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Y2K issue and licensing electronic services 

While in the process of finalizing a license for a web-based
reference/information product, we discovered that our Purchasing
department considers this type of service to fit with the "computer
equipment and software" purchasing category, and therefore to be subject
to the Year 2000 Compliance requirement that I have reproduced below.  (We
weren't quite sure what this requirement might mean with respect to these
services, and the vendor in question could not warrant compliance as
described, but we were able to forge ahead despite this.)

The questions I would like to pose to the list are:

1.  Are other institutions finding they are subject to similar 
requirements? 

2.  Leaving aside issues related to library systems and serials vending,
the only relevant performance question that we could think of that relates
to electronic information services is whether date searching and output
sorting would work properly.  Are there other serious issues along these
lines which we should be thinking about, and possibly requiring of our
vendors?

3.  How would some of the vendors interpret and respond to this?

Thanks.  I'll be happy to summarize responses for the list.

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Tim Jewell			    | Electronic Information Program
    Phone: (206) 543-3890	    | University of Washington Libraries
    FAX:   (206) 685-8049	    | 181-G Suzzallo-Allen Library, Box 352900
    tjewell@u.washington.edu	    | Seattle, WA   98195-2900

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 2000 Compliance Warranty 
 
Vendor warrants fault free performance in the processing of date and date
related data including, but not limited to calculating, comparing, and
sequencing by all Equipment and Software provided pursuant to this
Purchase Order, individually and in combination, when used in accordance
with the product documentation provided by the Vendor.  Fault free
performance shall include the manipulation of this data when dates are in
the 20th or 21st centuries and shall be transparent to the user.  Failure
to comply with these Year 2000 requirements shall entitle the University
of Washington to a refund of the initial license fee and/or purchase
price,  prorated over the useful life of the Equipment and Software,
defined by the parties as five (5) years.  Vendor has no liability for any
failure to comply with this provision that is caused solely by failure of
an interconnected third-party product to be Year 2000 compliant.


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