NOTE: This is a draft proposal that has yet to be reviewed by the DLF. It may turn into a project, it may not. Comments welcome below. ...Eric

The Digital Library Federation has prepared an RFP for a new website. It now needs to select a vendor to build a new site that meets these requirements. This project would guide DLF through the a vendor for such development.

The DLF staff prepared the RFP with consulting assistance, but without much feedback from the membership. One goal of this project is reach a bit beyond the DLF-Announce mailing list for vendors outside regular DLF circles.

Vendor Selection

I will participate in developing a list of venues on which to advertise the DLF website RFP. I will also participate in assessing the quality of the vendor pool and answering vendor questions. I will produce an assessment tool that DLF staff can use to rank vendor responses and participate in a phone call during which we assess the rankings that result and select a vendor. I will also produce a written justification which summarizes the ranking process and explains the final vendor selection.

Concerns

I would consider submitting a proposal to develop the site as a vendor. I do not have much experience doing this for third parties, so my proposal would not stand up well in a strong pool. However, if the pool is not so exciting, then my familiarity with DLF needs and mission might enable me to do a suitable job.

This presents a quandary. If DLF is interested in soliciting a proposal from me, then I should probably not be a part of this selection process.

I also want to note that DLF should develop a draft contract during this time period so that negotiations with the eventual vendor can proceed swiftly upon completion of the selection. While that contract development is not part of this project, it should not await the final selection.

Timeline

The timeline for this project has been, for the most part, well established in the RFP.

• by Tuesday, 13 May 2008, contract for this phase signed
• Tuesday, 20 May, list provided to DLF with suggestions for venues for RFP distribution
• Friday, 30 May, conference call with DLF staff to consider vendor pool
• Monday, 2 June, participate in vendor phone call with DLF staff
• Tuesday, 3 June, post phone call notes for all vendors
• Friday, 13 June, phone call to discuss quality of vendor responses
• week of 16 June, extended conference call to weigh vendor proposals with DLF staff and select a vendor
• Friday, 27 June, provide justification for vendor selection to DLF

Costs

This phase will require less development than past phases. The full cost of the project would be $2,400. As before, I am prepared to give the DLF a discount of my overhead costs which would bring the costs down to $1,800. I am expecting we could use DLF arrangements for the phone conferences, otherwise arranging these would be an additional expense. An invoice for this work will be submitted by 3 July 2008.

Eric Celeste

Eric brings over 15 years of library and 25 years of technology experience to his consulting. At MIT Eric shepherded the creation of DSpace, open source digital repository management software developed with HP and now deployed at hundreds of institutions worldwide. At the University of Minnesota Libraries he encouraged the development of the UThink blog service, a wiki-based staff intranet, LibData, and the University Digital Conservancy. He works with non-profit institutions on appropriate uses of technology for informing, communicating, and collaborating with their constituencies.