Federal Library and Information Center Committee Library of Congress Washington DC 20540-4930
III. Interagency Agreements and Delivery Orders
1. The Interagency Agreement (IAG)
2. The IAG Process
3. Completing Your Registration Form
4. Amending Your IAG
5. Adding or Changing Contact Names/Addresses
III. Interagency Agreements and Delivery Orders1. The Interagency Agreement (IAG)1.1 The Terms of the IAGYour annual IAG (or contract use agreement (CUAG) if you are a contractor) establishes the terms of the service relationship between FEDLINK and your organization. The IAG:
1.2 Identifiers on the IAGThe IAG contains several important identifier codes which you should use whenever your agency communicates with FEDLINK about your IAG or accounts. FEDLINK uses these codes as the key to all your records. These identifiers are: (a) Your FEDLINK IDA four-character alphabetic identifier is assigned to each registering office or organization. For renewing members, the FEDLINK ID remains the same each fiscal year. All FEDLINK records and correspondence refer to your agency by FEDLINK ID, for example: ABCD. Vendors are also required to use your FEDLINK ID (although they may also assign customer identifiers of their own). (b) Your IAG NumberA nine-digit number is assigned to each IAG and associated with a unique FEDLINK ID. The first two digits of the IAG number identify the fiscal year; the next two digits identify FEDLINK; the last four digits identify the member and remain the same in succeeding fiscal years. Your original or "base" IAG for the year (the one that actually establishes membership) is given the extension 00, and then your IAG amendments are numbered consecutively throughout the year. Sometimes the FEDLINK ID is added as an extension to your IAG number. The following is an example of a complete IAG number:
c) The Vendor's Service IDA two-character alphabetic identifier is assigned to each FEDLINK service vendor, for example: OC for OCLC and ML for Lexis-Nexis service. The vendor's service ID remains the same from one fiscal year to the next unless there is a substantial change in the terms of the BOA with that vendor. Service IDs for all FEDLINK vendors are listed in Part II of this Handbook.
2. The IAG Process2.1 You Register for ServiceComplete and submit the annual Registration Form, which is included in the Registration Booklet FEDLINK sends to all current members each year. The form is also included in the Appendix to this Handbook. On your registration, you list the services you wish to use that year, choose either the transfer pay or direct pay option for each service, indicate the funding level and fund type of the service dollars your agency intends to commit, and provide information about competition for large orders. Basically, the Registration Form acts as a requisition for FEDLINK services. It does not obligate your agency. Your agency and funding are not obligated to your acquisition through FEDLINK until the IAG is signed. Both the Registration Booklet and Section 3 of this part of the Handbook give step-by-step instructions for filling out the Registration Form. Additional copies of the Registration Booklet and this Handbook are available from the FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline at (202) 707-4900. A brochure describing FEDLINK services and benefits is also available. (a) Determination and Findings Per FAR 17.503Your agency must still comply with the FAR and/or your agency-specific FAR supplements and your agency policy and regulations. FAR 17.503 details the requirement that your agency must make a determination and finding (D&F) that using an interagency acquisition method is the best way to purchase the goods and services your agency will acquire through FEDLINK program. LC does not require a contracting officer's signature on the IAG itself, but the IAG does include a statement to the effect that your agency has made the necessary determination about your Economy Act acquisition through LC. Your contracting office will need to be involved in your agency's decision to use FEDLINK and will no doubt play a key role in documenting the decision with a formal D&F. It would be wise for the D&F process to be well underway by the time you register for FEDLINK, so that all your internal approvals are sure to be in place when the time comes to sign the IAG. If your agency needs any additional information about the FEDLINK program to complete its D&F, please contact the FEDLINK contracting officers at LC/C&L or the FEDLINK program office. (b) Returning MembersRenewal of services from year to year is not automatic. In order to continue the FEDLINK vendor services you have been using, you must register with FEDLINK and sign an annual IAG for the coming year. FEDLINK BOAs, IAGs, and delivery orders expire at the end of each fiscal year. Authorized service from the vendor automatically expires this year on September 30, the expiration date on your current FEDLINK transfer pay delivery orders or direct pay authorizations. It is important for you to complete the annual Registration Form and return itquickly, so that a new IAG can be established and new delivery orders issued for you as soon as possible. FEDLINK provides you with a list of all the services you are currently using. On the Registration Form, you indicate whether to "renew" or "cancel" each of these services. By explicitly stating your intent to cancel particular services, you confirm that a service for which your agency has a continuing requirement has not mistakenly been omitted from your registration. Be advised that failure to note either renew or cancel on your Registration Form for each of your current services may delay processing your registration and initiating valid services for your agency for the coming year. Remember, you may add services and funding during the year. Your basic registration only needs to address the services that your agency wants to continue or to start in the first quarter. You must only register for service dollars amounts for which your agency will be able to give a funds citation when it signs the IAG. (c) New MembersYour agency may join FEDLINK any time during the fiscal year—it is not necessary to have your IAG established by October 1. Each year, FEDLINK publishes an end-of-year schedule with deadlines for starting new services, adding funds, and adjusting transfer pay accounts. Usually the deadline for new memberships and new services for the fiscal year is in mid-August of that year. As a new member, you may begin service with FEDLINK vendors or may convert services you have been receiving under a local contract to services under the vendor's FEDLINK BOA. When you convert to a FEDLINK BOA the vendor is able to retain your existing passwords or other customer identifiers. 2.2 LC Prepares and Signs the IAGWhen FEDLINK Fiscal Operations (FFO) receives your annual Registration Form, the IAG Team prepares an agreement that covers all your requested services and includes your transfer pay service dollars and the appropriate FEDLINK service fees. If you represent a federal agency, an interagency agreement (IAG) will be prepared; if you represent a contractor or other non-governmental entity, a contract use agreement (CUAG) will be prepared. This Handbook will use the term IAG to refer collectively to IAGs and CUAGs, and will only address the two agreement types separately when necessary. The total value of the IAG will be the total of transfer pay service dollars, the transfer pay fee, and/or direct pay fees. This is the amount your agency will obligate to LC. Your estimated direct pay service dollars are shown on the IAG as your authorized direct pay funding level, but direct pay service dollars are not included in the IAG total. The Library of Congress Budget Officer in the LC Financial Services Directorate (LC/FSD) signs the IAG and sends it to your agency's IAG Official Contact, the person coordinating your agency's interaction with FEDLINK. The remainder of this section assumes that you are serving as your agency's IAG Official Contact. 