Library of Congress - NLS Audio Narration Industry Day

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Contract Opportunity

NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE FOR THE BLIND (NLS) – INDUSTRY DAY FOR UPCOMING AUDIO NARRATION SOLICITATION

The National Library Service (NLS) at the Library of Congress will hold an industry day for the upcoming solicitation for Audio Narration. This is not a solicitation for proposals and no contract shall be awarded from this notice. Attendees shall not receive any compensation in any form, nor will the Library of Congress reimburse participants for any costs related to participation at this Industry Day.

1. LOGISTICS

DATE: January 30, 2025

FORMAT: HYBRID – potential solicitors may attend the Industry Day onsite at the Library of Congress, or, if they are not able to attend in person, they may attend virtually. Potential solicitors are encouraged to attend the Industry Day in person. The Library has provided a ZOOM meeting link, below, for attendees who choose to attend virtually.

LOCATION:

ON-SITE:

The Library of Congress

James Madison Building

MUMFORD ROOM (LM 649)

101 Independence Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20540

Attendees who experience difficulty locating the Mumford Room may call Zaneta Watson at (202) 926-7313 for wayfinding assistance.

VIRTUAL:

Potential offerors who attend virtually may use the link below, which will only operate during the Industry Day active hours, to join the Zoom session:

https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1602934393?pwd=cHFhvb4JSlqIl8GpacgZLC9frYOn40.1

Meeting ID: 160 293 4393

Passcode: 713576

TIME:

Starting time/NLS Remarks: 11:00am – 11:15am, EST

Group Discussion: 11:15am – 1:00pm, EST

2. EVENT DETAILS

Brief Remarks from NLS

Group Discussion:

NLS will lead a group discussion regarding the upcoming solicitation and basic requirements for the NLS Audio Narration Solicitation. The focus will be on the scope of work, basic requirements information, acquisition timeline, and contracting requirements. Experts from NLS will be in attendance for the discussion. NLS will hold an open Question and Answer forum where producers can ask high level questions about NLS’s current production process.

In addition, NLS requests that potential solicitors come prepared to discuss the following questions:

1. PRICING – What has been the average price increase within the industry including inflation?


2. PRICING STRUCTURE - Does the current pricing structure work? (i.e. a unit price for standard language, Spanish or FL, Navigation markers, and complex books)


3. CASTING – How difficult is it to source non-English and non-standard Foreign Languages (FL) (i.e any languages aside from Spanish)? What would the lead time be to source and cast?


4. How do vendors recruit and cast for audio narration work?


5. Please review the specifications at attachments 2 – 6 and come prepared to discuss them.

3. INSTRUCTIONS TO PARTICIPANTS

In order to prepare a list of attendees of individuals participating in this Industry Day, it is requested that potential offerors who will attend the Industry Day RSVP for the Industry Day. Potential Offerors shall send an e-mail to Jennifer Zwahlen at jzwa@loc.gov no later than (NLT) January 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM, EST. Please title the email: “RSVP to Industry Day for NLS Audio Narration Solicitation.”

In your email, please include the following information:

• Firm’s name.


• Name and title of those individuals participating.


• Attending onsite or virtually.


• Contact number and e-mail address.

4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING QUESTIONS

The Library has the right, at its discretion, to answer, and the right not to answer, questions at its discretion. Questions must be substantive and relevant to the upcoming competition. The Library cannot advise participants on how to prepare/write proposals.

Questions relating to this industry day may be submitted via email to jzwa@loc.gov in advance of the Industry Day to help structure the discussion. Interested potential solicitors who are unable to attend the Industry Day will also be able to submit questions via Zoom. However, attendance at the on-site event is strongly encouraged. All questions submitted prior to the event must be submitted via email, no later than 12:00 PM EST, January 28, 2025.

Note: Please indicate the name of the project, NLS Industry Day for Audio Narration Solicitation, in the subject line of the email when submitting your questions.

Both a transcript of the Q&A and the recorded Zoom event will be posted to SAM.gov no later than February 13, 2025.

CONTRACT SCOPE (Also see Attachment 1)

NLS Audio Narration

The contractor shall provide narration, mastering, and construction of Digital Talking Books in English and Spanish from standard or complex source material.

See Attachment 1 for more details.

POINT OF CONTACT (POC): Jennifer Zwahlen, jzwa@loc.gov.

*Attachment 6 - Specification 1206 is encrypted and cannot be posted on SAM. If you would like to view this attachment, please send an email titled NLS Industry Day for Audio Narration Solicitation to the email address above.

5. TRANSCRIPT AND ZOOM RECORDING ADDED

The Library is providing the recorded Zoom meeting. To access the recording, please use the link below.

https://loc.zoomgov.com/rec/share/g-nR-DIyYWIzEmHr-br1DEzHvrfjvzReJX9OQgk6zCbSqwbgx6xFnldgdsbnC82R.RJH6th-JvAKU9VFv

Password: 7bNK&^+f

6. UPDATED NLS SPECIFICATIONS

The specifications discussed in the meeting are not yet available to post. A link to the specifications will be provided as soon as possible. Attendees will receive an email notification once the updated specifications become available.

Attachments/Links