UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 1999

Amendment 0001 was issued on September 28, 1999. The complete text of Amendment 0001 (9K) is hereby made available for downloading. The closing date of this RFP is NOT extended by reason of this amendment. For quick and easy downloading of all changes, the SOLIC39.ZIP file below has been updated to include the text of Amendment 0001, the revised RFP, and the revised Attachment B.

SOLICITATION NUMBER:   RFP ED-99-R-0039
DUE DATE:   October 15, 1999, 2 P.M. E.S.T.
POC:   Sang Park, Contract Specialist at (202) 708-8222

The United States Department of Education (ED) is issuing a solicitation for the operation of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Processing and Reference Facility. ERIC is a national education information network designed to provide users with ready access to the education literature. Established in 1966 to make government-sponsored educational research available from a single source, the ERIC system has expanded to include 16 Clearinghouses, approximately a dozen Adjunct Clearinghouses and several system support components. These support components include the ERIC Processing and Reference Facility, ACCESS ERIC, the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS), and public and private publishers. The ERIC Processing and Reference Facility-the technical hub of the system-serves all components of the ERIC system through its editing and technical support functions. The Facility Scope of Work covers the following six tasks: Database Development; Lexicography and Thesaurus Development; System Support, Development and Training; Reports and Products; Technical Computer Support; and ERIC Facility Management. Its major responsibilities that fall under the six tasks are to: update, expand, and maintain the ERIC database; acquire documents for the system from the Federal area (outside of the Department of Education); coordinate ERIC's document processing activities; maintain technical quality control of the database, the authority lists and ERIC Thesaurus terms; send copies of the database and related publications to database vendors and publishers; distribute the NISC CD-ROM version of the database; provide technical assistance on database functions; and answer public inquiries and reference requests about the ERIC system and database. The solicitation will be issued under Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 8741.

Requests for copies of the RFP may be made by telephone, mail, telegram, Internet, or in person. All requests shall reference the RFP number (ED-99-R-0039) and title. Telephone requests may be placed by calling 202-708-6498. Mail or telegram requests shall be sent to the following address, U.S. Department of Education/CPO, ATTN: Yolanda Abney, Room 3616, 7th & D Streets, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4443. Internet requests may be sent to Yolanda_Abney@ed.gov. Copies of the RFP may be picked up in person on the issuing date at the above address, Room 3616. Issue date is September 2, 1999 and Closing date is October 15, 1999, 2PM EST. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered. The dates listed herein are subject to change.

There are two items that are not available electronically: 1) a microfiche set; and 2) an item labeled in Section J of the RFP as "Additional ERIC Info," which is additional attachments unique to the "ERIC Facility." The two items are labeled as Attachment D and Appendix 1, respectively, in Section J of the RFP. Offerors should contact Sang Park at (202) 708-8222 to obtain these two attachments.

SOLIC39.ZIP (208K) - This file has been updated to incorporate the changes made via Amendment 0001. All files needed to prepare a proposal, zipped for easy downloading, including the RFP in PDF format, which retains exact formatting as the hardcopy RFP, and the Statement of Work in MS Word format. A link to the Statement of Work in HTML format is provided below for quick viewing online. The documents contained in this file are in either MS Word or PDF format. Zip utility software is required to extract the 4 files from this zip file before viewing in word processor or other applications. The Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free, is required to view and print PDF files.

SOW39.HTM (176K) - Statement of Work in HTML format for quick viewing online. Conversion to HTML may have changed some formatting. Use the MS Word version to prepare comments or proposals.

RFP39.TXT (266K) - Request for Proposal in ASCII format for quick viewing online. This version of the RFP is NOT updated through Amendment 0001. Conversion to ASCII may have changed some formatting. Use the PDF version to prepare comments or proposals.

Contact Gary Weaver at (202) 401-0083 for downloading problems only.

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