REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
July 9, 2024
FROM
MELANIE OROSCO, County Librarian, Library
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Books and Media Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following vendors to provide books and media services for the period of September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2029:
1. OverDrive, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $4,000,000
2. Children’s Plus, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $3,000,000
3. Midwest Tape, LLC in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000
(Presenter: Melanie Orosco, County Librarian, 387-2220)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The San Bernardino County Library (Library) has a potential annual spend on library materials of up to $6,000,000 depending on property tax funding availability. Each year, the Library has a variable budget for various vendors to purchase all types of materials from books to DVDs to digital content. Adequate appropriation and revenue has been included in the Library’s 2024-25 budget and will be included in subsequent recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Approval of the above recommendations will provide three contracts for the Library to purchase various books and media materials for its 32 branch system from the following vendors.
OverDrive, Inc. (OverDrive) is the leading digital distribution platform for libraries, supplying the industry’s largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, streaming video and periodicals to 36,000 libraries and schools worldwide. OverDrive is compatible with more devices than any other digital library provider through its website and digital applications. The Library has offered OverDrive services to its patrons since April 2011 and has continued to grow its collection, which currently expands to over 70,000 digital titles, with an average monthly circulation of more than 50,000 items.
With approval of the OverDrive contract, Library will reduce its annual platform fee by $11,500 per year, which will net savings of $57,500 over the five year term of the contract. This will allow for additional content to be purchased for the digital platform, benefiting library patrons throughout the county.
Children’s Plus, Inc. (Children’s Plus) specializes in sourcing and distributing children’s library materials, offering the widest selection and availability of children’s materials in specialized library binding. Children’s Plus library materials offer a higher level of durability than its competitors and require replacement less frequently than other suppliers’ materials. Shipping from Children’s Plus has a high level of flexibility, allowing the Library to receive items at all 32 branch locations in shelf ready order, increasing the Library’s efficiency and productivity. Children’s Plus materials also come preprocessed with a barcode, property label, spine label, and Accelerated Reader Level labels on appropriate materials saving the County time and resources.
With approval of the Children’s Plus contract, Library will receive a 10% discount on materials from the Children’s Plus website. Shipping from Children’s Plus will be included at no additional cost as well as cataloging and processing of Children’s Plus materials. This will allow the Library to purchase additional children’s library materials with the cost savings.
Midwest Tape, LLC (Midwest Tape) is a full service media distributor offering a wide selection of physical media including DVDs, Music CDs, and Audiobooks to public libraries throughout North America. Midwest Tape’s newly released materials are shipped and received to all 32 Library branches and are guaranteed to be delivered prior to the item’s release date. This allows Library to make these materials available to patrons during their peak demand.
With approval of the Midwest Tape contract, Library will receive a 25% discount on DVD Feature Films, 25% discount on New Release Blu-Ray Feature Films, 25% discount on Catalog Blu-Ray Feature Films, 25% discount on Music CDs, and Audiobooks provided in SoundSafe Casing with protective sleeves for each disc at no additional cost. This will allow the Library to purchase a greater quantity of materials in addition to securing audiobook materials and ensuring a longer lifespan for patron use.
Approval of the recommended contracts ensures that the Library can procure items at a pre-negotiated discount rate and have items pre-processed into shelf-ready condition.
PROCUREMENT
These contracts are being awarded through non-competitive procurement. Purchasing supports the non-competitive procurement of books and media from OverDrive, Children’s Plus and Midwest Tape. OverDrive has a specific catalogue of digital items for Library patrons and has specialized credentials to offer these goods and services. Children’s Plus and Midwest Tape are both approved as a non-competitive procurement because of their functional specifications as they are providing special services unique from other vendors in the market.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Kaleigh Ragon, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 14, 2024; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on June 7, 2024; Finance (Elias Duenas, Finance Analyst, 387-4052) on June 20, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 20, 2024.