2.3 You Review the IAGWhen you receive the signed IAG from LC, you should verify that the information on the IAG is correct and current. For example, you should check that the total amount to be transferred to LC is correct and that the services and funding listed on the Service Schedule of the IAG are accurate. Because LC has already signed the IAG, you may not make changes to the agreement as issued. If you need to make changes, contact FEDLINK immediately to issue a revised IAG. The two most common situations for changing your IAG and the actions you should take are: (a) Increasing Funding or Adding ServicesIf you need to increase funds or add services, you should first establish an agreement for the new year by signing the IAG as issued. Then have FEDLINK amend your IAG to incorporate your new requirements. Sign the original or "base" IAG as is and return it to FEDLINK. Attach a New Service/New Funds Amendment Request Form (included in the Appendix to this Handbook) when you return the completed, signed IAG. FEDLINK will establish your base IAG and issue start-up delivery orders to vendors and then process your amendment request, thus preventing delays in establishing your services for the new year. (b) Reducing Funding or Deleting ServicesIf you must reduce funding or delete services, your agency must not sign the IAG as issued. Signing the IAG as issued would obligate your agency to funds it does not wish to transfer. You should simply return the unsigned IAG to FEDLINK with a memorandum stating your new service and funding requirements. FEDLINK will cancel the original IAG and issue you a new IAG as quickly as possible. 2.4 Your Agency Completes, Signs, and Returns the IAGYou are responsible for securing appropriate agency approval and signature on the IAG. The IAG requires the signature of a funds certification officer, a funds citation for the entire amount of the IAG, indication of the period of availability of the funds being obligated to the IAG, and choice of the method for LC to bill your agency. When FEDLINK sends you the IAG, an instruction sheet tailored for your IAG and your services is attached. Basic requirements for all IAGs are described below. As described in Section 2.1.(a) above, LC does not require a contracting officer's signature on the IAG itself. Nevertheless, because the FAR requires a formal contracting D&F for interagency acquisitions under the Economy Act, your contracting office will need to be involved in your internal agency approval process. Ideally, their approval and D&F would already be on file by the time the IAG is sent to your agency for formal signature and funds citation. (a) Provide a Funds CitationSigning the FEDLINK IAG obligates your agency's funds to the Library of Congress in the entire amount specified in IAG Paragraph III—Payment. On the signature page of the IAG your agency funds certification officer must provide a funds citation for the agency's obligation to LC and must indicate the amount of the citation. Both the funds citation and the dollar amount must be provided on all signed IAGs. Without a funds citation for the total IAG amount, LC cannot accept the IAG and cannot issue vendor delivery orders authorizing service. The only exception to the funds certification requirement is when your agency is registering for the new year with the available balance of no-year or multi-year funds you transferred to FEDLINK on a previous IAG. In this situation a new funds citation is not necessary, even though a new IAG is required. Your agency must have sufficient funds available for both the service dollars and fees identified in the IAG's Service Schedule in order to enter into the agreement with LC. Signing an IAG in its full amount when only partial funding is available or providing a funds citation for less than the total amount is not acceptable. Identifying an amount less than the IAG payment amount on a local funding document (such as a MIPR) attached to the IAG does not reduce the amount obligated to LC on the signed IAG. If your agency cannot provide a funds citation for the entire IAG amount, you should contact FEDLINK immediately, so a revised IAG which reflects the proper, available amounts can be issued. If your agency regularly operates with incremental (e.g. quarterly) funding, you should register for that portion of your annual service dollars that will be available for obligation when your base IAG is due to be signed. When your additional funding becomes available, you may increase your IAG funding level by completing an IAG amendment to add new funds. You may amend your IAG each quarter, or more frequently, if necessary. (b) Identify the Type and Period of Availability of Your FundsYour funds certification officer must identify the type and period of availability of your service dollars as specified in your agency's appropriation. In order to keep your accounts open for the proper period of time, FEDLINK needs to know whether your funds are:
(c) Provide Interagency Billing/ Payment InformationIn keeping with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134), LC is ready to perform interagency funds transfers with FEDLINK members electronically, using government systems such as OPAC or EDIPAC. On the signature page of your IAG your agency funds certification officer will indicate whether your agency will pay LC via electronic funds transfer (EFT) or whether manual billing and payment with a Treasury check is still necessary. For EFT your agency provides LC with the appropriate U.S. Treasury agency locator codes and LC/FSD executes the funds transfer. For manual payments, you must provide LC with an invoice address. LC/FSD will mail the LC billing document to that address, and will follow up at that address regarding any problems related to payment of your IAG. LC bills your agency according to the Payment section of the IAG, not in accordance with supplemental documents you submit, such as purchase orders or local agreement forms. Whether you choose the EFT or manual process, please provide the phone number of your funds certification officer. (d) Attach Supporting DocumentationThe supporting documentation you must supply differs based on whether you have chosen transfer pay or direct pay service, on the category of your vendor services, and on your local requirements. When you receive your IAG from LC/FSD, there will be a checklist of the supporting documentation you need to submit. Typical supporting material includes: —Direct Pay Purchase OrdersIf you have registered for any direct pay service, LC/C&L must authorize the vendor to provide services to you under the FEDLINK BOA. In the past, the procedure has been for you to send your agency purchase order for the vendor service to FEDLINK who would review it, generate the LC authorization, and forward both the authorization and your purchase order to the vendor. Your agency contracting officer is responsible for complying with all applicable procurement regulations when issuing the purchase order. (See C.F.R. 16.703.) In keeping with the government-wide initiative to simplify procurement, and trusting that your agency's direct pay purchases will remain within the scope of the BOAs and will follow applicable procurement regulations, FEDLINK is changing this procedure. Beginning in FY99, direct pay purchase orders under the simplified acquisition threshold of $100,000 can be sent directly to the vendor. Based on your agency's signed IAG, LC will issue the vendor