. Qualifications and experience of Offerors in providing services.

2. Scope and suitability of services.

3. Scope and suitability of training and support offered.

4. Price.

B. Award: Selection shall be made of two or more Offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals on the basis of the evaluation factors included in the Request for Proposals, including price, if so stated in the Request for Proposals. Negotiations shall be conducted with the Offerors so selected. Price shall be considered, but need not be the sole determining factor. After negotiations have been conducted with each The firm so selected, the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA shall select the Offerors which, in its opinion, has made the best proposals, and shall award the contract to those Offerors (Multiple contracts may be awarded). The Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA may cancel this Request for Proposals or reject proposals at any time prior to an award, and is not required to furnish a statement of the reason a particular proposal was not deemed to be the most advantageous. (Section 11-65D, Code of Virginia.) Should the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one The firm is fully qualified, or that one The firm is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that The firm. The award document will be a contract incorporating by reference all the requirements, terms and conditions of the solicitation and the contractor's proposal as negotiated.


VI. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. VENDOR'S MANUAL: This solicitation is subject to the provisions of the Commonwealth of Virginia Vendor's Manual and any revisions thereto, which are hereby incorporated into this contract in their entirety. A copy of the manual is normally available for review at the purchasing office and in addition a copy can be obtained calling the Division of Purchases and Supply - (804) 786-3845.

B. APPLICABLE LAWS AND COURTS: This solicitation and any resulting contract shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the courts of the Commonwealth. The contractor shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.

C. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION: By submitting their proposals, offerors certify to the Commonwealth that they will conform to the provisions of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, as well as the Virginia Fair Employment Contracting Act of 1975, as amended, where applicable, the Virginians With Disabilities Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 11-51 of the Virginia Public Procurement Act:

In every contract over $10,000 the provisions in 1. and 2. below apply:

1. During the performance of this contract, the contractor agrees as follows:

a. The contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, or disabilities except where religion, sex or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the contractor. The contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices setting forth the provisions of this nondiscrimination clause.

b. The contractor, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the contractor, will state that such contractor is an equal opportunity employer.

c. Notices, advertisements and solicitations placed in accordance with federal law, rule or regulation shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of meeting these requirements.

The contractor will include the provisions of 1. above in every subcontract or purchase order over $10,000, so that the provisions will be binding upon each subcontractor or vendor.

D. ETHICS IN PUBLIC CONTRACTING: By submitting their proposals, offerors certify that their proposals are made without collusion or fraud and that they have not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other Bidder, supplier, manufacturer or subcontractor in connection with their bid, and that they have not conferred on any public employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

E. IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986: By submitting their proposals, the Offerors certify that they do not and will not during the performance of this contract employ illegal alien workers or otherwise violate the provisions of the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

F. DEBARMENT STATUS: By submitting their proposals, offerors certify that they are not currently debarred by the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA from submitting proposals on contracts for the type of goods and/or services covered by this solicitation, nor are they an agent of any person or entity that is currently so debarred.

G. ANTITRUST: By entering into a contract, the contractor conveys, sells, assigns, and transfers to the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA all rights, title and interest in and to all causes of the action it may now have or hereafter acquire under the antitrust laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, relating to the particular goods or services purchased or acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA under said contract.

H. MANDATORY USE OF STATE FORM AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
For Request for Proposals: Failure to submit a proposal on the official state form provided for that purpose may be a cuase for rejection of the proposal. Modification of or additions to the General Terms and Conditions of the solicitation may be cause for rejection of the proposal; however, the Commonwealth reserves the right to decide, on a case by case basis, in it sole discretion, whether to reject such a proposal.

I. CLARIFICATION OF TERMS: If any prospective Offeror has questions about the specifications or other solicitation documents, the prospective Offeror should contact the buyer whose name appears on the face of the solicitation no later than five working days before the due date. Any revisions to the solicitation will be made only by addendum issued by the buyer.

