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Union Catalog RFP Update

September 6, 2000 Author: CDLCategories:

As you know, the CDL has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to determine if the Melvyl Union Catalog and CDL-hosted Databases can be moved from their aging technology infrastructure to a commercial vendor’s system [see CDLINFO February 14, 2000, Vol.3, No.2 <http://www.cdlib.org/news/cdlinfo/cdlinfo021400.html#4>].  The RFP process must adhere to University policy and be conducted in a fair and impartial manner.  Given that these CDL resources represent some of the most important tools used by University faculty, librarians and students for research, teaching and learning, this process must select the system that best meets their needs.  The process for writing the RFP has laid this groundwork by seeking advice on the RFP’s content from the entire university community.  The evaluation of the RFP responses, which continues this effort, is now being conducted.

The CDL RFP Evaluation Steering Committee (ESC) is an important part of this process.  It is analyzing responses to the functional requirements of the RFP.  The committee is comprised of library stakeholders who represent the needs of faculty and students, as well as themselves, and it includes one representative from each campus library and two from the CDL (members are listed below).  Independent consultants will be available to advise the ESC, as needed, in this analysis process.

The ESC has also been charged with preparing narrative evaluations of each qualifying response to the RFP.  The purpose of these reviews is to identify and explicate major trade-offs between the vendor systems and to discuss if any system provides sufficient functionality to replace the current Melvyl and CDL-hosted Databases.

The ESC will conclude its work by forwarding their preliminary analysis of the RFP’s functional requirements to a smaller Evaluation Team who will score each qualifying response.

The Evaluation Team will consist of the Chair of the Evaluation Steering Committee, the Director of CDL Technologies, the Director of CDL Digital Library Services, and three campus representatives.  The Evaluation Team will analyze a “life-cycle” cost, calculate a required “cost per quality point” for each vendor and make its final recommendation to the CDL University Librarian.

At several points in the process evaluation may include site visits, oral presentations, product demonstrations, additional material, information, or references from the suppliers and others.

Members of the evaluation steering committee are the best sources of information about the RFP process.  Please consult with your campus member if you have questions.

Evaluation Steering Committee members include:

  • Diane Bisom, UCI
  • Bob Brandriff, CDL (ex officio)
  • Karen Coyle, CDL (ex officio)
  • Laine Farley, CDL
  • Cheryl Gomez, UCSC
  • Jon Good, UCOP, IR&C
  • Bernie Hurley, UCB (Chair)
  • Ann Jensen, UCB
  • Julia Kochi, UCSF
  • Terry Ryan, UCLA
  • Catherine Nelson, UCSB
  • John Ober, CDL (ex officio)
  • Susan Starr, UCSD
  • John Tanno, UCR
  • David Walker, CDL
  • Gail Yokote, UCD