Statement of Work RQLSC20140041

Digitization of Sound Recordings from the State of Delaware Historical and Cultural Affairs and the Thomas Edison National Historical Park

BackgroundThe Recorded Sound Section of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audiovisual Conservation wishes to continue a collaborative project with the State of Delaware Historical and Cultural Affairs/Museum (HCA), 21 The Green, Dover, DE 19901 and the Thomas Edison National Historical Park of West Orange, N.J. to digitize early commercial 78rpm sound recordings in their collections and make them available to the public on the Library of Congress’ National Jukebox website.

This solicitation is for continuation of work completed under separate solicitations in 2013: RQ LSC20130060 and RQ LSC20130069. The work requires an established professional audiovisual preservation vendor to scan all labels to Library specifications, digitize the audio on the discs to Library specifications, and deliver all image and audio files to the Library on portable hard drives. The contractor must have proven experience digitizing acoustical era 78rpm disc recordings both laterally and vertically cut, for commercial or archival purposes. The contractor must use professional grade audio playback equipment in an acceptable signal configuration, which the Library will verify as acceptable. The contractor must have a selection of styli appropriate for the playback of acoustical 78rpm discs, as well as professional quality digital audio workstations capable of meeting the preservation specifications of the Library of Congress provided in this solicitation. The contractor must have a professional quality digital scanner to image the record labels to the specifications of the Library of Congress provided in this solicitation. Given, the fragile nature of the recordings and their considerable cultural and monetary value, managers at the HCA and the Thomas Edison National Historical Park have requested that the vendor be situated within reasonable driving distance to the Museum in order to minimize the risk of damage during shipping.

ScopeThe MBRS Division of the Library of Congress requires the digitization of an additional selection of 3,484 78rpm disc recordings from the collections of the HCA and the Thomas Edison National Historical Park for inclusion in the National Jukebox website. The objective is to have these additional historical recordings from the HCA collection digitized by the end of FY 2015.

RequirementsContractor Activities - All work will take place on the premises of the vendor.

1. Vendor will bear the cost of pickup and delivery for the collections from HCA. Shipping arrangements will be made per the requirements of HCA, in consultation with the vendor.

2. Vendor will coordinate the pickup and delivery of collections from the TENHP. 3. Vendor will properly and safely clean the discs prior to digitization or scanning

4. Vendor will digitize the audio to the specifications provided by the Library of Congress5. Vendor will scan the barcode on the disc jacket to input the filename for each side (all disc

jackets will have barcodes assigned by the two institutions)6. Vendor will make scanned images of every disc label to specifications provided by the

Library of Congress and name them using the same barcode scanning described in #47. Vendor will provide the Packard Campus with an initial test batch of 50 audio and image

files delivered on a portable hard drive. 8. The COR or designated personnel will either a. accept the files and authorize the vendor to

continue work, or b. reject the files and provide the vendor with a written explanation and guidance for correcting the problem. Test files will be delivered electronically to the Packard Campus using agreed upon method (e.g. Drop Box) submitted by the vendor until they are accepted by the Library. Vendor will either complete work as authorized or refrain from work and will arrange for return of materials as mutually agreed upon.

Place of WorkWork will be accomplished at vendor’s technical facilities.

DeliverablesVendor shall provide the following deliverables in accordance with the detailed requirements listed above:

A. Audio files: 3, 484 .wav files at 44.1 Khz / 16 bit resolution 3, 484 .wav files at 96 khz /24 bit resolution

B. Image files: 3,484 400 dpi TIFF files named to correspond with audio files

C. Files downloaded on vendor supplied portable hard drive unitsD. Shipping expenses for portable hard drives to LOCE. The vendor shall communicate directly with the COR and designated MBRS Recorded

Sound Section managers on a monthly basis via telephone and/or email to keep them informed of ongoing progress and to resolve any problems that might impede the fulfillment of this contract in the time-frame specified.

Delivery InstructionsFiles will be shipped to the Library on portable hard drive units provided by the vendor in periodic, shipments coordinated with designated MBRS staff.

Quality AssuranceThe Library will check the received files to verify acceptable sonic and pictorial quality. Acceptable sonic quality includes accurate pitching (playback speed) of the recording. The vendor will replace any files determined to be recorded or scanned incorrectly or that are

corrupted and not playable. This replacement is required within the period of performance of the contract.

As per #8 in the Contractor Requirements above, test files shall be submitted by the vendor via electronic deliver to the Packard Campus using an agreed upon method (e.g. Drop Box) until they are accepted by the Library. Vendor shall either complete work as authorized or refrain from work and will arrange for return of materials as mutually agreed upon.

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or his designee shall perform acceptance or other contract related duties; however, the COR has no authority to change prices, terms, conditions, delivery schedule, etc.

Period of PerformanceThe period of performance is September 24, 2014 thru September 23, 2015.