an authorization to provide service referencing the FEDLINK BOA up to the dollar amount shown on your IAG. For direct pay purchases over $100,000, however, the old procedures remain in effect. Your agency must still send its purchase order to FEDLINK, where it will be reviewed, authorized and forwarded to the vendor without delay. Purchase order modifications that cause your total obligation to the vendor to exceed $100,000 or add funds to baseline already over $100,000 must also be sent through FEDLINK. The supplemental direct pay fee of 0.6% applies to all direct pay purchase order amounts over $100,000. To help process your paperwork quickly, be sure to include your IAG number and FEDLINK ID on all your purchase orders. All direct pay purchase orders should only be for the service dollars you will obligate to the vendor. Please do not include the FEDLINK fee in your vendor purchase order and do not issue a fee-only purchase order to LC. LC will bill your agency for fee amounts based on your signed IAG. —Local Funding DocumentIf necessary to fulfill your agency's procedures or requirements, you may attach one of your own funding documents (PO, MIPR, NAVCOMPT 2275, etc.) when you return your signed IAG. Be aware that the signed FEDLINK IAG constitutes the formal service and funding agreement between your agency and LC. Your agency's funding documents will not be accepted in lieu of the signed FEDLINK IAG and the terms of your agency's document do not supersede the terms of your signed FEDLINK IAG. The signature page of the IAG contains a space for your funds certification officer to indicate whether your agency needs LC/FSD to indicate acceptance of your funding document. —Local IAGIf required by your agency, you may submit the interagency agreement your agency typically uses when you return your signed FEDLINK IAG. If necessary for your records, LC/FSD will review your agreement and complete and return it to you if its terms are acceptable. The terms of your agency's interagency agreement document do not supersede terms of your signed FEDLINK IAG. —List of Sub-Units Using the IAGIf other units within your agency will be allowed to use services under your IAG, provide a list of those units with names, addresses, and points of contact for each unit.
—List of Book Ordering OfficialsIf you have registered for transfer pay books acquisition services, provide a list of individuals authorized to place orders under the blanket purchase agreement (BPA) LC/C&L will establish for you. See Part II of this Handbook for a complete description of books services. — Serials Selection FormIf you conduct your serials competition yourself, submit a Serials Selection Form when you have selected a vendor. Return your Serials Selection Form with your signed IAG if possible, but do not delay returning your signed IAG if your serials competition is still pending. See Part II of this Handbook and the FEDLINK serials package for a complete description of serials subscription services. (e) Contractor Users Must Attach PaymentFor federal contractors and other non-governmental entities using FEDLINK services, payment to LC is due when you return your signed CUAG. You must attach a check to your completed, signed CUAG. (f) Return the IAG to LC within 30 DaysYou must return the completed, signed IAG and any necessary supporting documentation to FEDLINK within 30 days of the date of the IAG, as specified on the transmittal memorandum. This is an absolute requirement. Be advised that failure to return the signed IAG within 30 days after it is sent from the Library of Congress will preclude issuance of delivery orders to initiate your services for the new fiscal year. 2.5 LC Authorizes ServiceAfter you return your completed, signed IAG, LC contracting officers will initiate your service for the new fiscal year by issuing transfer pay delivery orders or forwarding direct pay authorizations (and direct pay purchase orders for more than $100,000) to vendors with currently valid BOAs. You are not permitted under any circumstances to authorize vendors to proceed with the delivery of goods or services, either verbally or in writing, before an LC delivery order/authorization is issued. FEDLINK will not be responsible for unauthorized obligations. Your contracting officer is responsible for following all applicable procurement regulations when issuing a direct pay order. 2.6 LC Bills Your AgencyWhen completing the IAG, your funds certification officer will have chosen whether to pay LC for the service dollars and fees obligated on your IAG with a check or through EFT. LC will follow the billing method selected by your agency. In keeping with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134), LC strongly encourages members to use electronic systems such as OPAC or EDIPAC to transfer their funds to LC. For both electronic and manual collections, LC bills your agency according to the payment section of the IAG, not in accordance with supplemental documents you submit, such as purchase orders or local agreement forms. (a) Manual BillingFor manual collections, LC/FSD issues an LC Billing Document. This document replaced the SF1080 that LC previously used to invoice members, but has essentially the same terms as that form. The LC billing document references your signed IAG and cites the authority for the transfer of funds. The amount of the LC invoice will be the amount shown in the Payment paragraph of your IAG: the total of transfer pay service dollars and transfer pay fees, and/or direct pay fees. LC does not bill your agency according to the terms or funding breakdowns in supporting documents you may have attached to your IAG, e.g. purchase orders, MIPRs, or local agreements. The terms of the IAG require that your agency pay your LC bill within 30 days of receipt. (b) Contractor UsersPayment under CUAGs is due when your signed agreement is returned to LC. You should attach a check to your CUAG. 2.7 You Transfer Funds to LC within 30 DaysTo effect an electronic transfer of funds from your agency to LC, LC/FSD accesses the OPAC, EDIPAC, or other system under the codes you provided on your signed IAG. LC/FSD executes the transfer within 30 days. For manual payments you must attach a check to the LC Billing Document and return the check and the bill to the LC/FSD address on the bill. Checks should only be sent to LC/FSD—not to FEDLINK Fiscal Operations. Unlike intra-agency transfers effected through Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs) or similar actions, merely signing or otherwise indicating acceptance of the LC billing document and returning it is not sufficient for the interagency transfer to LC. A check or EFT payment is necessary. Your agency is required to provide payment in full within 30 days of receipt or your IAG becomes delinquent and the policies identified below apply. 2.8 LC Checks for Delinquent IAGs and Suspends Service When NecessaryLC/FSD strictly adheres to LC policies for the timely collection of IAG payments. As stated in the IAG, payment to LC is due within 30 days. Delinquency can cause serious disruption in your service. It will cause FEDLINK to put a hold on your pending IAG actions and may cause interruption in your vendor services. (a) EFTLC/FSD performs electronic transfers within 30 days after your signed IAG is processed; therefore EFT payments do not become delinquent. EFT is the most efficient process for interagency transfers and is strongly recommended. (b) Delinquent Manual Transfers (Checks)Your agency must respond promptly after it receives the LC Billing Document to issue a check to transfer funds to LC. If LC/FSD has not received a check for your funds within 30 days of the date of the billing, your IAG becomes delinquent and the procedures below apply.
