Sole-Source Justification for My Talking Books (RealSAM) Dialog Licenses
Library of Congress · CONTRACTS SERVICES
Account requiredWhy it scored this way
Every reason behind the verdict rather than the headline one — which of your certifications match, how much runway is left, whether the work is your size, and what we would need to know to sharpen it.
Written against this notice and what you have told us about your company. Anything we do not know is marked [NEEDS INPUT] in the draft rather than guessed at — read it before you send it.
Start a free trial to draft these. Nothing is sent to an agency on your behalf, ever — you get a document to review, edit and submit yourself.
Sources Sought response
A complete draft response — capability statement, relevant past performance, business size and socioeconomic status, and answers to the agency's specific questions.
Questions to submit
Genuine ambiguities and requirements that disadvantage a smaller bidder, drafted as questions you can submit before the Q&A deadline.
Past performance write-ups
Which of your prior awards best match this requirement, and draft write-ups in the format the agency asked for.
Solicitation details
Solicitation number
2027-NLS-0066
Notice type
Special Notice
NAICS
541511
Product service code
9999
Set-aside
No Set aside used
Posted
2026-08-06
Response deadline
Aug 21, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC
Place of performance
Washington, DC
Contracting contact
jarobinson@loc.gov
Market intelligence
Account requiredWho wins this work, and what it pays
Comparable awards under NAICS 541511 at this agency — the incumbent, what they were paid, when their period of performance ends, and the real pricing distribution rather than the headline number. From public federal award records.
This is a public notice prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.2 – Synopsis of Proposed Contract Actions. The Library of Congress (Library), Contracts and Grants Directorate (CGD), intends to award a sole-source, firm-fixed-price (FFP), indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to RealSAM Inc./RealThing.ai (1629 K ST NW, STE 300, WASHINGTON, DC 20006). The contract’s work will be performed at the contractor’s facilities. The intended contract’s period of performance (POP) shall be for five years. It is valued at an amount above both the simplified acquisition threshold (or SAT, defined as $350,000 and below) and public-notice threshold (defined as $25,000 and below). The work shall consist of the following– The National Library Service for the Blind and Print-Disabled (NLS) requires both (1) up to ~ 5,000 new RealSAM dialog licenses with technical support and (2) continuing support for 5,000 legacy RealSAM dialog licenses that are already owned by the Library. This contract will provide not only the aforementioned additional RealSAM dialog licenses and technical support for legacy RealSAM dialog licenses, but also comprehensive support for all of the Library’s RealSAM dialog licenses. The technical support includes, but is not limited to, maintenance, system documentation, and compliance with applicable laws. This announcement constitutes the only public notice. Proposals are not being requested from other parties and a written solicitation will not be issued. This public notice accomplishes the following: 1. Notice of the Library’s intent to award a sole-source contract for this requirement to the business listed herein; 2. Synopsizing the requirements in accordance with the FAR; and 3. Publicly posting the approved Justification and Approval (J&A) to the public in advance of the contract award rather than after award. As a result of this, a second posting of the J&A is not required after the award has been made. As a result of this public posting, this shall be the only notice issued. A separate award notice and a separate J&A posting shall not be performed, as all public information is being accomplished via this public notice. The following attachments are included in this notice: Attachment 1: Statement of Work Attachment 2: Sole-Source Justification (Redacted for Public Release) No further notices shall be pursued at this time in regard to this contracting action. Finally, the Library shall accept capability statements from other prospective businesses and review them for potential changes to its procurement direction. The Library is not, however, obligated to change directions in this procurement without ample evidence.
Contact
Point of contact
James Robinson
Role
not stated on this notice — SAM publishes a role for only about 5% of them, so this may be a contract specialist rather than the contracting officer
Email
jarobinson@loc.gov
Secondary
nwellstead@loc.gov
Submit questions
Ambiguities and requirements worth clarifying, written as questions you can send before the deadline.
Opens in your own mail client, addressed and with a subject line — you write the message. GovSprint never sends anything on your behalf.
Emails open in your mail client and are sent from your address, so the reply comes back to you and the exchange stays yours. Confirm the correct channel and any question deadline on the notice before sending — many solicitations require questions in a specific way.
