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Re: VPAT repository?

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From: Morin, Gary (NIH/OD) [E]
Date: Nov 7, 2011 7:27AM


You may be interested in the following link, http://buyaccessible.net/VARC/, which an alphabetic list of company websites with links to their product or service accessibility information. The Buy Accessible Wizard is a good source for initial research. The BAW doesn't house the VPATs but ultimately leads the user to the vendor's website with the VPAT itself. Whether you refer to the vendor's site or you collect and hold the VPAT/documentation, a key point to remember is to always make sure that the VPAT/documentation reflects the latest release or version if that's what you're looking to buy. Ensure that the vendor is providing you with current information which reflects the actual product and release/version and is not outdated.

Gary M. Morin, Program Analyst
NIH Office of the Chief Information Officer
10401 Fernwood Rd, Room 3G-17
Bethesda, MD 20892, Mail Stop: 4833

(301) 402-3924 Voice, 451-9326 TTY/NTS
(240) 380-3063 Videophone; (301) 402-4464 Fax

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Kirkpatrick [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 5:24 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] VPAT repository?

We are considering how we should collect and make available to those who need them VPATs for the technology tools used for our campus. The vendors who have been asked so far have just been given the link: http://www.itic.org/index.php?src=gendocs&;ref=vpat&category=resources and told that they should email the VPAT or its URL to me. As we expand our efforts, several questions have come up. If you have experience with this or ideas about it, could you share?

FWIW, all Adobe VPATs are available at http://adobe.com/accessibility/products/compliance



- Is a vendor REQUIRED to produce a VPAT (even though the name says 'voluntary' :-)) before its bid is considered? i.e. is submitting a VPAT a prerequisite for us doing business with your firm?

That's up to you. In official government procurement rules the procurement agent is required to collect information about the compliance of a product. Most do so via a request for the VPAT, but they could theoretically just do the research independently. Your policy in the school may vary.

AWK