Request for Proposal for Integrated Library System

Request for Proposal for Integrated Library System

for the

Fargo Public Library

Revision 1

102 3rd St N Fargo, ND 58102

January 13, 2015

Proposals accepted until 5 pm February 6, 2015

Contact: Benjamin Daeuber, Technology and Electronic Resources Librarian

701-241-1490

Introduction and Library Information

Vendors are invited to offer a proposal for a new Integrated Library System, migration and ongoing support services for the Fargo Public Library located in Fargo, North Dakota.

The Fargo Public Library is a 3-branch library system located in Fargo, North Dakota. The Library serves a population of approximately 114,000, with a metropolitan area of approximately 200,000. The Library circulated 1 million items in 2014 across all its locations and served approximately 500,000 customers in its library locations. The Library provides a broad range of both physical and electronic materials. It also provides services and programming to serve all ages and diverse populations including New Americans, High Interest-Low Literacy learners, and offsite outreach for special housing arrangements. The Library works in close partnership with neighboring library systems in Moorhead, Minnesota and West Fargo, North Dakota, as well as the local universities and is currently a member of the Online Dakota Information Network’s shared automation system.

Vendor Response Requirements

Vendors may propose more than one solution such as:

Required: A software licensing and migration solution hosted on the City of Fargo VMWare environment.

A Software as a Service (SaaS) solution in which the vendor hosts, supports, and maintains hardware, database, and other services related to offering the solution.

Vendors will provide a cost breakdown for the areas outline in the Selected Vendor Requirements below.

Vendors will ensure they can offer all functional requirements outlined in the RFP unless they otherwise state or provide a response detailing alternative options.

Vendors must outline the capacity and expected lifespan of proposed system including database and transaction capacity.

Vendors will respond to questions within a timely manner.

Vendors will provide references of at least three peer libraries that have similar size and circulation as well as multiple branches.

Vendors will provide 2 days of on-site demonstrations and question-and-answer periods prior to selection.

Selected Vendor Requirements

The selected vendor will provide full migration services including:

-Installation of system either on-site or in a SaaS environment.

-On-site workflow analysis during the implementation process and consultation on adjustments to workflow.

-Provideseparate pricing for optional database cleanup service.

-Migrate existing data including

• bibliographic, holding, and item records
• authority records
• customer database (including notes, classes, statuses such as expiration date, and fines)
• checkouts
• holds

Training for all levels of staff including administrators, front line staff and information services personnel.

System administration and user documentation for system.

The selected vendor will detail emergency redundancy plan in the case of SaaS.

The selected vendor will detail data extraction methodology and policy to be used upon conclusion of contract.

The selected vendor will meet with staff after selection and develop a migration timeline within two weeks.

Current System

The selected vendor will be required to interface with the following systems and organizations currently used in the Library:

-Aleph ILS by Ex Libris– Current shared automation system, for the purposes of migration of existing data.

-Online Dakota Information Network – The support organization for the library’s current shared automation system, for the purposes of migration of existing data.

-Bibliotheca – RFID systems, including staff stations for check-out and check-in, security gates, and self-checkouts.

-WorldShare Interlibrary Loan – Interlibrary Loan System.

-Pharos Uniprint – Public service computing system. Supported by TracSystems.

-OverDrive – E-materials circulation platform.

-EZproxy – Electronic resources authentication and proxy.

Project Schedule

Proposals Received – February 6, 2015

Initial Proposals Evaluated and Vendors Contacted – Week of February 16, 2015

On-site Vendor Demonstrations – March 2015

References Contacted – March 2015

Vendor Selected – April 17, 2015

Migration Timeline Due – April 30, 2015

Receipt of Proposals

Sealed proposals must be received at the Library at the address below by February 6, 2015. Late proposals will be returned to the vendor unopened. The library will also accept proposals via email with the understanding that certain proprietary information is protected under North Dakota open records law, but that destruction of the proposals maybe impossible. The proposals should be clearly marked with the vendor's name, address, and the words "RFP for Integrated Library System".

Fargo Public Library

Attn: Benjamin Daeuber

102 3rd Street North

Fargo, ND 58102

Or

Contact for Further Information

Any questions related to the RFP can be forwarded to the same contact. All questions and all answers will be forwarded to all vendors by January 30, but the source of questions will not be included.

Evaluation

Vendors will evaluated by a committee consisting of the Library Director, Deputy Director, Branch Manager, Circulation Manager, Collection Development and Technical Services Manager, Systems Librarian, Electronic Resources Librarian, and Children’s Librarian, as well as full and part time staff from all departments who will evaluate functionality specific to their job duties.

Vendors will be evaluated on the following criteria

Ability to meet functional requirements outlines in RFP – 45%

-Functional Requirements Matrix

-Ability to implement proposed system in timely manner

-Expected lifespan of proposed system

-Future roadmap of proposed system

References detailing past performance and reliability of product and reliability of vendor – 25%

Marketplace reputation and surveys – 20%

Total cost including acquisition and ongoing maintenance – 10%

Current Library Volume

Bibliographic Records – 200,000

Holding Records – 250,000

Items (total copies) – 300,000

Authority Records – Unknown (currently using shared authority file)

Patron Records – 80,000

Annual Circulation – 1,000,000

Concurrent Staff Stations - 50

In-Library Self Service Stations - 6

Proposal Validity Period

Submission of a proposal signifies the vendor's agreement that its proposal shall be binding upon the vendor and may be accepted by the Library at any time within 120 days after the date on which proposals are opened. The contents of the successful proposal will be incorporated as part of the resulting contract with the successful vendor.

