Access to Cambridge University Press Electronic Journals

This federal Request for Quotation (RFQ), solicitation number 1232SA26Q1504, is issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Library. The USDA is seeking a contractor to provide electronic access to Cambridge University Press electronic journals, including titles such as American Antiquity, British Journal of Nutrition, and Journal of Agricultural Science. The procurement is structured as an unrestricted, firm-fixed-price contract. It features a one-year base period of performance running from September 29, 2026, through September 28, 2027, followed by four subsequent one-year option periods, extending potential performance through September 28, 2031. The award will be determined using the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) evaluation method. Offers will be evaluated based on total price (including all option years), technical acceptability (specifically, the quoter's detailed plan to fulfill the Statement of Work requirements), and past performance. Service Contract Labor Standards may apply to this acquisition. Quotes must be submitted electronically to the Contracting Officer, Amber Sampson, at amber.sampson@usda.gov. Offers are due by September 22, 2026, at 12:00 PM Mountain Time, and prices must remain firm for 90 calendar days from the submission deadline. Invoicing must be processed electronically through the government-wide Invoice Processing Platform (IPP).

This Statement of Work (SOW) outlines the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) requirement to secure authenticated, perpetual electronic access to scientific journals published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) for all USDA employees, contractors, cooperators, and public on-site users worldwide. Under the proposed CUP Transformative Agreement, the contractor will deliver a unified package combining reading access and Open Access (OA) publishing. Key provisions include 24/7 online access to the CUP Full Journals Package, perpetual access to volumes published during the agreement term, shallow back-file access, and uncapped OA publishing in all hybrid and gold OA journals within the package at no extra cost. Additionally, the contractor must provide comprehensive customer support. This includes a dedicated email helpdesk, an onboarding webinar, quarterly reports detailing USDA article publications, proactive OA outreach to authors, and access to and training for the Cambridge Eligibility Checker tool. Deliverables are structured across three primary tasks: - **Task 1:** Provide electronic journal access immediately upon contract award. - **Task 2:** Deliver monthly COUNTER-compliant usage statistics and immediate administrative credentials. - **Task 3:** Establish customer support services, including the dedicated email inbox and eligibility tool within 10 days of award, an onboarding webinar and retroactive outreach within 30 days of award, and quarterly publication reports.