Library of Congress taps AMS for financial system

American Management Systems Inc. won a 10-year, $34 million contract from the Library of Congress, officials of the Fairfax, Va., company announced Sept. 16, to provide an integrated financial management and procurement system to support operations at the library and other congressional agencies.

The solution will be based on Momentum, AMS' enterprise resource planning suite for federal agencies. It will give library staff access to real-time financial information via the Internet, enabling faster, more efficient decision-making and processing and improved customer service, according to AMS. Twenty-five federal agencies use Momentum, according to the company.

The system will support management of the library's annual budget and the purchase of its goods and services. Integration between the finance and procurement components will eliminate redundant processes and reduce the time required for the library to purchase goods and services, according to AMS.

"Faster, more efficient back-office systems will help the Library of Congress spend more time advancing its outstanding record of public service and less time navigating red tape," said Donna Morea, executive vice president of AMS' public-sector business.

The library maintains a collection of more than 126 million items, and annually registers more than 500,000 copyright claims. It also circulates more than 23 million items to the blind and physically handicapped.

With the new system, the library will be able to meet the latest in standards for federal financial management and offer financial management and procurement services to other agencies supporting Congress, according to AMS.

AMS will implement all components of its Momentum suite, including Core Financials, Advanced Workflow, Vendor Self-Service, Performance Budgeting and Acquisitions.

The federal government's Joint Financial Management Improvement Program certified Momentum 5.0 in June for use by federal agencies. It is one of four commercial packages that are compliant with the newest government standards for federal financial management, according to AMS.

The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program is a cooperative undertaking of the Treasury Department, General Accounting Office, Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management. It works in cooperation and with other federal agencies to improve financial management practices in government.

AMS employs more than 6,000 people and had revenue of $986.7 million in 2002.