|
BY-LAWS
I. Membership
A. Criteria
1. Membership shall be
extended to libraries of institutions which are engaged in theological/religious
studies education and
which are accredited or actively seeking accreditation
(hereafter referred to as Members). Such libraries shall demonstrate
ongoing
commitment to collection development in support of their academic programs.
Through their staff members they
shall actively participate in the endeavors and
cooperative agreements of the association.
2. The libraries of
institutions that do not grant degrees, but which devote significant activity to
research in theological or
religious studies, may be accepted into membership by
a majority vote of the member libraries.
3. Each Member shall
designate one official voting representative to the association.
4. Members are encouraged to
have as many staff members as possible attend meetings of the association and be
involved
in the association’s activities and endeavors.
B. Membership Procedures
1. Admission
A library may request
membership by applying in writing to the President. The Executive Committee
will review the request and recommend action to the existing Members. A library
may be elected as a Member by a majority vote of the designated voting
representatives of the Members present at an announced meeting of the
association.
2. Resignation
A Member may resign by
written notice to the President. Annual dues will not be refunded. Resignation
from the association as a whole automatically severs the relationship that such
a Member has in all cooperative agreements in the association.
3. Termination
The Members may vote to
terminate the membership from a Member for just cause such as non-payment of
annual dues.
II. Conduct of Business
The latest edition of
Roberts Rules of Order shall serve as the guide for conduct of business,
unless noted otherwise in the constitution and by-laws.
III.
Finances & Remuneration
A. Dues
The
Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of current annual dues,
originally established at the rate of $35.00 per institution. From time to
time the Members may vote to alter the annual dues.
B. Other
fees
By
majority vote, the Members may establish other fees to defray the costs of
cooperative endeavors, for printing publications, subscriptions, or any other
reasonable costs incurred in the activity of the association.
C.
Fiscal Year
The
fiscal year of the association shall be July 1 to June 30.
D.
Officers of the association, chairs of committees, and leaders of cooperative
endeavors shall serve without remuneration.
IV.
Election of Officers
A.
Timing
Elections shall be held at the annual meeting. A simple majority of persons
present from member libraries shall suffice for the purpose of holding an
election.
B.
Nominations
The Past
President shall solicit nominations from the staffs of the Members. The slate
of candidates is to be published on the website, prior to the annual membership
meeting. The membership may submit additional nominations from the floor at the
annual meeting.
C.
Method
The
election shall be conducted by paper ballot if more than one candidate is
running for an office. In the case of having only one candidate for an office,
election may be accomplished by means of a voice vote or by acclamation.
V. Terms
of Office
A. Time
Newly
elected officers take office upon the adjournment of the annual meeting.
B.
Re-election
Unless
otherwise provided in these By-laws, each officer shall each serve a term of two
years, with the exception of the treasurer whose term of office shall be three
years. Each officer may be re-elected for unlimited additional terms of office,
however, no person shall occupy the same office for three or more consecutive
terms.
C.
Vacancies
1.
Should the President resign or be incapacitated during his or her term of
office, the Past President shall fill the office until the
next election. In
the case that neither is able to fill the vacancy, the Executive Committee shall
meet, either in person or via
electronic means, to elect a new President to fill
the role until the next election.
2. As
the need arises, the President shall appoint persons to fill other vacancies on
the Executive Committee. Appointees
shall serve until the next election at an
annual meeting. Service by appointment shall not disqualify the appointee from
eligibility for reelection in the next election to a full term.
3. If an
officer terminates his or her employment from a Member while in office, that
term of office shall also be declared
terminated, and the vacancy created shall
be filled as described above.
VI.
Duties of Officers
A.
President
1. The
President shall preside at all plenary meetings of the association.
2. The
President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee. If the
President is unable to attend a scheduled
meeting of the Executive Committee,
the Past President shall serve as moderator of the meeting.
3. The
President shall publish a column in each issue of the association’s newsletter.
B. Past
President
1. The
Past President shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
2. The
Past President shall solicit nominations for those offices to be filled at the
annual election.
3. The
Past President shall serve as acting vice-president.
C.
Secretary
1. The
Secretary shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
2. The
Secretary shall record the minutes of general membership meetings of the
association and shall forward them to the
Executive Committee for its editing
and approval, and then to the editor of the association newsletter for
distribution in the
next issue.