(c) Delinquent Prior Year PaymentsUntil all outstanding balances against LC bills for your prior year IAGs are paid in full, LC will not permit your agency to enter into agreements for FEDLINK service for the new year. It is important to be sure that your end-of-year IAG amendments from the prior year have been paid in full so that your new services can be processed without delay. (d) Deficit Transfer Pay AccountsSimilarly, after your IAG is signed and has been authorized, if you receive a transfer pay account statement that shows a deficit you must act immediately to cover your outstanding debt. In accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act and LC regulations, delinquent debts over 180 days old are transferred to the Department of the Treasury for collection.
3. Completing the Registration FormIf you are a current user, you may prefer to follow the abbreviated instructions in the Registration Booklet. Use the Registration Form in the Booklet or copy the form in the Appendix to this Handbook. Refer to the list of FEDLINK vendors and the brief descriptions of their services in Part II of this Handbook. Fuller narrative descriptions of current vendors' services are available on the FLICC web site (http://www.loc.gov/flicc) and price sheets for the vendors you are currently using were sent to your IAG official contact. The vendors can provide you with a copy of their complete FEDLINK BOAs, including pricing information. Their addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, are listed in Part II of this Handbook. You may also call the FEDLINK Vendor Services Coordinator at (202) 707-4960, if you have questions about what is available. FEDLINK is currently in final negotiations with vendors for the coming year. As soon as BOAs with new vendors are established and current vendors' prices for next year are finalized, FEDLINK will publish the information. FEDLINK cannot guarantee that all current services will be available next year, nor can FEDLINK guarantee that current prices will be identical to the prices for the coming year. 3.1 Form Section A: Agency Identification(a) First Time RegistrantsIf your agency is registering for FEDLINK for the first time, check the box in the section heading. (b) DateIndicate the date in the boxes provided, using the format month-day-year. (c) IAG NumberIf your agency is registering for the first time, leave this section blank; FEDLINK will assign your agency an IAG number. If your agency is renewing service, enter the last four digits that appear after the prefix 9x-69 in your IAG number. (d) FEDLINK IDIf your agency is registering for the first time, leave this section blank; FEDLINK will assign your agency an ID. If your agency is renewing, enter your current four-character FEDLINK ID. (e) AgencyEnter the name of your agency. This will be the official name of your organization in FEDLINK files. Please use standard abbreviations where possible (e.g. Dept., US), but do not use short mailing address forms or acronyms which do not clearly identify your agency (e.g. FL1599). 3.2 Form Section B: IAG Official ContactThe address you list for the IAG Official Contact will be the official address FEDLINK uses for your organization. This individual will be the official FEDLINK contact for your IAG and all of your services. There may only be one IAG Official Contact per IAG. If your IAG Official Contact changes, you should supply FEDLINK with the name of your new Official Contact in writing. To keep your funding and service information limited to appropriate staff, your IAG Official Contact should supply FEDLINK with the names of any other agency staff authorized to make inquiries about your IAG services and accounts. Your IAG Official Contact has several important responsibilities, including:
Your IAG Official Contact will be the official address for documents related to your IAG and accounts and for general FLICC/FEDLINK publications, including:
If your IAG Official Contact has an Internet e-mail address, FEDLINK will add it to the program's announcement listserv, fedlib. FEDLINK uses this list to distribute information about BOAs, accounts, publications, meetings, and educational events. The message traffic on the list is not heavy. Additional contacts may also subscribe to the listserv. (a) NameEnter the name of a specific individual who will be your IAG Official Contact. You may change your IAG Official Contact later by submitting a Supplemental Address Form or memo to FEDLINK Fiscal Operations. (b) TitleEnter the title of your IAG Official Contact. (c) Branch/OfficeEnter the branch or office address. (d) City, State, ZipEnter the city, state, and zip plus four. (e) Phone (commercial)Enter a commercial phone number, not FTS or AUTOVON. (f) Fax (commercial)Enter a commercial fax number, not FTS or AUTOVON. (g) Internet E-Mail AddressIf your IAG Official Contact has access to email, enter the name of the system and the mail address on that system. (h) Library URLIf your organization has a Home Page on the Web or another type of Internet service, please provide its uniform resource locator (URL). 3.3 Form Section C: Contracting OfficerPlease provide the name of the agency contracting officer who will be supporting you in your procurement of information services through FEDLINK. It is not necessary for a contracting officer to sign the registration form, but it is important that your procurement office understand and approve your use of the FEDLINK program. FEDLINK contracting officers are available to talk with your contracting officer—to explain FEDLINK processes and procedures, to discuss transfer pay and direct pay contracting responsibilities, and to assist with competition under FEDLINK BOAs. Contact the LC/C&L, (202) 707-0461, for more information. (a) NameEnter the name of your contracting officer. You may change your contracting officer later by submitting a Supplemental Address Form or memo to FEDLINK Fiscal Operations. (b) TitleEnter the title of your contracting officer. (c) Branch/OfficeEnter the branch or office address for your procurement office. (d) City, State, ZipEnter the city, state, and zip plus four. (e) Phone (commercial)Enter a commercial phone number, not FTS or AUTOVON. (f) Fax (commercial)Enter a commercial fax number, not FTS or AUTOVON. (g) Internet E-Mail AddressIf your contracting officer has access to email, enter the name of the system and the mail address on that system. 3.4 Form Section D: Member and Agreement Type(a) Member TypeCheck the boxes to indicate whether your organization is a library, an information center, a mini-network/headquarters managing many subordinate offices/accounts, other federal officesuch as an Office of the General Counsel, or a federal contractor. Also indicate whether your organization is part of the Department of Defense. You may check more than one box. (b) Agreement TypeIf your organization is a contractor for a federal agency, check whether the agreement LC produces for you should be: an Interagency Agreement (IAG) signed by a federal employee and funded with government funds; or a Contract Use Agreement (CUAG) signed by a contractor employee and funded with contractor funds. As a contractor, you should provide certification of your eligibility to use a federal source of supply such as the FEDLINK program as required by FAR 51.102 and 51.103. 