J. PAYMENT:

1. To Prime Contractor:

a. Invoices for items ordered, delivered and accepted shall be submitted by the contractor directly to the payment address shown on the purchase order/contract. All invoices shall show the state contract number and/or purchase order number; social security number (for individual contractors) or the federal employer identification number (for proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations).

b. Any payment terms requiring payment in less than 30 days will be regarded as requiring payment 30 days after invoice or delivery, whichever occurs last. This shall not affect offers of discounts for payment in less than 30 days, however.

c. All goods or services provided under this contract or purchase order, that are to be paid for with public funds, shall be billed by the contractor at the contract price, regardless of which public agency is being billed.

d. The following shall be deemed to be the date of payment: the date of postmark in all cases where payment is made by mail, or the date of offset when offset proceedings have been instituted as authorized under the Virginia Debt Collection Act.

2. To Subcontractors:

a. A contractor awarded a contract under this solicitation is hereby obligated:
(1) To pay the subcontractor(s) within seven (7) days of the contractor's receipt of payment from the Commonwealth for the proportionate share of the payment received for work performed by the subcontractor(s) under the contract; or

(2) To notify the agency and the subcontractor(s); in writing, of the contractor's intention to withhold payment and the reason.

b. The contractor is obligated to pay the subcontractor(s) interest at the rate of one percent per month (unless otherwise provided under the terms of the contract) on all amounts owed by the contractor that remain unpaid seven (7) days following receipt of payment from the Commonwealth, except for amounts withheld as stated in (2) above. The date of mailing of any payment by U.S. Mail is deemed to be payment to the addressee. These provisions apply to each sub-tier Contractor performing under the primary contract. A Contractor's obligation to pay an interest charge to a subcontractor may not be construed to be an obligation of the Commonwealth.

K. PRECEDENCE OF TERMS: Paragraphs A-J of these General Terms and Conditions, shall apply in all instances. In the event there is a conflict between any of the other General Terms and Conditions and any Special Terms and Conditions in this solicitation, the Special Terms and Conditions shall apply.

L. QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFERORS: The Commonwealth may make such reasonable investigations as deemed proper and necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the services/furnish the goods and the Offeror shall furnish to the Commonwealth all such information and data for this purpose as may be requested. The Commonwealth reserves the right to inspect Offeror's physical facilities prior to award to satisfy questions regarding the Offeror's capabilities. The Commonwealth further reserves the right to reject any bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigations of, such Offeror fails to satisfy the Commonwealth that such Offeror is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract and to provide the services and/or furnish the goods contemplated therein.

M. TESTING AND INSPECTION: The Commonwealth reserves the right to conduct any test/inspection it may deem advisable to assure goods and services conform to the specifications.

N. ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT: A contract shall not be assignable by the contractor in whole, or in part, without the written consent of the Commonwealth.

CHANGES TO THE CONTRACT: Changes can be made to the Contract in any one of the following ways:

1. The parties may agree in writing to modify the scope of the contract. An increase or decrease in the price of the contract resulting from such modification shall be agreed to by the parties as a part of their written agreement to modify the scope of the contract.

2. The Purchasing Agency may order changes within the general scope of the contract at any time by written notice to the contractor. Changes within the scope of the contract include, but are not limited to, things such as services to be performed, the method of packing or shipment, and the place of delivery or installation. The contractor shall comply with the notice upon receipt. The contractor shall be compensated for any additional costs incurred as the result of such order and shall give the Purchasing Agency a credit for any savings. Said compensation shall be determined by one of the following methods:

By mutual agreement between the parties in writing; or

By agreeing upon a unit price or using a unit price set forth in the contract, if the work to be done can be expressed in units, and the contractor accounts for the number of units of work performed, subject to the Purchasing Agency's right to audit the contractor's records and/or to determine the correct number of units independently; or

c. By ordering the contractor to proceed with the work and to keep a record of all costs incurred and savings realized. A markup for overhead and profit may be allowed if provided by the contract. The same markup shall be used for determining a decrease in price as the result of savings realized. The contractor shall present the Purchasing Agency with all vouchers and records of expenses incurred and savings realized. The Purchasing Agency shall have the right to audit the records of the contractor as it deems necessary to determine costs or savings. Any claim for an adjustment in price under this provision must be asserted by written notice to the Purchasing Agency within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the written order from the Purchasing Agency. If the parties fail to agree on an amount of adjustment, the question of an increase or decrease in the contract price or time for performance shall be resolved in accordance with the procedures for resolving disputes provided by the Disputes Clause of this contract or, if there is none, in accordance with the disputes provisions of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Vendor's Manual. Neither the existence of a claim nor a dispute resolution process, litigation or any other provision of this contract shall excuse the contractor from promptly complying with the changes ordered by the Purchasing Agency or with the performance of the contract generally.


