SAM #FA80522609022026B

Air Force Sole Source Digital Magazine Platform Subscription to OverDrive, Inc.

This notice announces the Air Force's intent to award a sole source contract for a digital magazine platform subscription to OverDrive, Inc. - Agency: Department of the Air Force, AFMC, 772 Enterprise Sourcing Squadron - Requirement: Digital magazine/journal platform subscription for DoD Libraries - Unlimited simultaneous access, no circulation cap - Several thousand magazine titles, including popular and special interest, in multiple languages - At least three years of back issues - Compatibility with desktops, iOS, Android, Kindle Fire - Smart tags for issue notifications, text-to-speech, digital distribution overseas - Robust security (TLS 1.3, HSTS, RSA 2048-bit certificates) - Single sign-on authentication for all service branches - Usage statistics by branch and marketing resources - Sole source: OverDrive, Inc. (proprietary platform) - Contract structure: 12-month base period (Sept 30, 2026 - Sept 29, 2027) plus two 12-month option periods (through Sept 29, 2029) - Responses from other vendors with equal products are invited if all requirements are met - Estimated contract value likely in the low to mid six figures, based on similar digital content subscriptions - Commercial opportunity for digital content providers with comparable platforms and features

Description

 NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE

The 772d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (772 ESS) intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract to a single source, OVERDRIVE, INC., under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) (only one source reasonably available) on 30 September 2026. The period of performance (PoP) shall be: 30 September 2026 – 29 September 2029.

PSC:

7630

NAICS:

516210

Small Business Size Standard:

$47M

Subscription:

Digital Magazine collection

Supplier:

OVERDRIVE, INC.

Product Description:

DOD Libraries has a requirement to procure a digital magazines/journals platform subscription that allows for downloadable magazines. Magazines have no circulation cap and allow unlimited simultaneous use so patrons can enjoy every issue of every magazine. With smart tags that ensure library users can be notified when each new issue is released. Must be able to provide a collection of several thousand magazines on an existing commercial off the shelf platform in the library marketplace.

Product characteristics an equal item must meet to be considered:

Must be able to provide full-color digital magazines on the Overdrive Platform already under contract with DoD Libraries Must be able to be accessed/read on desktops, mobile devices, or apps Magazines must be downloadable on at least 90% of mobile devices including iOS (Apple®), Android™, and Kindle Fire™/HD/HDX Database must contain a collection of popular digital magazines with both new and backlist titles Magazine must be available without holds, checkout periods, no limits and provide full list of magazine titles in the Simultaneous Use Must provide popular titles such as Us Weekly, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone Must provide special interest titles such as PC World, Bon Appetit, Minecraft World, and Women’s Fitness Must provide titles in a variety of languages including Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German, French, and more Must provide a rolling 3 years of back issues, wherever available Must be able to curated and weeded magazines available Must provide marketing resources for DOD Libraries to promote the content to customers Must be able to search and checkout collection by newest issue, keyword search, genre and language Must provide the user a magazine in the collection, they can open it and start reading with one tap, generating a checkout for your library. Must provide a streamlined access to magazines will have a new dedicated section. This will help users find their favorite magazines from the library in one convenient place. Must provide text to speech function Must distribute digitally overseas Must work with a magazine publishers that sells to the Government Access to information needs to be seamless, minimal response time between query initiation and query results, and search results within 5-10 seconds. Must be able to interface with all 4 service branch library single sign on an industry standard authentication method to ensure only eligible patrons can access resources from any internet connected computer browsers and mobile devices. Must work with contract POC to establish authentication methods to provide optimal accessibility for all eligible patrons. Security between the Website and server must be Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 Must be able to supply or allow retrieval of database usage statistics by Branch of Service (Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Other, and Navy) Must have HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with long duration deployed on the servers to mitigate/prevent man-in-the-middle attacks Website certificates should be RSA 2048-bits (SHA256withRSA) VCL must be able to test the platform to evaluate if it meets requirements. Must provide username and password to view content on platform..

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the Government. The Government will consider responses received by 8 September 2026, 2:00 PM, CST for this notice. The Government will not pay for any information received in response to this announcement. A determination not to compete this requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Contractors Should Be Aware of the Following Information:

 1. Contractors MUST include the following information:

a. Points of contact, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers.

b. Identification as a large U.S. business, a small U.S. business, or a foreign business. Please note that size indicated should be based on the NAICS code for this effort listed above.

c. Identification of any other socioeconomic status including Women-Owned Small Business, Economically Disadvantaged Small Business, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Business or HUBZone.

d. Company CAGE Code and UEI.

2. If this posting specifically references brand name products, offerors are encouraged to suggest products other than those specifically referenced. Responses must address how the alternate product meets the product characteristics specified above.

3. Submitted information shall be UNCLASSIFIED.

4. Responses are limited to 10 pages in a Microsoft Word or PDF compatible format.

Responses shall be e-mailed to Contracting Specialist: SrA William Sasser at william.sasser.2@us.af.mil and Contracting Officer: TSgt Vaughn Swinton at vaughn.swinton@us.af.mil no later than 8 September 2026 at 2:00 PM CST.

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