3.5 Form Section E: Transfer Pay ServicesUsing the list of service and brief service descriptions in Part II, identify the vendor and funding for each transfer pay account you wish to establish for the new year, and the vendor for each old service you wish to cancel. Your transfer pay services, funding, and associated fees will appear in the Service Schedule of your IAG. Please consider carefully whether you want to use a service in transfer pay or direct pay mode. You will not be able to change from one service option to the other during the fiscal year. (a) Service IDLocate the two-letter Service ID code(s) for the vendor service(s) you wish to use under the transfer pay option. —Transfer Pay Only ServicesNote that certain vendor services are only available under transfer pay option, not direct pay. Transfer pay only services include: OCLC (OC), Dialog (DI), FLICC/FEDLINK Training (FT), Technical Processing (TZ), ILL Fee Payment (IN), Copyright Clearance Center (CR), ISI Genuine Article (UI), Ovid (BR), and Reed Publishing (RB). As negotiations are completed for the new year, additional transfer-pay-only services may be established. All services offered under direct pay are also available under transfer pay option. (b) Service NameIndicate the Service Name which corresponds to the Service ID code for your chosen vendor(s). —OCLC (OC)If you are a new or renewing OCLC member, you should use the codes below to register for the proper OCLC membership category. For information on the requirements for each OCLC membership category, contact FEDLINK Network Operations, (202) 707-4848. The service IDs and service names for the OCLC membership categories are:
—SerialsIf you are registering for serials subscription service, you should register either to renew with the vendor chosen in your prior competition (EB, FX, RE, or OV) or, if your competition is not complete, for Serials Service (SZ), as described in section (f), below. (c) Action RequestedIndicate the action FEDLINK should perform for each service. Please be sure to indicate either R - Renew or C - Cancel for each service your agency is currently using. If you are a renewing member, refer to the list of your current services mailed with the Registration materials. The service action codes are: • B—Begin To begin using a service for the first time, or to restart a service you used sometime in the past, mark a B in this column. • R—Renew To renew a service you are currently using through FEDLINK, mark an R in this column. Even if you are changing to a different payment option from last year, mark an R in this column. This will ensure that the vendor retains your current account/password information. • V—Convert To convert from using one of your agency's contracts or a GSA schedule contract to using an FEDLINK BOA, mark a V in this column. This will ensure that the vendor retains your current account/password information. • C—Cancel If you do not wish to renew a current service, mark a C in this column. Authorized service from the vendor automatically expires this year on September 30—the expiration date on FEDLINK IAGs, BOAs, and delivery orders. Explicitly canceling the service confirms that you have not overlooked a service for which your agency has a continuing requirement. (d) Service DollarsFor each service, enter the service dollars you will require for the coming year. This amount will be obligated to the vendor as the not-to-exceed amount on the transfer pay delivery order issued for the service. You may wish to base your service dollar figure on usage patterns reflected on your current transfer pay account statements. Enter only funding that will be available when your agency signs the IAG. Your agency will be required to provide a funds citation that covers the total service dollar amount on the IAG. If your agency receives incremental (e.g. quarterly) funding, you should only register for the amount for which you will have a valid funds citation when the IAG is signed. You may amend your IAG to add funds (or to make other adjustments) during the fiscal year. To satisfy notice requirements for competition purposes, however, LC/C&L needs to know whether your total annual requirement will exceed $25,000. If it will, enter the amount that will initially be available on the registration form and attach a note to the form that identifies your estimated total funding for the service. —Enter Only an Amount Needed to Cover Anticipated Activity for the Fiscal Year.If you have no-year or multi-year funds, please do not enter your entire budget amount if you do not reasonably expect to spend that amount in one year. —Enter Only New Funding to be Transferred to LC.Please do not calculate any no-year/multi-year funds (x-year funds) that may remain in your current accounts into the amount you enter on your registration form for the new year. The annual registration form should only show the new funds that you will sign for and transfer on your IAG for the new year—funds for which your agency will have to provide a new funds citation. FEDLINK will move your available x-year balances forward and make them available for obligation automatically. FEDLINK procedures for handling x-year funds are discussed further in Part IV of this Handbook. If, however, the only funds available to you are the remaining balances of no-year or multi- year funds you have already transferred to FEDLINK, you may use those funds to initiate service for the new year. You may amend your IAG later to add new funds, if necessary. Even though you will not be transferring new funds to start your service for the new year, FEDLINK needs a signed annual IAG from your agency to be able to issue new delivery orders, so you must register. There are two basic ways to figure a service dollar amount to put on your registration:
—Do Not Include the FEDLINK Transfer Pay Fee in the Service Dollar Amount.The fee on the total of your service dollars will be added to the total service dollar amount to equal the total amount of the IAG. LC will invoice your agency for the combined amount of fees and service dollars obligated to LC on your signed IAG. If you have a lump sum amount which must cover both service dollars and fees, calculate the actual vendor service dollar amount by dividing the lump sum amount by 1.0775. For example, if you have $1,000: divide $1,000 by 1.0775. Enter the result, $928, as your service dollar amount. Your fee amount will be $928 multiplied by 7.75%, which equals $72. On your IAG, FEDLINK will show $72 in fees and $928 in service dollars for a total of $1,000 to be obligated by your agency. (e) Funds TypeIndicate the period of availability of your service dollars as specified in your agency's appropriation. • A—Annual If your funds have a one-year appropriation, enter an A in this column. Most FEDLINK member's funds are one-year funds. • M—Multi-Year If your funds have a specific period of availability longer than one year but not indefinite, enter an M in this column. When signing the IAG, your agency funds certification officer will indicate the exact period of availability of your multi-year funds. • X—No-Year If your funds are available until expended, i.e. for an indefinite period, enter an X in this column. • P—Prior No-Year If you must renew for the new year using your available balance of no-year or multi-year funds previously transferred to FEDLINK, enter a P in this column. • N—Non-Appropriated Funds If your funds are non-appropriated funds, enter an N in this column. • C—Contractor Funds If your services will be funded with contractor funds, enter a C in this column. (f) Serials Subscription Services (EB, FX, OB, RE, or SZ)There are three possibilities for transfer pay serials service, based on the status of competition for your subscription orders. The three options are: —RenewCheck the first box in the "Serials" column to exercise your option to renew with the vendor selected in your previous serials competition. Enter the service ID and name of your chosen vendor; enter service action R - renew; and provide your service dollar amount for the new year. —Completed CompetitionCheck the second box in the "Serials" column to indicate that your serials competition for the new year is complete. Enter the service ID and name of