Office of Acquisitions (OA) Functional Statement

National Library of Medicine
Office of Acquisitions
Functional Statement
(Revised April 21, 2006)

The Office of Acquisitions (OA) serves under the Executive Officer, Office of the Director, National Library of Medicine.

The mission of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is to (1) assist the advancement of medical and related sciences through the collection, dissemination and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health; (2) serve as a national information resource for medical education, research, and service activities of Federal and private agencies, organizations, institutions, and individuals; (3) publish and distribute guides to medical literature and audiovisual materials in the form of catalogs, indexes and bibliographies; (4) develop, produce and disseminate audiovisual materials and systems and other aids to medical education, research and practices; (5) support the translation and publication of biomedical literature; (6) provide support for medical library development and for training of biomedical librarians and other health information specialists; (7) conduct and support research in techniques and methods for recording, storing, retrieving, and communicating health information; and (8) provide technical consultation services and research assistance.

The Executive Officer is organizationally within NLM's Office of the Director. The Executive Officer (1) plans and directs administrative management functions of NLM including financial management, personnel management, acquisitions management, administrative services, management analysis and legislation; (2) advises the Director, NLM, and the Divisions on developments in administrative management and their implications and effects on program management; and (3) coordinates administrative management activities of the Divisions.

The Office of Acquisitions (OA) is responsible for the conduct of NLM's acquisitions programs (both contracts and small purchases). In the execution of its responsibilities, OA:

  1. Participates with the NLM Director and program officials in the development of the Library's annual acquisitions plan for program operations.

  2. Plans and manages all activities related to NLM's acquisitions programs which include contract planning, solicitation, evaluation, negotiation, administration, termination, close-out and the processing of small purchases.

  3. Provides technical advice and assistance to program officials on acquisition matters throughout the entire process. Reviews statements of work prepared by project officers, prepares requests for proposals and invitations for bids, prepares requests for quotations, monitors technical evaluations of proposals, conducts negotiations, assists project officers on all matters relative to the administration of contracts and small purchases, and performs contract termination and close-out procedures.

  4. As a designated NIH "Procurement Service Center", provides procurement support to the NIH Center for Information Technology, the NIH Office of Extramural Research, and the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, NIH Office of Electronic Research and Reports Management, NIH New Business System, and the DHHS Unified Financial Management System.

  5. As part of the National Performance Review, has been designated a "Reinvention Laboratory" with specific delegated procurement authorities to assist in streamlining the procurement process.

  6. Conducts the business reviews of all NLM inter- and intra-agency agreements.

  7. Conducts business reviews of all license agreements prior to NLM acquiring software and copyrighted materials in electronic format.

  8. Processes and maintains NLM trademark and copyright registrations. Responsibilities include (1) coordination with NLM program staff and contracted legal counsel for the preparation and submission of legal documents to the Patent & Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Copyright Office, Library of Congress; and (2) litigation of any infringement of NLM registered trademarks.

Pursuant to its delegations of procurement authority, OA is unique among the NIH decentralized acquisitions offices in that it processes a wide variety of requirements for both R&D and non-R&D, a major portion of which are for the acquisition of Federal Information Technology. Acquisitions are processed under both the negotiated and Simplified Acquisition Procedures. OA utilizes a wide variety of complex fixed price and cost-reimbursement contract instruments.

Last reviewed: 02 September 2008
Last updated: 01 December 2006
First published: 04 September 2002
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed