Newspaper Digitization

Wage Determination

This document is the Service Contract Act Wage Determination WD # 2015-5683, Revision 26, last revised on May 13, 2026. It establishes the standard (area-wide) wage determination for Alaska, specifically for the counties of Fairbanks North.

This wage determination outlines the minimum wage rates and fringe benefits required for various occupations when performing contract work covered by the Service Contract Act in the specified geographic area. It includes a comprehensive list of occupation codes and titles, ranging from administrative support and clerical roles to health occupations, technical occupations, and miscellaneous occupations.

• Health & Welfare: $5.55 per hour, up to 40 hours per week, or $962.00 per month. An alternative rate of $5.09 per hour, up to 4 weeks, or $882.27 per month applies when compensating employees covered by EO 13706.
• Vacation: 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year of service, 3 weeks after 5 years, and 4 weeks after completion of service, including continuous service with a successor contractor.
• Holidays: A minimum of twelve paid holidays per year, including federal holidays and days like Juneteenth.
• Hazardous Pay: An 8% differential for high-hazard work (ordnance, explosives) and a 4% differential for lower-hazard work.
• Uniform Allowance: Contractors may be required to provide uniforms or reimburse employees for uniform costs ($3.35 per week).

Bidders must identify occupations and propose rates when preparing bids. After award, contractors must classify employees according to the wage determination or seek conformance for unlisted classifications. The process involves submitting a proposed classification, job description, and rate to the contracting officer, who then forwards it to the Department of Labor for approval.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services, issued as a Request For Quotation (RFQ) for a Firm-Fixed-Price Purchase Order. The government is procuring newspaper digitization services.

• Scanning and image processing of approximately 9,640 surfaces.

• Reliable project management and reporting.

• Return of the collection to the History Office.

• Services are further defined in Attachment 1: Statement of Work (SOW).

• Contract Type: Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) Purchase Order.

• Period of Performance: Not explicitly stated, but described as a "onetime service."

• Estimated Value: Not stated.

• Response Deadline: May 21, 2026, at 2:00 PM AKDT.

• Submission Method: Quotes must be submitted via email to the listed Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.

• Quote Package Requirements:

  • Completed Price Schedule (Section 6).
  • Technical: Product specifications/spec sheets verifying compliance with PWS salient characteristics.
  • PWS Acknowledgment: Signed statement agreeing to PWS terms, including maintenance response and replacement metrics.

• Evaluation Criteria: Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA).

  • Technical: Evaluated as Acceptable/Unacceptable based on the ability to provide equipment meeting PWS salient characteristics.
  • Price: Evaluated for fairness and reasonableness.

• This acquisition is a 100% Small Business Set-Aside.

• NAICS Code: 518210 (Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services).

• Small Business Size Standard: $40.0M.

• This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

• Attachment 1: Statement of Work (SOW) provides detailed service requirements.

• Attachment 2: DOL Wage Determination # 2015-5683 is included.

• Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) will be used for payment processing. Instructions are provided.

Statement of Work (SOW)

To professionally digitize the most vulnerable part of the Eielson Air Force Base newspaper collection (approximately 1952-1979) to preserve it and make it accessible to all base personnel. The goal is to convert physical newspaper volumes into high-quality, searchable digital formats.

• Perform a complete, turn-key digitization service for the government-furnished newspaper collection.

• Scan all newspaper surfaces at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi in full color.

• Create three distinct digital file formats for each scanned page: Archival Master File (uncompressed TIFF), Access File (high-quality JPEG), and Searchable Document File (multi-page, searchable PDF/A with OCR).

• Provide a single point of contact for the project and deliver monthly status reports.

• Deliver the complete digital collection on five separate external hard drives.

• Securely return all original newspaper volumes in their original archival boxes using trackable shipping.

• Period of Performance: 120 calendar days, starting the first business day after contractor confirms receipt of the newspaper collection.

• Place of Performance: Implicitly Eielson AFB for receipt and return of physical materials; digitization work location is not specified but implies contractor's facility.

• Handle fragile, irreplaceable newspaper collection with utmost care.

• Use trackable shipping for both outbound and return shipments.

• Government-furnished property (GFP) includes the newspaper collection from 1952-1979.

• Monthly Status Reports (via email)

• Five External Hard Drives containing the complete digital collection in all three formats

• Return of Original Newspapers

• Shipment Tracking Information