Library of Congress: Braille Certification Learning Management System Enhancements (Sole Source Award)

The National Library Service for Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), a service unit of the Library of Congress, provides braille and audio materials for loan to United States citizens in or out of the country, and, residents of the United States. As part of NLS’s ongoing commitment to braille, NLS provides training and certification for braille transcribers and proofreaders to any interested and qualified United States citizen or resident of the United States. This ensures that the texts in the NLS collection are of the utmost quality as well as to ensure that United States citizens who use braille have materials in braille. All individuals who provide braille materials for NLS are required to have Library of Congress braille certifications. All of the United States braille producers including those producing textbooks require Library of Congress certification in the transcriber’s area of expertise. NLS uses a contractor to administer all of its training and certification programs. All of the courses in the program are completed through the correspondence course format.

NLS requires functionality enhancements to the implemented BCLMS to continue to assure the efficient administration of the Braille Transcription and Certification Program.  Under the previous contract (LCNLS18P0087) DBA: Gyrus Systems migrated a Learning Management System (LMS) for the Library which is referred to as Braille Certification Learning Management Systems (BCLMS) now. The BCLMS has proprietary software embedded within the system which can only be modified by Gyrus. Gyrus was awarded a new contract (LCCIO20P0074) to provide LMS licenses to utilize the system and technical support. LCNLS18P0087 the contract that procured and installed the LMS was a fully competed requirement. This vendor is the contractor to be grant access to The Library of Congress as required for the LMS and the only company that can provide enhancement support to the LMS the Library currently utilizes.  This award was a sole source award to DBA: Gyrus Systems.