7612 Courier Service SOW UDThe City of Denton desires to solicit qualified proposals for Library branch to branch courier service for
the Denton Public Library
Background
The City of Denton is a vibrant and growing community in North Texas. Home to two state universities,
the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, and a campus of North Central Texas
College, Denton values education innovation, creativity, and the arts. Denton Public Library (DPL) is a
department of the City of Denton.
Denton Public Library strengthens community, transforms lives, and inspires imagination. In addition to
supporting lifelong learning and championing literacy with its strong and diverse collections, it provides
enriching experiences, celebrates local history, embraces technology, and builds community
connections. Denton Public Library’s three locations serve a population of 138,541 residents. Library
circulation, visit, and collection information for FY18/19 and 19/20 is as follows:
# of library visits # of physical items
in collection
# of circulations # of holds fulfilled
FY18/19 499,822 276,486 1,193,799 118,691
FY19/20* 219,866 256,158 923,443 132,009
*Changes in yearly statistics due to 2020 COVID-19 crisis and library being closed to walk-in service
March-October 2020. FY18/19 data provided for normal workload example.
Materials for Transit
Denton Public Library patrons may request materials from one location be transferred to another
location for hold pickup. Hold materials are pulled daily and holds to be picked up at another DPL
location are placed in bins for transit. All DPL materials may also be returned at any DPL location. Upon
return, materials that belong to another DPL location are placed in bins for transit.
Denton Public Library currently uses a courier service to transfer materials between branches Monday-
Friday, excluding any library holidays. Materials are placed in transit bins as they are returned or pulled
to fulfill holds. Bins are labeled to indicate which location they are to be transferred to. Courier service
begins in the morning after 9 a.m. and ends in the afternoon before 4 p.m. A total of four (4) daily
courier stops are made Monday-Friday in the following order:
1. Emily Fowler Central Library to pick up bins
2. South Branch Library to pick up and drop off bins
3. North Branch Library to pick up and drop off bins—Includes North Branch circulation and
Technical Services bins
4. Emily Fowler Central Library to drop off bins
Bin Counts* Emily Fowler Central
Library
South Branch North Branch**
FY18/19 Bins Delivered
4333 4112 4170
FY18/19 Bins Picked Up 3347 4364 5652
FY19/20 Bins Delivered 3208 3592 3916
FY19/20 Bins Picked Up 2841 3621 4584
*Changes in yearly statistics due to 2020 COVID-19 crisis and library being closed to
walk-in service March-October 2020. FY18/19 data provided for normal workload
example.
**North Branch Bins Picked Up reflects North Branch circulation and Technical Services
bins picked up at the North Branch location.
Scope of Work
General Information
1. The proposer shall execute the assigned pick-ups and deliveries between library locations each
working day, Monday through Friday, excluding any library holidays.
2. Items to be picked up and delivered are library materials (books, DVDS, CDs, programming kits,
etc.), interoffice mail, boxes, and miscellaneous packages. On occasion, there may also be
limited quantities of small library equipment to be transported. Most items are primarily, but
not always, transported in bins approximately 23 ½” (L) x 19 ½” (W) x 10” (H). The average
weight of a bin is 50 lbs. The volume of material to be picked up and delivered will vary from
one location to another and from day to day. Monday deliveries are largest as they include
materials accumulated over the weekend.
3. There will be no required pickups or deliveries on the holidays (Attachment B – DPL Holiday
Closure Information). Coordination of courier services related to holiday closures will be
established with the selected vendor to ensure that the needs of DPL, our patrons and the
courier contractor are met.
Specifications
1. The contractor shall provide secure transport of all items. The contractor shall not remove any
materials from their packaging. The contractor shall keep all contents secure and shall take all
necessary precautions to protect against theft, loss, or damage.
2. The contractor shall execute the pick-up from each location no earlier than 9:00 a.m. and shall
execute delivery to each location no later than 4:00 p.m. the same day.
3. Materials shall be delivered to and picked up from a designated location inside each facility. All
materials available for transport should be moved from each location each day.
4. The contractor shall provide all equipment, material, and labor necessary to perform the
requirements of the contract, including providing and maintaining vehicles with ramps or lift-
gates, hand trucks, dollies, etc. necessary to meet the requirements of the courier services. The
contractor shall take all action necessary to protect its own and Denton Public Library’s
furnished materials, supplies, and equipment from loss, damage, or theft.
5. The Contractor must use a vehicle with enough cargo space to handle an average route’s load
(approx. 50-125 bins in one trip) without unscheduled returns to any library location is strongly
recommended. A 14’-16’ box van with either a ramp or liftgate has been used successfully in the
past.
6. The contractor shall manage the total work effort associated with the services and equipment
required herein to fully assure timely execution of the requirements.