your chosen vendor; enter the service action B - begin, R - renew, or V - convert as appropriate; and provide your service dollar information. You will submit your Serials Selection Form with your signed IAG. —New SZ CompetitionCheck the third box in the Serials" column to indicate that your serials competition is still pending and that you wish to register temporarily for Serials Service (SZ). Indicate SZ and your service dollar information. If your order will be over $25,000, complete the Intent to Compete Serials form and submit it with your registration. (g) Technical Processing Services—Completed CompetitionCheck the first box in the "Tech" column to indicate that your technical processing competition for the new year is complete. Enter the service ID and name of your chosen vendor; enter the service action B - begin or R - renew as appropriate; and provide your service dollar information. —New TZ CompetitionCheck the second box in the "Tech" column to indicate that your technical processingcompetition is still pending and that you wish to register temporarily for Technical Processing Service (TZ). Indicate TZ and your service dollar information. Complete the Intent to Use Technical Processing Services form and submit it with your registration. 3.6 Form Section F: Direct Pay ServicesUsing the list of services and brief service descriptions in Part II, identify the vendor and funding for each direct pay service you wish to establish for the new year and the vendor for each current service you wish to cancel. If you are registering for a serials subscription service, you should register either to Begin or Renew service with the vendor chosen through your competition or for Serials Service (SZ) as described below. Your direct pay services, funding, and associated fees will appear in the Service Schedule of your IAG, but your direct service dollars will not be included in the IAG total. Please consider carefully whether you want to use a service in direct pay or transfer pay mode. You will not be able to change from one service option to the other during the fiscal year. (a) Service IDIdentify the two-letter Service ID code(s) for the vendor service(s) you wish to use in direct pay mode. —Transfer Pay Only ServicesNote that certain vendor services are only available under transfer pay option, not direct pay. Transfer pay only services include: OCLC (OC), Dialog (DI), FLICC/FEDLINK Education and Training (FT), Technical Processing (TZ), ILL Fee Payment (IN), Copyright Clearance Center (CR), ISI Genuine Article (UI), Ovid (BR), and Reed Publishing (RB). As negotiations are completed, additional transfer-pay-only services may be established. FEDLINK will contact you if you register as direct pay for a service for which transfer pay is the only option. All services offered under direct pay are also available under transfer pay option. (b) Service NameIndicate the Service Name which corresponds to the Service ID code for your chosen vendor(s). — SerialsIf you are registering for serials subscription service, you should register either for the particular vendor chosen through your previous competition (EB, FX, RE, or OB) or for Serials Service (SZ) as described in the section (g) below. (c) Action RequestedIndicate the action FEDLINK should perform for each service. For each service your agency is currently using you must indicate either R - Renew or C - Cancel. If you are a renewing member, refer to the list of your current services mailed with the Registration materials. The service action codes are: • B-Begin To begin using a service for the first time, or to restart a service you used sometime in thepast, mark a B in this column. • R-Renew To renew a service which you are currently using through FEDLINK, mark an R in this column. Even if you are changing to a different payment option from last year, mark an R in this column. This will ensure that the vendor retains your current account/password information. • V-Convert To convert from using one of your agency's contracts or a GSA schedule contract to using the FEDLINK BOA, mark a V in this column. This will ensure that the vendor retains your current account/password information. • C-Cancel If you do not wish to renew a current service, mark a C in this column. Authorized service from the vendor automatically expires this year on September 30, the expiration date on FEDLINK IAGs and delivery orders. Asking you to cancel the service confirms that you have not overlooked a service for which your agency has a continuing requirement. (d) Service DollarsFor each service, enter the service dollars you estimate your agency will obligate to the vendor on purchase orders referencing the FEDLINK BOA. Your estimated service dollar amount for each service will be the LC-authorized ceiling for the total of your direct pay purchase under the FEDLINK BOA. You can change the ceiling amount by amending your IAG. Your service dollar estimate will be the basis for FEDLINK's direct pay fee. Your estimated direct pay service dollar amount will not be part of the funds obligated to LC on the IAG. For direct pay services the IAG only reflects FEDLINK fees and only requires a funds citation to cover the fees. Please do not indicate the FEDLINK direct pay fee in your estimated service dollar amount. The fee of $1,200 per service plus .6% of service dollars over $100,000 will be added to your IAG. It is not necessary to generate a purchase order for the fees; LC will invoice your agency based on your signed IAG. Please do not include the FEDLINK fee in your purchase orders issued to vendors. (e) CompetitionIndicate whether your contracting officer has completed competition requirements as required by your agency. For information retrieval services this includes synopsis in the CBD; for serials services this usually includes synopsis and issuance of an RFQ. If your competition is complete, enter a C in the box; if your competition is still pending, enter a P. (f) Serials Subscription ServiceIf your serials competition for the new year is complete, or your previous competition provided you with the option to renew with your incumbent vendor, register for your serials agent (EB, FX, OB or RE) as you would any other vendor. You will submit your Serials Selection Form with your signed IAG. If your serials competition is still pending, check this box and register for Serials Service (SZ) for your estimated service dollar amount withcompetition status P. 3.7 Form Section G: SignatureThe Registration Form must be signed by an individual authorized to commit your agency to the transfer pay and/or direct pay services and funding identified. Signing the Registration Form does not obligate funds to LC or to vendors. Your agency funds are not obligated to LC until the IAG is signed, and funds are not obligated to vendors until LC transfer pay delivery orders or LC direct pay authorizations and member purchase orders are issued to vendors. FEDLINK requires signature on the Registration Form in order to produce an IAG, create a synopsis for transfer pay requirements over $25,000, undertake competition for your serials orders and technical processing services, etc. Your Registration Form will not be processed without a signature. 3.8 Form Section H: AttachmentsIdentify any additional pages attached to your Registration Form. If you are a renewing member, please be sure to include your IAG Number and FEDLINK ID on all attachments. (a) Continuation PagesCheck the box for continuation pages and provide the number of pages attached. (b) Contractor Eligibility CertificationIf your organization is a contractor authorized to use federal sources of supply, attach a memo certifying your eligibility. (c) Intent to Compete Serials Form(d) OtherIdentify any other documents attached to your registration form.