Withdrawal of Proposals

Proposals may be withdrawn upon written or faxed request, received from vendors prior to the stated date and time of proposal opening. Negligence, error, or oversight confers no right for withdrawal of the proposal after the time fixed for proposal opening.

Proposal Rejection

The Library reserves the right to reject any or all of the proposals received in response to this request. The Library also reserves the right to waive any irregularities in proposals.

Vendor's Cost to Develop Proposal

The Library is not liable for any cost incurred by any vendor prior to the award of a contract. Costs for developing proposals in response to this request are entirely the obligation of the vendor and shall not be chargeable to the Library in any manner.

Contract

The selected vendor will be required to enter into a contract with the City of Fargo and the selected vendor’s proposal will be integrated into the contract.

Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Contractor shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City, its agents, representatives, officers, directors, officials and employees from and against all claims, damages, losses and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and the cost of appellate proceedings), relating to, arising out of or resulting from the successful Proposer’s work or services. The successful Proposer’s duty to defend, hold harmless, and indemnify the City, its agents, representatives, officers, directors, officials and employees shall arise in connection with any claim, damage, loss or expense that is attributable to bodily injury, sickness, disease, death, injury to, impairment or destruction of property including loss of use resulting therefrom, caused in whole or in part by any act or omission of the successful Proposer, anyone successful Proposer directly or indirectly employed or anyone for whose actsSuccessful Proposer may be liable, regardless of whether it is caused in part by or party indemnified hereunder, including the City.

Functional Requirements

Functional Requirements are noted with a number that indicated need. The details are below:

1. Basic required functionality based on services the Library currently offers.
2. Additional important functionality that the Library currently does not have, but which would allow it to offer existing services more efficiently.
3. Desired additional functionality that will allow the library to offer improved and new services.

General

User friendly staff client with configurable keyboard shortcuts and customizable views. / 1
Robust staff search function that includes facets, fuzzy searching, advanced search fields, optional Boolean searching, location and a clear results screen that includes checkout status, format icons, and location information. / 1
Accessibility for low vision users. / 1
Compatibility with RFID systems and self-checkouts. / 1
Customizable wording for customer notices and public access systems. / 1
Support for workflow macros either built in or via external program. / 2
Unified view for all records that supports viewing all record properties (i.e. circulation, cataloging, etc.) based on a user permissions model. / 1
Easily editable bibliographic and customer records. / 1

Circulation Evaluation Matrix

Customer Registration

Database that connects individual customer record to a single library card number. Records should include standard information such as address, phone number, email address, patron status, patron class, notes, ID, date of birth, and home library. / 1
Rapid card creation on a single screen. / 1
Duplicate patron checking based on patron name, date of birth, or ID. / 1
Adjustable privileges based on patron statuses and classes. / 1
Ability to set required fields for the patron registration process. / 2
Configurable default information for fields during the patron registration process. / 1
Online self-registration, which can be “activated” upon review by staff. / 2
Automatic formatting for zip codes, phone numbers, and similar fields. / 3
Search patron information by field and combine fields to use as search strings. / 1
Patron transaction logging that will record changes to user data and user transactions (such as checkouts, record changes and financial transactions). / 1
Configurable user fees automatically applied based on information in the user record such as patron status. These include nonresident fees and replacement cards. Fees update automatically based on schedule or factors such as expiration date. / 2
The expiration date associated with a single patron record should also be the expiration date for specific privileges such as Internet Access, Online Database Access and Interlibrary Loan. / 1
Ability to scrub details of patron check-outs after a period of time defined by the library, for privacy purposes. / 1

Item Statuses and Locations

Shelf Collections, statuses, formats, etc. should be clear and accurate and reflect the physical location of the item. / 1
Configurable options for OPAC suppression of lost and missing items. / 1
Staff notification for holds on missing or lost items. / 3
Option to see an Interlibrary Loan button (dependent on patron status)if all copies are lost. / 3

Holds

Items can be placed on hold by patrons for pickup at default library whether available or unavailable (excluding lost items and other exceptions detailed elsewhere). / 1
Notifications should be provided to customer when hold is ready to be picked up. Notification options: by email, SMS, paper letter, combined, or no notifications with these options editable by staff via staff interface and customer (via OPAC). / 1
Ability to place On-Order items on hold. / 1
Option for bibliographic level hold fulfillment as well as configurable options for location based hold fulfillment and configurable options for item level hold fulfillment (i.e. in case of multi-item bibliographic records such as television series). / 2
Patron card expiration date should not override hold expiration date. / 1
Regardless of the expiration of the hold, holds should have sufficient time to be filled once they have arrived at the library. That is, items will remain on the hold shelf for the set period of time, regardless of whether the request expires in that time. / 2
Customizable hold slips with options for protecting user privacy by masking parts of the name. / 2
Hold notices sent to patrons should include volume and description of the item (item-level information such as “disc 3” of a multi-disc set). / 1
Daily hold shelf report that includes deleted and expired holds. / 1
Ability to reprint letters or resend notifications after adjusting hold (such as changing pickup location). / 2
Detailed information about holds in the Circulation Log, or the equivalent (including time hold placed, time hold canceled or fulfilled, and notes). / 2

