The Request for Proposal (RFP) for Development of a Data Dashboard (DD)Westchester Library System will be posted on: November, 20 2019 at 5:00PM EDT.
Get the RFP
You may download the electronic copy of the RFP below:
Request for Proposal – Development of a Data Dashboard (PDF)
You may download a free reader using the link below:
Adobe Reader (PDF)
Question Period
This page will also include the answers to all questions related to the RFP. All questions are to be sent to DDRFP@wlsmail.org no later than Monday, December 2, 2019 at 4PM EST.
All questions received and answers will be posted in the “Questions and Answers” section of this page as they are received and processed.
Deadline
All proposal responses to the RFP must be received no later than Friday, December 6, 2019 at 5PM EST.
See the contents of the RFP document for the rules pertaining to submitting proposal responses.
Questions and Answers
A Google Sheets copy of these answers can be downloaded here.
Whether Firms/vendors/Consortium’s from outside the host county can apply for this?
Yes, applicants can be from outside the host country.
Q. As a part of the current designs strategy, do you have an existing style guide/Brand Strategy? Do we need to follow the same while designing the DD?
A. Yes. A style guide exists and will be shared with the Vendor.
Q. As stated in the RFP, WLS is looking for a vendor-agnostic tool/non-SaaS product. Is bespoke development on a PaaS platform an option or should the Vendor target only Web services for the solution development?
A. The preference is this tool be run on the organization’s (WLS) server and that open source tools and platform be used.
Q. As stated in the RFP, 38 public libraries are communicating with the WLS system. Are all 38 PL’s using separate solutions or are they using a centralized solution currently?
A. Currently, we are providing the data and libraries parse independently. Our goal is to provide a centralized option.
Q. Is our understanding correct that the final target of the WLS DD solution is to collaborate electronically/integrate with only these 38 Applications or is there other outbound/inbound integration sources as well.
A. WLS believes this is phase one of a multi-phase project which is why all coding must be documented and remarked for extensibility.
Q. What is the minimum standard of infrastructural requirements/system requirements in terms of business user related systems (Laptops/handhelds/mobility) present in the organization today?
A. Design should be mobile first with accommodations for desktop, laptop, etc.
Q. How many UAT testers will be involved in the testing phase from the WLS end?
A. We have three (3) testers.
Q. Which project implementation strategy/approach would you prefer? Is the organization comfortable with Waterfall, Spiral, Iterative, or Agile methodology for delivery? Please choose one?
A. Agile.
Q. Other than accessibility requirements, does the solution require any SOX/GDPR compliance for the American/EU region Data Privacy/Protection?
A. Yes. WLS data is also subject to NYS CVP 4509.
Q. Is 99.8% Availability with a Return to Operation of 6 hours good for the Westchester Library System (WLS) DD Solution?
A. Yes.
Q. How many business/end-users will be using this solution? This information is required for the Load test to be done after the final build and pre go-live.
A. Total users are estimated at 120 with simultaneous users estimated at 10.
Q. What bug/defect tracking tool do you currently use as a part of your BAU (Business As Usual)?
A. We do not use any tool, the vendor can select one but WLS has a preference toward open source.
Q. Which applications does the current solution talk to? Can you provide a list of applications/interfaces the new solution will require integration with? Also please do highlight in terms of the integration landscape/list on which all application has Inbound/Outbound connections with the proposed DD solution.
A. No current solution exists. WLS currently queries for raw data and then the libraries parse as necessary.
Q. Is there any in-house technology teams for IIE Scholar Rescue Fund website? If yes, what would be their head count?
A. No.
Q. As mentioned in the RFP about Integrated Library System (ILS), is this a web service application? Where is the application hosted and what technology was it built in?
A. Yes it is a web application. There is read only access to a Postgres database for the DD.
Q. Are the digital copies of books and other materials readily available? Or do we need to make the digital copies also?
A. Focus is not on item management but on usage statistics.
Q. Are these digital copies of all materials available in public/private clouse at central repository? Or do we need to gather all and create a central repository?
A. Focus is not on item management but on usage statistics.
Q. Usually for Books and CD’s the barcoding system is used. Is the barcode system required? If yes, does it already exist? Or need to be created?
A. Focus is not on item management but on usage statistics?
Q. As it is mentioned in the requirements, you will allow your partner libraries to use the same system. In that case, will the material be shared or do they have different material and content? Is only the engine used?
A. All 38 libraries use the same system but the architecture should allow for another system to replicate the engine.
Q. Do we need to create it as an SAS Model? Because with SAS you can easily allow your other libraries to use the system with a different URL and database. Please clarify your requirement.
A. No, not SAS.
Q. Is there any audio and video content? If yes, from where are they streamed?
A. Audio and Video are outside the scope of this project.
Q. What are the different search parameters to search the content/material?
A. That will be a part of the design phase of this project.
Q. Do we need to have a Membership management?
A. Membership/user management is required.
Q. Does the application need to link to any public resources? If yes, can you provide a list?
A. Yes. Our current list is the 2010 and 2020 census for applicable population data.
Q. Does a public user need any registration to access the material?
A. Public access to view this data will not require authentication. Running reports will require authentication.
Q. What storage arrays does WLS currently use?
A. For this project none currently exist. We are looking to the vendor for recommendations.
Q. What software does WLS use in regards to the Library Data/Etc.?
A. Excel, Google Sheets, etc.
Q. There is mention of assisting in the migration of DD software to WLS’ servers. Can we get more details on this statement?
A. The vendor may build a test server in their environment but must confirm a working environment on WLS servers.
Q. How many data sources need to be integrated?
A. Ten (10).
Q. How much variability is in the data?
A. Sources share their raw data in a different fashion.
Q. Can you give us data examples?
| 1. Sirsi (ILS) historical data set | https://forum.westchesterlibraries.org/wiki/index.php/Circulation_Statistics |
| 2. Evergreen (ILS) current data | https://it.westchesterlibraries.org/statistics/2019-eg-ils-monthly-statistics/ |
| 3. OverDrive (Excel) | |
| 4. Hoopla (Excel) | |
| 5. Patron Wireless (API, CSV) | |
| 6. Library Information (Excel) | |
| 7. Census (API) | |
| 8. Kanopy (Excel) | |
| 9. Recorded Books | |
| 10. Annual State Report (CSV) | |
| 11. To be determined (File type will be CSV, Excel, etc.) |
Q. What is driving the timeline for project delivery?
A. Strategic planning.
Q. We assume we need to develop a web-based library management system for Westchester group of libraries to manage their internal operations.
A. This is not a library management system.
Q. We are considering 3 roles, i.e. Admin, Library Admin, and Staff. Kindly confirm. Also, what features will each user perform on the system?
A. This is not a library management system but rather a statistics aggregator.
Q. Kindly elaborate on the process for providing online books?
A. This is not a library management system.
Q. Do we need to consider any integration with external systems?
A. Yes.
Q. We assume books inventory will be managed on the proposed system.
A. This is not a library management system.
Q. What different types of reports need to be generated?
A. That will be a part of the design phase of this project.
Q. Kindly elaborate on the line “anonymized output of data will not require authentication”.
A. All data must be anonymized on import. Public access to view this data will not require authentication. Running reports will require authentication.
Q. Before submitted our proposal, I would like to get some idea on whether our ballpark estimate/time frame would be entertained?
A. Please submit all proposals as WLS will review each proposal closely.
Q. Also, is a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) a requirement or is the County open to this being built in other development environments?
A. We are open to other open source environments.