7. The contractor will ensure sufficient staffing levels necessary to provide uninterrupted, timely,
and reliable services to the library. The proposer must submit evidence of staffing available that
can meet and be responsive to the daily scheduled services. The contractor must ensure backup
for regular drivers who are absent from work.
8. The contractor shall ensure each mail courier driver employed by the Proposer:
a. Possesses a valid and appropriate Texas Driver’s license for the type of vehicles being
driven.
b. Possess and present upon request a copy of current vehicle registration and have valid
vehicle insurance coverage within required limits.
9. The Contractor will ensure that drivers have been properly trained on contractor policies and
city's comprehensive driving policy which includes no more than 3 moving violations in 12
months or 4 in 36 months. NO DUI/DWI for 36 months.
10. Contractor Shall Require Employees self-disclose, without the necessity of an inquiry, any loss or
limitation in driver's license status and any and all arrests, charges, or convictions for DWI, DUI,
Involuntary (vehicular) Manslaughter, or Reckless Driving, whether such incidents arose out of
work-related driving or not. Contractor will immediately notify the City of any of the above
violations. The City will have the option to request removal of individual driver from City routes.
11. Drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs are not allowed on City of Denton premises.
Alcohol or drugs are not allowed on the premises. Smoking is prohibited on all City of Denton
property.
12. The Contractor will remove any employee whose conduct is improper, inappropriate, or
offensive as determined by DPL. A removed employee is not allowed to work on DPL’s premises
without the written consent of DPL.
13. Vehicles must be able to safely enter and exit delivery drop off areas. One location has a loading
dock. Two locations do not. Any of our locations may be visited during the pre-bid site tour,
with prior coordination.
a. Emily Fowler Central Library-Park in the staff parking lot entry, to the side and enter
through the staff double doors.
b. South Branch Library-Park in delivery parking space and enter through the staff double
door entry.
c. North Branch Library-Park at loading dock and enter through double doors at loading
dock.
14. While on DPL business, drivers must have company identification, ID badges or company
uniform (shirt, hat, etc).
15. Only authorized employees of the Contractor are allowed in Denton Public Library facilities. All
drivers shall be working while inside a facility. No family members, friends, or animals shall
accompany contractor employees or agents while working for DPL. All drivers will stay within
the area specified for the performance of their duties or the use of our rest room facilities.
Drivers will minimize social conversation with working DPL staff, to reduce interruption of staff
work duties.
16. The implementation of the proposer’s courier service will occur without disruption to the
current courier services, DPL’s customers, and staff.
17. The proposer must provide an implementation plan including a timeline of key dates to ensure
an “on-time” implementation.
18. The implementation plan must include proposer responsibilities and DPL responsibilities, and it
must be agreed to in advance by DPL.
19. The proposer must provide a damaged and lost materials procedure.
20. The proposer shall provide information about its customer service support:
a. toll-free number
b. web-entry of support requests
c. e-mail access
d. hours of availability
e. other relevant details for each support method.
21. The customer services support must address the following:
a. Procedures
b. Safety and performance concerns
c. Holiday or closure/inclement weather updates
d. Delivery troubleshooting
e. Route updates/additions
22. The selected provider will have been in operation at least three years.
23. Use of Subcontractors—the selected proposer shall be solely responsible for all services as
required by the RFP. Subcontractors, if any, will be the responsible of the Proposer and the roll
of subcontractors must be clearly identified in the proposal. The use of a subcontractor(s) does
not relieve the selected Proposer of liability under this contract.
Company History
Client references for similar work performed
Proposer shall submit a listing of three (3) previous library customers. The services provided to these
clients must have characteristics as similar as possible to those requested in this RFP. Information for
each client must include the
following:
Clients name
Date of service
Contact person
Title
Address
Phone number
E‐mail address
Failure to provide the above information may result in the Proposer being disqualified and its proposal
not considered. The City of Denton reserves the right to contact any and all references and to
obtain, without limitation, information regardless of the Proposer’s performance on the listed jobs.
The City reserves the right to contact any and all references.
ATTACHMENT A
City of Denton
Request for Proposal for Courier Services for Denton Public Library
Denton Public Library 2021 Holiday Closure Information
New Year’s Day Friday, January 1, 2021
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Monday, January 18, 2021
Memorial Day Monday, May 31, 2021
Independence Day Sunday, July 4 and *Monday, July 5, 2021
(Observed)
Labor Day Monday, September 6, 2021
Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 25, 2021
Friday After Thanksgiving Friday, November 26, 2021
Christmas Eve *Thursday, December 23, 2021 (Observed)
Christmas Day *Friday, December 24, 2021 (Observed) and
Saturday, December 25
New Year’s Day *Friday, December 31, 2021 (Observed) and
Saturday, January 1, 2022
Staff Development Day TBD fall, 2021