Blocks and Notes

Notify patrons by letter or email when their cards are about to expire. / 2
Blocks for check-out according to a maximum fine, which is determined by the library. / 1
Patron blocks should have the ability to integrate with other systems such as internet sign-up, self-checkouts, e-book checkouts, etc. via block mapping. / 1
Ability to create custom blocks or notes. For example: Card Found, Lost and Found, Item Mix-up status (all branch-specific), Verify Patron Name, Verify Patron Address, Verify Patron Phone Number, See Note, Sent to Collections, and Previously Sent to Collections: Do Not Resend. Specific address field notes in order to notify staff and customers about address issues. / 1
No arbitrary limit should be set on the number of possible blocks or notes that can be placed on patron records. Staff should be able to use as many patron blocks as necessary. / 2
Blocking a record for a bad address (“Verify Patron Address”) should not print physical notices for mailing. / 2
Ability to enter notes on patron records, item records, and as part of a Hold. Notes should be clearly visible or alert staff. / 1
All types of notes should be expandable with space to make several notes of two or three sentences each. / 2
Notes can be configured to be viewable by staff only or by staff and customers (via OPAC). / 2

Check-out: General Considerations

Due date receipt printing, with ability to suppress the printout. Option to set “no due date receipts” for individual patrons. Customizable loan receipts. / 1
Compatibility with Self-Check system and RFID technology. / 1
Option to integrate with a remote vending systems. / 3
Item Circulation log including check-out dates and times, check-in dates and times, status changes. / 1

Fines and billing

Fine total shows currently accruing and non-accruing fines updated at least once a day. / 1
Ability to set different fines and fine options based on collection or other criteria; fines should not accrue for days the library is closed. / 1
Ability to waive fines and include a note on the transaction. / 1
Fine transaction information should be easily decipherable and clear to the patron as well as staff. Fine account printouts should contain the relevant information needed to explain the transactions including title, author, check-out dates [as well as return dates if any] amount owed, renewal information, and any other information needed. / 1
When looking at item fines, it should be easy for staff to view renewal history of an item, such as original check-out date, original due date, renew date(s), and renew location or method, as well as any fines accrued between or after renewals. / 1
Lost item billing. Items not returned should be marked as lost and automatically billed to customer account. Staff can also manually mark an item as lost. Returned items will be credited to patron account. / 1
All billing setup should be customizable by the library, including amounts, number of notices, billing schedule, and processing fee cost and application. / 1
Damaged item billing. Items damaged should be marked as such and automatically billed to customer account. Staff can manually mark an item as damaged with the option to add notes describing damage. / 1
Damaged items should retain connection with patron account (either by keeping it checked out to the patron or by some other tether). / 1
Ability to treat partially-damaged items differently from fully-damaged items, such as missing or damaged cases, recoverable books, etc. / 2

Renewals

Ability to renew items for a length of time (both calendar date and specific time), customizable by the library. / 1
Ability to set limits on number of renewals per item. / 1
Override function for staff to renew an item in special circumstances, even when the limits have been met. / 1
Renewal history of an item, such as original check-out date, original due date, renew date(s), and renew location or method. / 1
Renewals should produce a receipt with the new due dates. / 1
To renew an Interlibrary Loan should be similar or identical to renewing regular loans. / 2
Checking the item out again on any following day after initial checkout should trigger a renewal. / 1

Item Returns

Ability to backdate to a date and time entered by staff. / 1
Optional failsafe to prevent check-in when no backdate is set. / 2
Backdating should not expire until turned off by staff. / 2
Prevent backdating to configured closed days. / 2
Recently returned items should go in a reshelving status for a time period defined by the library (considering factors such as current workload and ignoring backdating). / 1

Shuttle Issues

Status to indicate when an item is in transit between locations. Shuttled items should appear as unavailable in OPAC. / 1

Offline Circulation

Ability to check items out to patrons when system is unavailable. / 1
Items checked out in Backup mode should desensitize the same as a regular check-out. / 2
Reconciliation report after offline checkout is used to flag items with special instructions such as holds, special status or circulation notes. Ability for staff to handle exceptions before going online. / 1
Add a temporary patron record in a Backup mode. The temporary record would integrate with the ILS, and could be expanded, or merged with a preexisting patron record, if necessary. / 2
When reconciliation of offline checkout is complete and special items are dealt with, ability to sync offline and online databases automatically. Preferably to sync all PCs at once with a remote command. / 2
If there are outstanding offline files that have not been sent, the system should notify staff so they can decide whether to send them. / 2

Automated Material Handling System (AMHS)