P. DEFAULT: In case of failure to deliver goods or services in accordance with the contract terms and conditions, the Commonwealth, after due oral or written notice, may procure them from other sources and hold the contractor responsible for any resulting additional purchase and administrative costs. This remedy shall be in addition to any other remedies which the Commonwealth may have.

Q. TAXES: Sales to the Commonwealth of Virginia are normally exempt from State sales tax. State sales and use tax certificates of exemption, Form ST-12, will be issued upon request. Deliveries against this contract shall be free of Federal excise and transportation taxes. The Commonwealth's excise tax exemption registration number is 54-73-0076K.

VII. SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. CANCELLATION OF CONTRACT: Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA reserves the right to cancel and terminate any resulting contract, in part or in whole, without penalty, upon 60 days written notice to the contractor. In the event the initial contract period is for more than 12 months, the resulting contract may be terminated by either party, without penalty, after the initial 12 months of the contract period upon 60 days written notice to the other party. Any contract cancellation notice shall not relieve the contractor of the obligation to deliver and/or perform on all outstanding orders issued prior to the effective date of cancellation.

B. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: It is understood and agreed between the parties herein that the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA shall be bound hereunder only to the extent of the funds available or which may hereafter become available for the purpose of this agreement.

C. AUDIT: The contractor shall retain all books, records, and other documents relative to this contract for five (5) years after final payment, or until audited by the Commonwealth of Virginia, whichever is sooner. The Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA, its authorized agents, and/or State auditors shall have full access to and the right to examine any of said materials during said period.

D. PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: Any proposal response to this solicitation shall be valid for 180 days. At the end of the 180 days the proposal may be withdrawn at the written request of the Bidder. If the proposal is not withdrawn at that time it remains in effect until an award is made or the solicitation is canceled.

E. IDENTIFICATION OF BID ENVELOPE: If a special envelope or return mailing label is not furnished, or if return in the special envelope is not possible, the signed proposal should be returned in a separate envelope or package, sealed and identified as follows:

From: ___________________________________________________________________________________
Name of Offeror Due Date/Time
___________________________________________________________________________________
Street /Box No. RFP No.
____________________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip Code RFP Title

Name of Purchasing Officer__________________________________________________________________

The envelope should be addressed as directed on Page 1 of the solicitation.

If a proposal not contained in the special envelope or in an envelope with the return mailing label affixed is mailed, the Offeror takes the risk that the envelope, even if marked as described above, may be inadvertently opened and the information compromised which may cause the bid or proposal to be disqualified. Proposals may be hand delivered to the designated location in the office issuing the solicitation. No other correspondence or other proposals should be placed in the envelope.

F. DRUG FREE WORKPLACE: The contractor acknowledges and certifies that it understands that the following acts by the contractor, its employees, and/or agents performing services on state property are prohibited.

1. The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of alcohol or other drugs; and

2. Any impairment or incapacitation from the use of alcohol or other drugs (except the use of drugs for legitimate medical purposes).

The contractor further acknowledges and certifies that it understands that a violation of these prohibitions constitutes a breach of contract and may result in default action being taken by the Commonwealth in addition to any criminal penalties that may result from such conduct.

G. INSURANCE: By signing and submitting a bid under this solicitation, the Offeror certifies that if awarded the contract, it will have the following insurance coverages at the time the contract is awarded. For construction contracts, if any subcontractors are involved, the subcontractor will have workers' compensation insurance in accordance with Sections 11-46.3 and 65-800 et seq. of the Code of Virginia.