3.9 Form Section I: Mail or Fax the Registration FormRetain a copy of your completed Registration Form and these instructions for your records. Send the completed Registration Form to FEDLINK. Mail: FFO/IAG Team
4. Amending Your IAGDuring the fiscal year, you may request amendments to your IAG to add a new service, add new funds, move funds between transfer pay accounts, request a refund, or terminate a vendor service. Generally, you may request IAG amendments any time up to August of that fiscal year; FEDLINK will announce specific end-of-year deadlines in July. You should only add a service or funds to your IAG if there is sufficient time left in the fiscal year to place valid orders against the funds. You may also request certain limited after-closing adjustments to transfer pay services on your prior year IAGs. In all cases, you must be sure that the services shown on your IAG as amended are within the scope of D&F your agency has on record about your interagency acquisition through FEDLINK FEDLINK has two IAG Amendment Request Forms: one to add a new service or new funds and one for transfer pay account adjustments. These are the only forms you will need to request any of the transactions described below. These IAG Amendment forms are included in the Appendix to this Handbook. You may copy them as needed and use them throughout the year. 4.1 Adding New Funds to Your IAGYou may add funds to any existing transfer pay or direct pay account during the fiscal year to cover anticipated usage or orders. Adding new funds to a transfer pay account requires signature and funds citation on an IAG amendment for the service dollars and transfer pay fee. Adding new funds to a direct pay service requires signature and funds citation on an IAG amendment only if the increase exceeds your agency's original direct pay funding estimate (beacuse a change in authorization will be necessary and additional fees may be due). Use the New Service/New Funds form to add new funds to existing transfer pay or direct pay services. All forms are included in the Appendix to this Handbook. (a) Starting a New Service with New FundsYou may start a new transfer pay or direct pay service by adding new funds. Refer to Section 3 above on completing the registration form for information on estimating service dollars and describing your funding types for new services. (b) Adding New Funds to Transfer Pay AccountsIt is especially important to use your monthly statements to monitor the balance in each of your accounts in order to add additional funds before any projected shortfall. Funds will not actually be available in your account until LC/C&L issues a delivery order modification to the vendor. If your increase in funds takes your service account over $100,000, FEDLINK's simplified acquisition threshold, or if the increase itself is for $100,000 or more for a service, LC/C&L must satisfy requirements for competition and internal review. (c) Adding New Funds to Direct Pay ServicesYou may increase funding for direct pay services by issuing additional purchase orders or modifications to your original purchase order. You must send all direct pay purchase orders/modifications that are for more than $100,000, that make your total funding level exceed $100,000, or that add funds to accounts already over $100,000 through FEDLINK. LC/C&L will review your order for compliance with the BOA and your IAG, and then forward an LC authorization for increased usage and your purchase order to the vendor as quickly as possible. FEDLINK will charge the .6% direct pay supplemental fee on any new funding over the cumulative $100,000 threshold for each service. 4.2 Moving Funds Between Transfer Pay AccountsYou may move funds from a transfer pay account to your other transfer pay accounts of the same fiscal year. Funds may be moved in order to cover anticipated usage in an existing account or to fund a new service. Moving funds does not require a signature and funds citation on an IAG amendment, because the total amount of your IAG does not change. You will receive a copy of your amended IAG Service Schedule that reflects your redistribution of funds. It is also possible to move funds between transfer pay accounts (of the same fiscal year) that belong to different FEDLINK IDs. For example, funds might be moved between the IAG a particular agency maintains for its general library and the IAG for its law library, or between IAGs for units in agency mini-networks, or installations in military commands. Such requests must be supported by appropriate documentation. Contact FFO for more information. When you reduce funding in an account, you must certify that remaining funds will be sufficient to cover all pending invoices, on-order items, and planned usage. It takes a minimum of seven work days for requests to be processed to allow time for FFO to confirm that remaining balances will be sufficient to cover pending charges. Use the Transfer Pay Account Adjustment Request to move funds between your accounts. 4.3 Terminating a ServiceWhile all services automatically terminate with the expiration of the current year's transfer pay delivery order or LC direct pay authorization on September 30, if your want to terminate a service during the year, your must send in a specific termination request. If you are a direct pay customer, your contracting officer may cancel your purchase order. After you send in a termination request, it is your responsibility to ensure that no one in your institution incurs any more charges against your account. Termination clauses in the vendors' BOAs differ; contact the FEDLINK Vendor Services Coordinator or LC/C&L for more information. If you are a transfer pay customer, your service will not actually be terminated and online passwords will not be deactivated until the vendor receives a termination delivery order from LC/C&L. When you terminate a transfer pay service, you must tell FEDLINK how to dispose of any balance of funds in your account. You may request that funds be refunded or moved to another account in order to ensure that you can use the funds during the current fiscal year. If you move your funds, you must be sure you leave enough behind in the terminated account to cover your outstanding invoices for the service. If you do not specifically request a refund, service dollars will not be returned to your agency until all of your accounts for the year have been reconciled (a process that is not usually performed until well after the close of the fiscal year). Use the Transfer Pay Account Adjustment form to terminate a service and to provide directions for disposition of your balance. All forms are included in part V of this Handbook. 