Description
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is seeking a single‑vendor award to provide statewide licensed electronic general‑reference and research database services. The contract will deliver remote, full‑text scholarly‑content databases (excluding encyclopedias) to all public, academic, school, and special libraries across the Commonwealth, supporting up to 1,500 MLS member libraries. The vendor must meet stringent accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA/Section 508), authentication, reporting, and supplier‑diversity requirements, and be prepared for a phased rollout beginning July 1 2027.
• Provide a cloud‑based, searchable reference database platform with robust discovery tools, citation export, and persistent links.
• Support Massachusetts‑wide authentication (geolocation, library‑card lookup) and deliver COUNTER‑compliant usage statistics at library, consortium, and statewide levels.
• Meet accessibility mandates, submit an ACR/VPAT, and remediate any violations at no cost; also commit ≥ 1 % of contract sales to certified diverse suppliers.