Newspaper and Periodical Information Services - Intent to Sole Source

This is a public notice prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.2 – Synopsis of Proposed Contract Actions, FAR 6.3 – Other Than Full and Open Competition, this source is expressly authorized or required by statute, specifically this service is mandated by Congress, specifically under Public Law 118-47. The Library of Congress (Library) intends to award a sole-source firm-fixed price contract to:

The National Federation for the Blind (NFB). The work to be performed under the contract will be performed at the following location: Contractor’s Facility. The period of performance of the intended contract shall run as follows:

09/01/2025 – 08/31/2030 (Base plus 4 option periods, all periods are 12-months in duration). It is valued at an amount above the simplified acquisition threshold (defined as above $250,000). The work shall consist of the following:

the procurement of at least 400 selected publications to be made available to blind and print-disabled individuals through telephone and internet access. This contract support the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). This project supports the Library’s mission to lead and work collaboratively with external communities in advancing knowledge and fostering creativity for the blind and/or print disabled.

The service allows subscribers across the country with access to daily newspapers and magazines at no cost to them. A toll-free call-in center is offered with on demand services to subscribers, allowing individuals unable to read conventional print to access the content of newspapers and magazines while traveling across the United States, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

It is of vital importance that the blind and print-disabled community has access to news while traveling, and this contracting effort is one of the primary methods of fulfilling that. The National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Newsline program is the only known organization in the United States that provides this service. Since 2008, the NFB has partnered with 45 states to deliver this service and has maintained a contract with the Library.

This announcement constitutes the only public notice, proposals are not being requested from other parties and a written solicitation will not be issued. This public notice accomplishes the following:

Notice of the Library’s intent to sole source this requirement to the business listed herein; Synopsizing the requirements in accordance with the FAR; and publicly posting the approved Justification and Approval (J&A) to the public in advance of the contract award rather than after award. As a result of this, a second posting of the J&A is not required after the award is made. As a result of this public posting, this shall be the only notice issued. A separate award notice and a separate J&A posting shall not be performed, as all public information is being accomplished via this public notice. The following attachments are included in this notice:

Attachment 1:

Statement of Work Attachment 2: JA -Newspaper and Periodical Information Services (Redacted for Public Release) Not further notices shall be pursued at this time in regard to this contracting action.