3. The
Secretary shall maintain, update, and publish a directory of the association,
and is responsible for transmitting an
electronic copy of the directory to the
webmaster for inclusion on the website.
D.
Treasurer
1. The
Treasurer shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
2. The
Treasurer shall hold any moneys of the association and shall be empowered to
collect annual dues and make payments
and reimbursements from the association
treasury as the need arises.
3. The
Treasurer shall maintain accurate, complete records of all income and
expenditures of the association in accordance
with sound bookkeeping principles.
4.
Annually the Treasurer shall report the financial status and a summary of the
financial transactions of the association to the
membership.
5. At
the close of his or her term of office, the Treasurer shall pass on all
financial records of the association in good order to
the newly elected
Treasurer.
E.
Communications Chair
1. The
Communications Chair shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
2. The
Communications Chair shall have oversight of the association website, and shall
either serve as webmaster, or shall
appoint one from among the membership. The
Communications Chair shall be responsible for maintaining accurate, up-to-
date
information on the website, including the nominations and elections of officers.
3. The
Communications Chair shall be responsible for regularly notifying the membership
of changes and additions to the
website.
F.
Association Archivist
1. The
Secretary shall serve as Association Archivist, or shall appoint a member of the
Association to serve in the capacity.
2. The
Association Archivist is responsible for maintaining all the historical records
of the association.
3. On
an annual basis, the Association Archivist shall obtain an electronic copy of
the LITANY website and file this copy in the
LITANY archives.
VII.
Programs and Projects
A.
Definition of Purpose
The
entire association or any group of member libraries within the association may
undertake projects which enhance services, cooperation, collection development,
access to resources, or resource sharing for those libraries.
In order
to be recognized as an association project, the endeavor must receive
endorsement by an affirmative majority vote at a called meeting of the
association.
B.
Participation and Withdrawal
Most
endeavors of the association are to be undertaken voluntarily by the Members,
Insofar as possible, different Member libraries will bear the burden of various
aspects of the work to minimize the outlay of funds and the need for separate
accounting.
For
endeavors which require financial commitment to outside entities, institutions
that opt to participate in a particular endeavor shall be responsible for their
fair share of costs as determined at the inception, or adjusted when underway,
even if they later choose to withdraw from the project.
Agreements may also be forged if one or more Member undertakes a program or
project on behalf of the association that requires the outlay of funds or staff
support which exceeds the ability of the sponsoring institutional Member to
support. Such agreements, including projected costs, shall be made in writing
in advance, and the participating institutional Members shall subscribe to them.
C.
Financing
In order
to cover expenses for programs and projects that have been adopted by the
association the project director(s) may have to assess fees to the subscribing
member libraries. At its discretion, the Executive Committee may have to impose
penalties or fines upon member libraries for non-payment of such fees.
VIII.
Interest Groups and Committees
A.
Purpose
In
recognition of the fact that no organization of this kind can comprehensively
predict the future needs of its Members, and that with the passage of time new
needs arise and old needs vanish, LITANY therefore encourages its membership to
develop viable interest groups and committees to address the needs of the
Members.
B.
Formation
Interest
groups or committees may be established upon written petition by three or more
members and approval by a majority of members voting at any plenary business
session.
C.
Structure
Each
interest group or committee shall determine its own form of organization, but
each shall have a chair and a secretary.
The
chair of each interest group or committee shall be welcome to attend meetings of
the Executive Committee, with voice, but unable to vote, and may be asked from
to time to report on the needs, activities and goals of the group.
IX.
Executive Committee
A.
Composition
The
Executive Committee shall be charged with the due administration of the
association, as well as conference planning, and long-range planning for the
association. This committee shall comprise the President, Past-President,
Secretary, Treasurer, one at-large member, and the Communications Chair.
B.
Function
The
President shall serve as chair of the Executive Committee; the Secretary shall
record and distribute minutes of the meetings.
X.
Amendments to these By-Laws
Amendments, additions, clarifications, or deletions to the articles of this
constitution may be made by a two-thirds majority vote of the Members. The
nature and specific wording of changes shall be communicated to the member
libraries, and the vote shall be conducted either by mail (physical or
electronic), or at a duly called business meeting at which a quorum is present,
with each Member having one vote.
Document
history:
Originally proposed May 5, 2005
Revised
and adopted 3 April 2006
|
