LUPC Specialist Arts & Associated Services

LUPC is pleased to announce the award of a new Framework Agreement for the Supply of Specialist Arts and Associated Services. It runs for four years from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2014 and is open to LUPC Members and other UK Higher Education Institutions and their libraries.

The new Agreement covers books, exhibition and event catalogues and annual publications relating to art and design, in a variety of languages.

As a result of a competitive tender process, supported by library representatives from Greenwich University, Kingston University and the University of the Arts, two suppliers have been appointed to the Framework. The top-ranked supplier is Arts Bibliographic, with Casalini libri in second place on the Framework.

Benefits of using the Agreement

Highly competitive pricing.
An OJEU-compliant route through which LUPC Members can purchase specialist arts materials
Free selection support and approvals services offered by both Suppliers, including online access to bibliographic databases, new title announcement services, approval plans and a ‘bookmobile’
Processing services for purchased materials, from book covering to tagging, stamping and labelling
A large range of art and design content. Arts Bibliographic can provide titles published in the UK and internationally, including USA, Europe, China, Japan, while Casalini libri specialises in materials published in Europe, and in particular Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany and Greece

How to access the Agreement

There are two options open to Members:

To make a direct award to the Supplier ranked highest at Framework evaluation (i.e. Arts Bibliographic), and if that Supplier is unable to meet the requirements, to invite the second-highest ranked Supplier to do so (Casalini libri); or
To seek further competition before awarding a contract or order, by inviting written tenders from all capable suppliers. This further competition must include all suppliers within the Framework capable of meeting the particular need and allows for the supplementing or refining of basic terms to reflect particular Member circumstances. For example, a Member may wish to vary the weightings of the original award criteria used to evaluate the Suppliers, where a specific criterion (e.g. price or scope of content) is more or less important to them.

The Buyer’s Guide is now available on CUPID, and you can also use the links for each of the firms in the table below for further information.