Sources Sought (Extended)

Sources Sought
773 Enterprise Sourcing Squadron
DoDL Multi-Topic Database
This is a Sources Sought Synopsis published by the United States Air Force (the Government or USAF). There is no solicitation available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. The purpose of this Sources Sought notice is to conduct market research to determine whether there are businesses available capable of providing an alternative product that meets the characteristics below. The Air Force anticipates procuring this product as a FY24 base period with two (2) 12-months option periods. The projected Period of Performance (PoP) for this subscription is:
Base Period: 30 September 2024 – 29 September 2025
Option Period 1: 30 September 2025 – 29 September 2026
Option Period 2: 30 September 2026 – 29 September 2027
Responses to this Sources Sought notice will assist in a determination of whether it is in the best interest of the Government to proceed with a competition.
PSC: 7630
NAICS: 519290– Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services
Size Standard: 1000 employees
Subscription name: DoDL Multi-Topic Database
Description:
This requirement is to procure a subscription to a DoDL needs a Multi-Topic Database package Subscription. Must include an academic research, a biography, a general reference, and a military and intelligence databases. The academic research database that features multiple million full-text articles from leading books, journals, magazines, newspapers and primary sources, multimedia assets including videos, podcasts, tutorials and images, daily updates of new content. These databases cover subject matter with a specific focus on business practices, literary resources, environmental studies, and world cultures. The information is provided in a simple user interface that allows users to search an individual database or the entire collection. Users can browse by topic or preform detailed searches. A general reference database that allows researchers to find the information they want quickly. With intuitive searching that mirrors Internet searches, users can easily tap into sources that are guaranteed for quality. Most content should be full-text with no embargo (no more than 10%) and recommended by Bowkers Magazines for Libraries. Content curation and detailed indexing ensure quality results from nearly 14,000 periodicals, newspapers, reference eBooks, and multimedia sources, along with more than 200,000 images, and thousands of audio files and videos from BBC, National Public Radio, and other reliable sources. A biography database should include narrative biographies, new stories, and multimedia content bring to life the historical figures, world leaders, sports stars, entertainers, scientists, and authors who have impacted our world throughout history as well as those who are shaping our future. Should include more than 600,000 biographical entries that cover international figures from all time periods and areas of study. Over 5,000 curated biography pages on contemporary and historical figures that are continually updated, merging authoritative reference content with periodicals and multimedia. Search for people by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as by keyword and full text. Should also provide access prebuilt lesson plans for resources with differentiation tools and quizzes to check for student understanding.
A military and intelligence database that provides military personnel with access to scholarly journals, magazines, and reports covering all aspects of the past and present military affairs. Updated annually, this library resource contains hand-selected content supporting key subject areas such as, governmental policies, the socioeconomic effects of war, the structure of the armed forces, and more. Features, including a topic search tool, interconnects articles and topics between databases and other related resources and a mobile-optimized interface, support and enhance the search experience.
Product Characteristics an equal item must meet to be considered:
• Must provide include an academic research database, a biography database, a general reference database, a military and intelligence database.
• A biography database that offers authoritative reference content alongside magazine and journal articles, primary sources, videos, audio podcasts, and images. Covering a vast array of people from historically significant figures to present-day newsmakers, it’s continuously updated to ensure researchers have access to the very latest information.
• The academic research database must include extensive coverage in key subject areas such as, biology, chemistry, criminal justice, economics, environmental science, history, marketing, political science, and psychology.
• Academic research database must more than 11,000 peer-reviewed journals and more than 8,000 in full text articles from periodicals covered in major bibliographic resources such as CINAHL, BIOSIS, MLA, PsycINFO, ERIC, EconLit, RILM, and others.
• The general reference database must include millions of articles from over 17,000 scholarly journals and other authoritative sources—including thousands of podcasts and transcripts from NPR and CNN as well as videos from BBC Worldwide Learning.
• The general reference database must include the following topics: Agriculture, Business, Business Economics and Theory, Communication and Mass Media, Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Diversity Studies, Environmental Issues and Policy, Gardening, Landscape and Horticulture, Gender Studies, Home Improvement, Hospitality, Tourism, Leisure, Information Science, and Library Issues, Insurance and Liability, Nursing and Allied Health, Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, Pop Culture, Popular Magazines, Professional, Psychology, Religion and Philosophy, U.S. History, Vocations and Careers, War and Terrorism.
• The general reference database must include full-text with no embargo and recommended by Bowkers Magazines for Libraries.
• The general reference database must include millions of articles with reference, newspaper, and audio content that complements the resources robust collection of magazines and journals.
• The biography database must provide access to key information on influential figures of more than 640,000 biographical entries, from all time periods and areas of study.
• The biography database must be able to provide authoritative content of over 4,800 portal pages on contemporary and historical figures merging authoritative reference content with periodicals and multimedia.
• The biography database must be able to provide search capability for people based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as by keyword and full text.
• The military and intelligence database provides military personnel with access to scholarly journals, magazines, and reports covering all aspects of the past and present military affairs.
• The military and intelligence library resource should contain content supporting key subject areas such as, governmental policies, the socioeconomic effects of war, the structure of the armed forces, and more.
• Exclusive features, including a topic search tool, interconnects articles and topics between databases and other related resources and a mobile-optimized interface, support and enhance the search experience.
• Must include backfiles and unlimited simultaneous access to content by users.
• Must be able to provide peer reviewed material and articles
• Must be able to provide material on all subjects listed above and specific content provider/publisher with digital content/copyright agreements
• Needs to be able to provide searches by all database or by individual databases
• Needs to be able to browse by subject with visual topic map/finder graphic alternative to get regular search results
• Needs to have notes and highlight feature to articles/topics that can be downloaded or printed by customer for later usage and work seamlessly with Google and Microsoft customer personal accounts for saving information for later usage.
• Needs to have a mobile application that allows users to save articles, citations, and links
• Must provide free staff training and complimentary marketing resources.
• Must work with contract POC to establish authentication methods to provide optimal accessibility for all eligible patrons.
• DoD Libraries is looking for an established vendor in the library commercial marketplace and not a custom built product/platform/subscription.
• Security between the Website and server must be Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3
• Must be able to supply or allow retrieval of database usage statistics by Branch of Service (Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Military OneSource/Other, and Navy)
• Must have HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with long duration deployed on the servers to mitigate/prevent man-in-the-middle attacks
• Website certificates should be RSA 2048-bits (SHA256withRSA)
• VCL must be able to test the platform to evaluate if it meets requirements. Must provide username and password to view content on platform.

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