The Offeror further certifies that the contractor and any subcontractors will maintain these insurance coverages during the entire term of the contract and that all insurance coverages will be provided by insurance companies authorized to sell insurance in Virginia by the Virginia State Corporation Commission.


INSURANCE COVERAGES AND LIMITS REQUIRED:

1. Worker's Compensation - Statutory requirements and benefits.
2. Employers Liability - $100,000.

3. Commercial General Liability -$500,000 combined single limit. The Commonwealth of Virginia is to be named as an additional insured with respect to the services being procured. This coverage is to include Premises/Operations Liability, Products and Completed Operations Coverage, Independent Contractors Liability, Owner's and Contractor's Protective Liability and Personal Injury Liability.
4. Automobile Liability - $500,000.

H. PRIME CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES: The contractor shall be responsible for completely supervising and directing the work under this contract and all subcontractors that he may utilize, using his best skill and attention. Subcontractors who perform work under this contract shall be responsible to the prime Contractor. The contractor agrees that he is as fully responsible for the acts and omissions of his subcontractors and of persons employed by them as he is for the acts and omissions of his own employees.

I. RENEWAL OF CONTRACT: This contract may be renewed by the Commonwealth for a period of four successive one year periods under the terms and conditions of the original contract except as stated in 1. and 2. below. Price increases may be negotiated only at the time of renewal. Written notice of the Commonwealth's intention to renew shall be given approximately 90 days prior to the expiration date of each contract period.

1. If the Commonwealth elects to exercise the option to renew the contract for an additional one-year period, the contract price(s) for the additional one year shall not exceed the contract price(s) of the original contract increased/decreased by no more than the percentage increase/decrease of the other services category of the CPI-W section of the Consumer Price Index of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the latest twelve months for which statistics are available.

2. If during the first one-year extension the Commonwealth elects to exercise the option to renew the contract for the second additional one-year period, the contract price(s) for the second additional one-year period shall not exceed the contract price(s) of the first one-year renewal period increased/decreased by no more than the percentage increase/decrease of the other services category of the CPI-W section of the Consumer Price Index of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the latest twelve months for which statistics are available.

The third and fourth one year renewals will be based on the previous years contract as described in scenarios 1 and 2.

J. ENCOURAGEMENT OF MINORITY VENDORS: It is the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to contribute to the establishment, preservation, and strengthening of minority business enterprises and to encourage the participation of minority businesses in State procurement activities. Toward that end, the Commonwealth of Virginia - VIVA encourages minority firms to compete and encourages non-minority firms to provide for the participation of small businesses and businesses owned by minorities through partnerships, joint ventures, subcontracts, and other contractual opportunities.

PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU ARE A MINORITY VENDOR: YES NO





LATE BIDS: To be considered for selection, proposals must be received by the issuing office by the designated date and hour. The official time used in the receipt of proposals is that time on the automatic time stamp machine in the issuing office. Proposals received in the issuing office after the date and hour designated are automatically non-responsive and will not be considered. The University is not responsible for delays in the delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service, private couriers, or the intrauniversity mail system. It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder/The firm to ensure that its bid/proposal reaches the issuing office by the designated date and hour.

L. SYSTEM UPGRADES: The Commonwealth shall be entitled to any and all upgraded versions of the system covered in the contract that becomes available from the contractor. The maximum charge for upgrade shall not exceed the total difference between the cost of the Commonwealth's current version and the price the contractor sells or licenses the upgraded system under similar circumstances.

M. YEAR 2000 COMPLIANT (AND ENABLEMENT) WARRANTY: The contractor warrants that all software, firmware and hardware product(s) delivered to the Commonwealth of Virginia under any agreement, and which is used in accordance with the product documentation provided by the contractor, shall be 4-digit Year 2000 compliant (or approved enabled). All products shall accurately process all date-change data from start to finish, including, but not limited to, twentieth, twenty-first centuries and leap year calculations.

Any product provided under this Agreement discovered not to be compliant after acceptance shall be corrected by the contractor at no additional cost to the Commonwealth. Failure to correct the deficiency shall subject the contractor to default action.

