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FLICC Main Number
(202) 707-4800
FEDLINK Hotline
(202) 707-4900
101 Independence Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20540-4935
Ten Reasons to Use FEDLINK
Get the Most Value for Your Agency’s Information Service Dollar
Your agency deserves the best for its information service dollar. As a FEDLINK member, you tap into the expertise of Library of Congress professionals, working with its librarians, contracting officers, financial managers, and customer service representatives—to get the best products and services at the best available prices. Here are 10 reasons to join FEDLINK today.
- Acquire goods and services: FEDLINK offers you an efficient and effective centralized procurement operation to reduce your workload at a time when agency staff and budgets are shrinking. Customers can choose between three payment options: Transfer pay customers receive the full FEDLINK service– contracting, ordering, vendor relations, and fiscal management. An agency can transfer funds to FEDLINK and, for a nominal fee of 7.75 percent, take advantage of everything from consortia discounts as high as 50 percent off commercial rates to tailored purchasing plans and guidance, managed competitions, delivery order creation, invoice payments and other accounting services. Direct Express customers simply cite the FEDLINK contract number on any agency purchase order and then take advantage of the low FEDLINK price and pre-established terms and conditions for commercial online database services. Direct pay customers access FEDLINK’s pre-negotiated contract vehicles for the best prices on publications and library support services vendors for an annual fee of $1200 and then manage their own orders and invoicing.
- Ensure compliance with federal regulations: FEDLINK operates under as a revolving fund (Section 103 of P.L. 106-481 (2 U.S.C. 182c)). The law authorizes FEDLINK to provide “the procurement of commercial information services, publications in any format, and library support services,...related accounting services,...related education, information and support services” to federal offices and other organizations entitled to use federal sources of supply. FEDLINK and the Library of Congress operate under the generally accepted accounting principles and federal procedures required by statute, by the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of the Treasury. FEDLINK ensures your agency’s contracts are in compliance with the FAR or DFAR, CICA, and GAO fiscal policies and procedures.
- Solicit, evaluate, negotiate, and award contracts: FEDLINK develops technical specifications and statements of work for cutting-edge electronic and print information services. Under the transfer pay option, FEDLINK conducts formal negotiated procurements, evaluates contractor proposals, and establishes indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery (IDIQ) or basic ordering agreements with multiple vendors. FEDLINK can also compete your individual information services orders that exceed the small purchase threshold.
FLICC—Service and Guidance to all Federal Libraries and Information Centers
- Save administrative time and reduce contracting costs: FEDLINK can save your time and your agency’s budgets — as much as $21,000 on agency costs for purchases over $100,000. FEDLINK reduces the burden on your agency’s administrative staff by establishing a simplified, centralized, approved method for procuring information services and processing invoices. FEDLINK can manage your agency’s invoices, meeting or exceeding prompt payment requirements through electronic funds transfers to all its domestic vendors.
- Get the best prices: FEDLINK’s group discounts can be as high as 50 percent off commercial rates. Instead of contracting independently for the same services, FEDLINK helps your agency get the best pricing available.
- Compare commercial information services: FEDLINK helps your agency select the combination of information providers suited to your agency’s needs by comparing multiple vendor prices through FEDLINK’s online pricing pages which are available only to active customers. FEDLINK Services Directory also links you directly to vendor information, products, services, and Web sites 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
- Gather expert advice: FEDLINK also offers a cadre of senior level librarians for consultation, support, and training so your agency information staff stay abreast of issues and developments in products, services, and information management issues.
- Anticipate changing needs: When you select the full-service transfer pay method, FEDLINK lets you adjust your service funding levels as needed by amending interagency agreements throughout the fiscal year.
- Meet agency budget objectives: With FEDLINK’s online service usage reports, current account balances, and daily online updates, you can stretch your library service and materials budgets and anticipate purchasing needs.
- Get answers to questions promptly: FEDLINK’s staff members are ready to resolve your questions and make administering your interagency agreements and accounts easy, freeing your staff to focus on other vital agency services.
Call (202)707-4900 and to learn how you can join with over 1,000 other federal libraries and information centers that save time and money through FEDLINK. For more information on FLICC/FEDLINK initiatives, programs, contracting and member services, visit our Web page at http://lcweb.loc.gov/flicc.
The Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) serves federal libraries and information centers as their purchasing, training and resource-sharing consortium. As the business subsidiary of the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) at the Library of Congress, FEDLINK supports FLICC’s mission to foster excellence in federal library and information services through interagency cooperation. FLICC has been offering service and guidance to federal library and information centers since 1965, and remains the leader in the federal information service community.
Last Updated: 10/27/2008