Y2K Exhibit Materials

All featured materials come from the records of two Y2K-related organizations held by The Charles Babbage Institute – the International Y2K Cooperation Center and the Center for Y2K and Society – both of which provide insight into this short but fascinating episode in the history of information technology. 

Texas Guidebook 2000
Year 2000 Solution Providers
he Millennium Bug
Texas Guidebook 2000

This book was prepared in 1998 by the state government of Texas and provided to local governments to help them “address the challenges of the Y2K problem.”  Section one states, “Y2K can bite. And if you don’t take action – and soon – it could bite you, and the taxpayers you serve.”

Year 2000 Solution Providers

An industry grew up around companies’ needs to convert their computers for Y2K readiness. This directory, created by the Information Technology Association of America, lists the individuals and companies who, for a fee, could help an organization prepare for Y2K with software tools, conversion methods, and consulting services.

The Millennium Bug

In the United Kingdom, Y2K was also known as the “Millennium Bug.” This brochure contains public service information for UK citizens on the effects of the bug, countering some of the wild speculation occurring about Y2K.

International report on Y2K from Argentina
How To 2000
Year 2000 Computing Crisis A Testing Guide
International Reports

As an international organization, the IY2KCC collected Y2K reports from governments around the world. Several examples in the collection are from Senegal, South Africa, and Argentina.

How To 2000

A “proven comprehensive Year 2000 methodology,” this volume, produced by Raytheon, is addressed to business leaders, managers, and others hoping to institute a Y2K plan for their companies.

Year 2000 Computing Crisis: A Testing Guide

The General Accounting Office of the U.S. federal government published this guide to “managing and assessing their Year 2000 testing programs.”

Guidelines for Year 2000 Projects
The Community Y2K Readiness Tool
Is Your Community Prepared A Y2K Report Card
Guidelines for Year 2000 Projects

Specific industries produced their own guides for handling Y2K.  This one is a British guide for potential issues with ships.

The Community Y2K Readiness Tool

Designed as a ready reference tool for individual communities, this poster lists potential severe problems that could result from Y2K, as well as actions that communities and families could take to prepare themselves. Some of the potential effects of Y2K, according to this poster, include seaports no longer delivering food, factories no longer operating, and specialized medical equipment failing.

Is Your Community Prepared? A Y2K Report Card

The Center for Y2K and Society published a “Y2K Report Card” in 1999 to assist local communities in preparing for Y2K. Communities received “points” for such things as reviewing the vulnerability of their public transportation and involving underserved populations in their Y2K planning.