VIII. METHOD OF PAYMENT

The contractor will be paid on the basis of invoices submitted in accordance with the RFP and negotiation.

IX. PRICING SCHEDULE

The contractor shall provide the outright purchase price for all proposed options, describing in detail the basis for pricing, all one-time charges, and all recurring charges.

1. If pricing is based on simultaneous use, the contractor shall make recommendations, based on past use of the system, on the number of ports, simultaneous users, or subscriptions necessary to meet the needs of the VIVA institutions. The contractor shall provide information on other consortia and/or institutions used to make recommendations on the number of ports, simultaneous users, etc.

2. Pricing for any document delivery options shall include, but not be limited to, flat fees per article or number of pages.

3. Contractor shall include information on possible options which allow VIVA institutions to purchase additional services beyond the scope of the VIVA contract.

4. The contractor shall further describe ways to include private institutions in the service. The contractor shall indicate whether one or both of the following ways to include private institutions can be offered and shall propose other alternatives if relevant.

a. The contractor shall indicate whether pricing can be offered to private institutions by calculating a total lump sum price if this service is purchased by all 32 institutions listed in Attachment B. In calculating this cost, the contractor shall take into account discounts possible by combining the user base of the 39 public institutions with the user base of the 32 private institutions.

b. The contractor shall indicate whether pricing can be offered to private institutions on a per institution cost in the event that only some, but not all, of the 32 private institutions listed in Attachment B decide to purchase the service.

5. The contractor shall indicate in the price proposal what discounts are being offered to VIVA institutions by subscribing to this service as a consortium rather than subscribing as individual institutions. This information shall be represented in these ways:

a. Discounts available to the 39 public institutions if no private institutions participate.

b. Discounts available to the private institutions if some or all of the 32 private institutions listed on Attachment B participate in the purchase.

c. Deeper discounts specified for the 39 public institutions if all 32 of the private institutions listed in Attachment B participate in the purchase.

6. Contractor shall include information on any added fees associated with training costs, including, but not limited to, travel costs, etc.

7. Contractor shall include information on any cost of available enduser documentation, including potential discounts based on volume of copies purchased.

Contractor shall outline pricing for service upgrades, enhancements, additional databases, ports, simultaneous users, etc., that may be added to the awarded contract.

Contractor should be able to provide the service at the initial price for a period of at least two years.

Contractor should specify any cost for providing dedicated access to the database site.


ATTACHMENT A
DATA SHEET
TO BE COMPLETED BY THE FIRM

1. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE FIRM: Offerors must have the capability and capacity in all respects to fully satisfy the contractual requirements.

2. YEARS IN BUSINESS: Indicate the length of time you have been in business providing these types of goods and services.
Years Months __________

3. REFERENCES: Indicate below a listing of at least four (4) Universities that your agency is servicing. Include the name and address of the person the purchasing agency has your permission to contact.

LENGTH
CLIENT OF SERVICE ADDRESS CONTACT PERSON/PHONE #

_________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________



4. List full names and addresses of The firm and any branch offices which may be responsible for administering the contract.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Check all attachments included with your proposals.

( ) Contractor Data Sheet
( ) Narrative Statement
( ) Staff Resumes
6. Be sure authorized signature appears on front page.


ATTACHMENT B
LIST OF PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS AND NUMBERS OF STUDENTS


VIVA
The Virtual Library of Virginia

PARTICIPANTS (as of 12/10/97 )

VIVA is the consortium of the libraries of the 39 state-assisted colleges and universities (at 53 campuses) within the Commonwealth of Virginia. These include:

o the 6 doctoral institutions
o the 9 4-year comprehensive colleges and universities and
o the 24 community and 2-year branch colleges (at 37 campuses).
o In addition, 28 of Virginia's independent (private) colleges and universities currently participate where possible. During the 1998-2000 Biennium, a larger number of the private schools may be
included in VIVA negotiations. The full listing is included here but is subject to change.

