Off-Site Library Book Storage Facility (Please note this contract award notice is now cancelled)

Please note this contract award notice is now cancelled.

The University of Southampton is seeking a managed library book store (LS) for items relocated from the University Library.

We expect a fully secure, environmentally controlled storage facility which conforms to BS 4971.2, or equivalent. The temperature is maintained at 17.5°C ± 1°C and Relative Humidity at 52% ± 5%. Materials should be stored in archival standard trays according to their size and kept in sequence.

The Hartley Library, located at the Highfield campus in Southampton, contains approximately 1,000,000 items, mainly printed books and journals. We are planning a collections assessment in 2023-24, which will see some items retained at the Hartley Library, other items relegated to a LS from July 2023 onwards and the remaining items deaccessioned (withdrawn from the collection). This work will be undertaken by a specialist team within the Library and supervised by the Collections Development Team at the University Library. It will precede a major refurbishment of the Hartley Library in 2024-25.

There will be approximately 600,000 printed books retained at the Hartley Library, 200,000 printed books relegated to a LS and 200,000 printed books deaccessioned. We anticipate that items relegated to the LS will be housed appropriately for storage efficiency and easy retrieval.

Items held in the LS will be subject to annual retention-in-store reviews, and a small number recalled for deaccessioning year-on-year. Conversely, we anticipate that a similar small number of items will be relegated to the LS following retention-on-site (at the Hartley Library) annual reviews.

We expect that between 1-2% of items relegated to the LS may be subject to a recall, in response to a user request. Items should be placed in suitable shipping packaging for collection by a University of Southampton approved courier (most urgent) or shipped by Royal Mail tracked postage (non-urgent).

Items shipped from the University of Southampton Library will be categorised as 'standard' unless it is indicated as 'high value'. Stock will be categorised as high value in terms of scarcity and/or financial value.

Procedure Process: This procurement process is being conducted as an Open Procedure.

Contract Period: The University proposes to enter into a Contract for 7 years - this will be the maximum contract period, including any potential extensions with the successful tenderer(s). This will comprise of an initial contract period of 3 years with an option to extend by a further four extension periods of 1 year each subject to satisfactory performance and at the discretion of the University.

For details on how to apply, follow the instructions given in the more information section.

Additional information: E-Tendering Portal: The University is utilising an electronic tendering tool, In-Tend (https://in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofsouthampton/aspx/Home) to manage this procurement and to communicate with potential suppliers and/or tenderers (as appropriate). All documentation in relation to this tender can be downloaded from In-Tend. Potential suppliers/tenderers are advised that there will be no hard copy documents issued and all communications with the University, including the submission of ITT responses will be conducted via In-Tend. Regular monitoring of the portal is the responsibility of the potential supplier/tenderer. If you are not already registered as a supplier with the University of Southampton, you will need to register in In-Tend in order to access the procurement documentation. Once you have logged in as a supplier: click on 'Tenders'; locate the relevant project; and click 'View Details'. Once you are in the project screen, you will be able to register your organisation against the project and access all documentation by clicking 'Express Interest'. Potential suppliers/tenderers are advised that formal expressions of interest in the project must be by way of completion and return of the relevant documents via In-Tend. Further instructions for the submission of responses are below: To submit your return: 1. Log in 2. Click 'Tenders' 3. Locate the relevant project 4. View details 5. Click on the tab relating to the relevant project stage 6. Click on the 'Attach Documents' button and upload your return. 7. Check ALL your response documents are uploaded and displayed in the 'My Tender Return' panel. The system will only permit your organisation to make one return. 8. Click the red 'Submit Return' button. Please note, to preserve the integrity of the procurement, all communications with the University must be made via the correspondence function within In-Tend. Publication of Award Details: In accordance with Regulation 50, paragraph (2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and subject to Article 5 and Annex 5, Part D (13) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (if applicable), the University intends to publish the value of any resulting contract at the award stage, and reserves the right to do so. By submitting a response, potential suppliers/tenderers are consenting to publication of this information unless otherwise agreed in advance with the University. Costs and Expenses: Potential suppliers/tenderers are solely responsible for their costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation and submission of responses and participation in this and all future stages of this procurement. Under no circumstances will the University be liable for any costs or expenses borne by potential suppliers/tenderers or any of their supply chain, partners or advisers in this procurement process. The University is not liable for any costs in the event of the cancellation of this procurement process.