4.4 Requesting Refunds from Transfer Pay AccountsYou may request a full or partial refund from your transfer pay accounts. FEDLINK transfer pay and direct pay fees, however, are not refundable. Unless you specifically request a refund, your account balances will not be returned to your agency until FEDLINK formally reconciles and closes all accounts for the fiscal year. After final reconciliation, remaining balances are automatically refunded to all member agencies, but no refunds of less than $10 will be made. Refunds of all prior year balances will be processed within five years, in compliance with federal M-account requirements. At any time during the year you may request a refund of surplus in your accounts. At the end of the year, if you need your balance to be refunded in time to re-obligate the funds before September 30, you must specifically request a refund by early August. All refund requests are subject to a waiting period, while FEDLINK confirms that your agency has actually transferred funds to LC, that there are no outstanding invoices for your account(s), and that a deficit will not result from reducing your account by the amount of the refund. When you request a reduction in any account, you must certify that remaining funds will be sufficient to cover all of your pending invoices, on-order items, and planned usage of the service. Use the Transfer Pay Account Adjustment form to request a refund. All forms are included in Part V of this Handbook. 4.5 Adjusting Prior Year IAGs(a) Prior Year Service Dollars/Current Year FeesAll after-closing IAG add funds transactions are charged the FEDLINK transfer pay fee in current year dollars. This applies to all prior year add funds transactions to cover deficits and rejected invoices for prior fiscal year transfer pay accounts. The FEDLINK fee will not be charged on additions of prior year service dollar amounts for which the transfer pay fee would be less than $10. Prior year service dollars you transfer will be applied to debts of the appropriate prior fiscal year. The fee for prior year add funds covers FEDLINK's current year administrative costs of processing your funds transfer; therefore the fee has to be paid in current year dollars. FEDLINK will issue two IAG amendments to you for a prior year adjustment: one IAG amendment for service dollars of the appropriate prior year and one IAG amendment for the FEDLINK fee in current year funds. (b) Justification for Prior Fiscal Year AdjustmentsLC/FSD and LC/C&L require justification for adding funds to prior fiscal year accounts or moving prior year funds between accounts. The certification is necessary to support an increase in funding after the fiscal year has ended and to authorize modification to a delivery order issued in a prior year. Use the New Service/New Funds Form to request an increase to a prior fiscal year IAG. IAG amendments for new service dollars and fees will be sent to your agency for signature and funds citation. Use the Transfer Pay Account Adjustment form to request FEDLINK to move existing funds among your prior year accounts of a single fiscal year. Transactions moving funds between existing accounts will not require signature and funds citation, because new funds will not be transferred to LC. Please do not combine requests for different fiscal years on a single request form. Adjustments to prior year IAGs to ratify service usage beyond authorized levels are not automatic. They must be reviewed and approved. On your request form you will have to certify as follows:
LC/C&L will contact you for additional information as required by the FAR before initiating any ratification process. Ratification requests are discouraged.
5. Adding or Changing Contact Names/AddressesUse the Supplemental Address Form at the time of registration to update any contact names/addresses that are not included on the Registration Form—i.e., Technical Contact and OCLC Contact. Also, use this form throughout the year to update names and addresses of any of the contact points on your account. 5.1 Form Section A: Agency Identification(a) Date:Use the format month-day-year (b) IAG Number:Enter the last four digits of your IAG number after the prefix "99-69" (c) FEDLINK ID:Enter your current four-character FEDLINK ID (d) Agency Name:Enter the name of your agency, using standard abbreviations where possible (e.g. Dept., U.S.) 5.2 Form Section B: Change Current Contact/Address(a) Update:Check this box if you are using this form merely to modify the address record of a previously designated contact. Check the box of the appropriate contact category and proceed to enter the name and new address information below. (b) Delete:Check this box if you wish to remove the name of someone previously designated to be your agency's contact. This will be done automatically for the official IAG contact andthe Contracting Officer if you put a new name in that portion of the Registration Form. Proceed to enter name and address as currently reflected on FEDLINK mailings. (c) Contact Name:Enter the name of the designated individual (d) Title:Enter the title of the contact person (Important: please complete) (e) Branch/Office:Enter the Branch and/or Office (f) Address:Enter the address (all mailings sent here) (g) City, State, Zip:Enter the city, state, and zip plus four (h) Phone:Enter a commercial phone number. Do not enter an FTS or AUTOVON number. (i) Fax:Enter a commercial fax number, not FTS nor AUTOVON. (j) Email Address:If this individual has access to email, enter the name of the system and the contact's mail address on that system. 5.3 Form Section C: Add New Contact/Address(a) Add:Check this box if you are using this form to designate a new contact person. Check box of appropriate contact category. Proceed to enter name and address information below. (b) Contact Name:Enter the name of the designated individual (c) Title:Enter the title of the new contact person (Important: please complete) (d) Branch/Office:Enter the Branch and/or Office (e) Address:Enter the address (all mailings sent here) (f) City, State, Zip:Enter the city, state, and zip plus four (g) Phone:Enter a commercial phone number. Do not enter an FTS or AUTOVON number. (h) Fax:Enter a commercial fax number, not FTS nor AUTOVON. (i) Email Address:If the contact person has access to email, enter the name of the system and the contact's mail address on that system. 5.4 Form Section D: SignatureSign the form to indicate under whose authority the name/address is being changed or added. Print the signer's name and title below the signature. Indicate today's date. Please record the signer's commercial telephone number, in case FEDLINK staff have any questions about information on the form.
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