The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Library (NAL), in Beltsville, MD intends to negotiate on a sole source basis a contract with Springer Customer Service Center LLC, 233 Spring St, New York, NY, 10013-1522, for electronic access via IP authentication for all USDA users and public on-site users to selected electronic journals, journal backfiles, ebooks and other resources published by Springer Nature.

NAL requires electronic access via the Internet to selected Springer electronic journals, backfiles, ebooks and other publications for use by all USDA employees, contractors, authorized public on-site users, cooperators and volunteers working on behalf of USDA and acting within the scope of their relationship with USDA.

All USDA locations worldwide are to be considered authorized premises. USDA employees and contractors, cooperators and volunteers working on behalf of USDA and acting within the scope of their relationship with USDA, as well as employees, contractors, cooperators and volunteers working on behalf of other federal agencies that are authorized by the publisher to use NAL's DigiTop service, are considered authorized users of the journals. In addition to internal use, authorized users have the right to use content of the journals for ordinary business, scholarly and educational purposes of USDA, including but not limited to viewing, printing, saving, reusing and disseminating content

The contractor shall make the Springer Nature publications accessible 24 hours per day. Authorized users shall be granted access to the Springer nature journals through the IP authentication without any impediments.

The contractor shall provide access to the Springer Nature publications in accordance with the following terms and conditions:

1. The authorized users shall have the right to use content during the term of the subscription. Subscriptions begin on July 1 and run through June 30 of the following year.


2. The contractor shall grant post-cancellation access and perpetual data rights to the subscribed-to content upon subscription to the full volume year for each title. When the July 1 renewal is processed, perpetual access rights will convey for all titles for which access was previously purchased.
   
   
   
   1. If the full volume year of any given title is not purchased by USDA, that title will have no perpetual access rights.
   
   
   2. For any title not selected for renewal, USDA retains the option to purchase the remainder of the volume year by paying the remaining balance due for the normal 12-month subscription. Perpetual access rights will be conveyed for these titles.
   
   
   3. If a title is no longer available from Springer Nature for the next full year, USDA will have the option to purchase the remainder of that title’s volume year, so that perpetual access is acquired.
   
   
   4. Upon request by NAL the contractor shall provide the subscribed-to or
      
      purchased content in the mutually agreed-upon electronic medium and format.
   
   
   5. The right to perpetual use of the subscribed-to journal content will survive
      
      the termination of the contract for any reason.
   
   
   
   

The contractor shall provide access to the subscribed content and the administrative interface without imposing on the subscriber’s users any additional terms and conditions or similar restrictions that are not part of the contract. If the contractor’s system’s technical functionality prevents suppression of such terms and conditions or similar restrictions, the contractor agrees that any language, however construed and presented, is null and void and not binding on the subscriber’s users.

The circumstance permitting other than full and open competition is FAR 6.302-1 and 41 USC 253(c)(5), only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or source will meet agency needs. NAL is mandated (7 U.S.C. 3101) to serve as the primary agricultural information resource of the United States. One of its functions in that role is the acquisition of information in all aspects of agriculture and allied sciences. In support of this function, the NAL acquires journal publications in electronic format from publishers and makes the journals accessible to USDA employees and library patrons via the internet. In keeping with its charge to collect agricultural and related information, it seeks to maintain a collection of publications in various formats from a variety of publishers and sources.

Springer Customer Service Center LLC, as the business entity of Springer Nature publications, is the only vendor that can meet NAL’s requirement for immediate, un-embargoed IP-authenticated access to its publications, and who can guarantee perpetual access and data rights to the content issued during the period of performance. Springer Nature is the only copyright holder of its publications and thus is the only source of the perpetual access and data rights NAL seeks. No source other than Springer Nature provides the perpetual access and data rights for the complete inventory of Springer Nature electronic journals, journal backfiles, and electronic books that USDA requires.

Having perpetual access and data rights granted by Springer Nature will give USDA users access in perpetuity to the electronic journals, journal backfiles, and electronic books for which NAL purchases access. If NAL does not acquire the perpetual access and data rights to subscribed material, access to the material it has purchased will end when the term of the subscription ends. Maintaining electronic copies by obtaining the perpetual data rights from publishers fulfils NAL’s mandate to preserve our nation’s agricultural literature.

Anticipated Date of Award: 06/30/2023

THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Vendors that believe they can provide the services listed above are invited to submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination by the Government to compete this proposed contract based on responses to this notice is solely at the discretion of the Government.