The U.S. State Department, which was considering a $16.5-million no-bid contract with Amazon to provide Kindles, content and services for overseas language programs, has officially withdrawn its proposal, saying it “intends to conduct additional market research and reexamine its requirements for this program.”

Gary Price at Library Journal’s Infodocket blog first discovered the notice about the withdrawal of the contract, which was posted to the State Department’s website August 15 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

A State Department spokesperson provided the following statement:

The Department of State continues to pursue technology that enhances our ability to provide international audiences with relevant, real-time content on U.S. society, culture, and English language learning.  In order to conduct additional market research and further explore technological options for our public diplomacy programs, the Department of State opted on August 15 to end the Request for Proposals for the Amazon Kindle in favor of proceeding with a Request for Information (RFI) process. This action will open to all vendors the opportunity to respond to the Department’s requirements for a mobile learning program.

The contract that the State Department was considering in June would have provided 2,500 Kindle Touches in the first year, preloaded with 50 titles apiece, at a guaranteed $2.29 million, with the option to renew the contract for four more years. The upper limit on the five-year contract was 7,000 Kindles per year. State Department spokesman Philippe Reines suggested to me at the time that many of the books would be in the public domain (i.e., free) and that other services would include preloading content and shipping devices.

If the contract had gone through and was renewed for a total of five years, and if State had purchased a total of 35,000 Kindle Touch 3Gs each priced at $170.10 (a 10 percent discount) during that time, each with a case and adapter valued at $20, that would have left $9,846,500 for content, shipping and “associate costs.”

It appeared that the deal would take place, as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in June that they would hold a joint press conference to announce the Kindle Mobile Learning Initiative. Then the State Department postponed the press conference to an unspecified later date. It never took place.

The National Federation of the Blind filed a complaint with the State Department saying that any agreement to purchase devices that are inaccessible to the blind is a violation of the law, but it is unclear whether the complaint had any bearing on the deal’s failure.

In the press release sent out on Friday afternoon, the program was described as a “public-private partnership with Amazon and the U.S. government” designed to create “a global e-reader program that introduces aspects of U.S. society and culture directly to young people, students, and international audiences in new ways and expands English language learning opportunities worldwide.”

I have asked the State Department why the event was postponed and will update this post when I hear back. Update: State Department spokesman Philippe Reines says the event had to be postponed due to Clinton’s schedule at the G-20 Mexico Summit and Rio+20 conference this week.

Here’s the full e-mail sent to press:

Please be informed that The Kindle Mobile Learning Initiative event scheduled for this Wednesday, June 20th has now been postponed until a later date.

We apologize for any inconvenience. Please do not hesitate to contact us at ProtocolRSVP@state.gov if you have any questions.

Earlier today, Marc Maurer, the president of the National Federation for the Blind, sent a letter to Hillary Clinton stating that because e-readers are not accessible to the blind, “any agreement by the United States to procure inaccessible Kindle, or other, e-readers is a violation of the law, including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.” Infodocket has the full letter. It’s unclear whether the letter is the reason the event was postponed. In 2009, the NFB and other advocacy organizations for people who are blind sued public universities over pilot projects that would bring the Kindle to classrooms. Those cases, litigated by the United States Department of Justice, settled in early 2010.

Last week, State’s no-bid contract with Amazon became public. State spokesman Philippe Reines told me on Wednesday that the contract wasn’t official yet and that State was waiting for Amazon’s response to its proposal. Reines told me on Friday that “there’s no deal,” still just a pilot program. “Amazon has to respond. The two sides need to work out details. The event isn’t to announce a deal. It’s to talk about the initiative.”

According to the information we have so far, the State Department would spend $2.29 million in the first year of the program, including a purchase of 2,500 Kindles, and the maximum cost of the program over five years would be $16.5 million, including a maximum of 7,000 Kindles per year. As I reported last week, the potential program’s non-device costs are substantial but we don’t know yet which e-books will be preloaded on the Kindles.

See also

State Department speaks out on Amazon Kindle deal

Why is the U.S. State Department paying Amazon $16.5 million for Kindles?

Described in a Friday afternoon press release as a “public-private partnership with Amazon and the U.S. government,” the program is designed to create “a global e-reader program that introduces aspects of U.S. society and culture directly to young people, students, and international audiences in new ways and expands English language learning opportunities worldwide.”

Earlier this week, State’s no-bid contract with Amazon became public. State spokesman Philippe Reines told me on Wednesday that the contract wasn’t official yet and that State was waiting for Amazon’s response to its proposal. Apparently, that happened quickly — within 48 hours — and now the deal is official. Update, 5:54 PM: Reines now tells me that “there’s no deal,” still just a pilot program. “Amazon has to respond. The two sides need to work out details. The event isn’t to announce a deal. It’s to talk about the initiative. Remember, we’ve already bought 6,000 Kindles.” This distinction that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. When Jeff Bezos and Hillary Clinton hold a joint press conference, I infer that a deal, for which a sole-source contract has already been issued, is going to go through. But as Reines notes, State already bought 6,000 Kindles within the past year and the press conference could conceivably focus only on the results of that program. I’ll report more on Wednesday.

According to the information we have so far, the State Department would spend $2.29 million in the first year of the program, including a purchase of 2,500 Kindles, and the maximum cost of the program over five years would be $16.5 million, including a maximum of 7,000 Kindles per year. As I reported earlier this week, the potential program’s non-device costs are substantial but we don’t know yet which e-books will be preloaded on the Kindles.

See also

State Department speaks out on Amazon Kindle deal

Why is the U.S. State Department paying Amazon $16.5 million for Kindles?