Total Actual 1996/97 FTE for All Public Institutions 219,917

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS -- COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

(6 Doctorals and 9 Comprehensives)
96/97 FTE
Christopher Newport University, Newport News 3,490
Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, Wise 1,248
George Mason University, Fairfax 17,257
James Madison University, Harrisonburg 13,049
Longwood College, Farmville 3,246
Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg 3,469
Norfolk State University, Norfolk 7,308
Old Dominion University, Norfolk 13,686
Radford University, Radford 7,841
University of Virginia, Charlottesville 20,602
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 17,646
Virginia Military Institute, Lexington 1,403
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 26,237
Virginia State University, Petersburg 3,517
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg 7,500


PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS -- COMMUNITY and 2-Year Branch Colleges
(24 colleges at 38 campuses)
Blue Ridge Community College, Weyers Cave 1,402
Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg 1,915
Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, Clifton Forge 772
Danville Community College, Danville 1,854
Eastern Shore Community College, Melfa 384
Germanna Community College 1,518
- Fredericksburg
- Locust Grove
J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Richmond 5,136
- Downtown
- Parham Road
- Western
John Tyler Community College, Chester 2,473
Lord Fairfax Community College, Middletown 1,794
Mountain Empire Community College, Big Stone Gap 1,819
New River Community College, Dublin 2,157
Northern Virginia Community College 20,800
- Alexandria
- Annandale
- Loudoun
- Manassas
- Woodbridge
Patrick Henry Community College, Martinsville 1,447
Paul D. Camp Community College 791
- Franklin
- Suffolk
Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville 1,913
Rappahannock Community College 906
- Glenns
- Warsaw
Southside Virginia Community College 1,736
- Alberta
- Emporia
- Keysville
Southwest Virginia Community College, Richlands 2,613
Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton 3,745
Tidewater Community College 10,216
- Chesapeake
- Norfolk
- Portsmouth
- Virginia Beach

Virginia Highlands Community College, Abingdon 1,254
Virginia Western Community College , Roanoke 3,357
Wytheville Community College, Wytheville 1,453
Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary, Petersburg 963

INDEPENDENT (PRIVATE, Not-for-Profit) INSTITUTIONS
Total Projected 1996/97 FTE for all Not-for-Profit institutions: 49,919

This list includes all private, not-for-profit schools recognized by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia. The list of participating VIVA schools is subject to change:

Atlantic University, Virginia Beach
Averett College, Danville
Bluefield College, Bluefield
Bridgewater College, Bridgewater
Christendom College, Front Royal
CHRV College of Health Sciences, Roanoke
Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg
Emory and Henry College, Emory
Ferrum College, Ferrum
Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney
Hampton University, Hampton
Hollins College, Hollins
Institute of Textile Technology, Charlottesville
Liberty University, Lynchburg
Lynchburg College, Lynchburg
Mary Baldwin College, Staunton
Marymount University, Arlington
Medical College of Hampton Roads - EVMS, Norfolk
Randolph-Macon College, Ashland
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg
Regent University, Virginia Beach
Roanoke College, Salem
Saint Paul's College, Lawrenceville
Shenandoah University, Winchester
Southern Virginia College, Buena Vista
Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar
Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, Richmond
University of Richmond, Richmond
Virginia Intermont College, Bristol
Virginia Union University, Richmond
Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk
Washington and Lee University, Lexington

ADDENDUM NO.: ONE

TO: ALL OFFERORS

REFERENCE: Request for Proposal No: M0150
Dated: January 5, 1998
Commodity: Electronic Full Text Databases
Bid Closing On: February 10, 1998

Please note the change(s) made on this proposal program:

 

Question 1.

Answer 1.


Question 2.

Answer 2.

 

Question 3.

Answer 3.


Question 4.

Answer 4.

 

A signed acknowledgment of this addendum must be received by this office either prior to the bid due date and hour or attached to your bid. Signature on this addendum does not constitute your signature on the original bid document. The original bid document must be signed also.

Sincerely,

Iris Moubray

Buyer Senior

Phone: (540)568-3132

/cbs


____________________________

Name of Firm

____________________________

Signature/Title

____________________________

Date

RFP #M0150
Addendum One
Page _

Contact: Kathy Perry, (George Mason University) VIVA Director.
Posted 2/10/98. Last updated: 2/12/2001