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SUNY library project uses source code escrow



Source code escrow is often a very good idea for ensuring the accessibility of digital materials.
Here's a story on SUNY's inclusion of escrow in their contract for a statewide library system.

http://chronicle.com/free/2000/11/2000112101t.htm

'The contract SUNY signed last month with the software vendor Ex Libris Inc. was not the first in
which the university has insisted that a vendor using proprietary source code make escrow
arrangements. "We've done it before, and it has benefited us," says Carey B. Hatch, assistant provost
for library and information services at SUNY. "In case the vendor goes under, we still have access to
the source code that makes the system work."

At any time during the contract with Ex Libris, SUNY can look at the source code and documentation for
the company's library-management system. If the contract is terminated for any reason, the source code
and documentation will be released to SUNY. "That's our ultimate protection," Mr. Hatch says.'

=======================================================
 Cal Lee
 University of Michigan
 School of Information
 Phone: 734-647-0505
 http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~calz/
 "Those who forget the past are condemned to reload it."
                        - Nick Montfort, July 2000

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