Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2016-10-26
Buyer: Oxfordshire County Council
Country: UK
Contract type: Works
CPV classification: 72000000

Technical requirements: The aim of the day is to inform suppliers of the opportunity to tender for a Library Management System (LMS) to replace the existing Service which is provided through Axiell and uses their OpenGalaxy product.
The existing LMS contract expires in March 2018 and the Council is seeking to establish a more detailed understanding of current LMS offerings from suppliers and the potential route to market for such a service. (e.g. open procedure, direct award, part of a consortium, etc.)
This early notification will help shape a formal procurement which is targeted to be undertaken in 2017 and conclude in sufficient time to enable a successful transition to the new LMS in advance of the of current contract's expiry date.
The briefing will provide further detail of the Council's strategic plans for the Library Service as well as providing an open environment for supplier questions in advance of the planned one-to-one meetings currently scheduled for Nov/Dec.
The Council's Corporate Strategy, revised earlier this year, sets out the challenges and strategy direction for the County Council. https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/corporate-plan
A central theme of this plan is the provision of efficient public services and the Library Service is uniquely placed to deliver these by expanding existing service offerings and actively linking with partners, local businesses and the public themselves.
At a time of significant budget pressure for all local authority services Oxford County Council has, through a flexible approach to delivery of its core services, kept open all of its 43 Libraries. These budget pressures are set to continue and it is expected that a revised LMS solution would need to replicate existing services whilst also recognising these financial constraints.
Similarly as the use of library buildings evolves we would expect any new LMS system to provide flexible interfaces to new systems and services as they are developed. We would also expect the new LMS solution to adhere to the standards mandated by our Digital Platform.
We are currently looking to hold an open procedure with the minimum standards for OCC's LMS solution stipulated throughout the specification. This approach will enable a preferred single supply arrangement to be selected prior to the end of the current contract based on best fit to business need and best value.
The market analysis day is however a precursor to a number of other activities which will inform the final procurement decision. It is likely that the Council will also attend the LMS showcase event on 18th November 2016 and also invite individual suppliers to meet on a one to one basis late November and early Dec.
It is our current intention to award a contract between the Council and the successful supplier organisation to run for 5 years with options to extend.
The new LMS system will underpin all aspects of the book lending and Audio/Visual (AV) hire service: from ordering, receipting and invoicing, through cataloguing and stock management, to all aspects of the lending operation, including financial transactions. All data in the system should be available to the Council for analysis and management information. A flexible reporting system with pre-defined reports is also required
The LMS will offer a public-facing mobile and web interface for customers to join the library, view the catalogue and reserve and renew items in their accounts.
The LMS system will need to interface with Bibliotheca's SmartServe kiosks and their Open+™ solution, the Solus app and provide authentication for eBook and eAudio services. It will also need to provide data extracts for Collection HQ and Nielsen Libscan.
The LMS must also provide an interface to a booking system for Public Access PCs and a hosted central printing service. The Council currently uses Netloan from Lorensbergs to provide this functionality.