Current version passed: Spring of 2003.

PREAMBLE

The students of the School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS) of the University of Arizona hereby establish the Student Chapter of the American Library Association, which shall further be called ALA/LSO, with LSO serving as the acronym for Library Student Organization, which shall serve as the local student chapter. Those LSO Students who do not wish to become members of ALA shall have the option of paying local dues and holding membership only in LSO. They may participate in social activities and programs sponsored by the chapter.

PURPOSE

ALA/LSO shall encourage and facilitate participation in the American Library Association and work to promote scholarly achievement and professional awareness among its members.

In serving this purpose, the ALA/LSO shall pursue the following objectives:

To promote communication and interaction among all members of the SIRLS community - students, faculty and staff. To provide student representation on faculty policy making committees. To function as a problem solving forum and agent of change in the SIRLS community.

In order to help students better plan their study and career strategies ALA/LSO shall provide students with significant information on ALA resources in the area of publication, scholarships, conferences and promotional material.

This chapter shall work to increase awareness of issues and trends in information resources and library science, to provide data on timely issues and concerns, and to act as a local forum for the exchange of ideas which benefit the entire SIRLS community.

STANDARDS

ALA/LSO supports the aims and standards of the Graduate College, University of Arizona, and the School of Information Resources and Library Science.

MEMBERSHIP

Any student at The University of Arizona is eligible to be an active member and may hold office.

Non-students may act as associate members, but may not vote or hold office.

Membership privileges shall be granted to supporting members. Supporting members are those who pay dues and maintain the GPA required for continuation in the program. Faculty and staff of the SIRLS and their spouses are granted associate membership in ALA/LSO, and are entitled to all privileges with the exception of voting and holding an office.

STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION

This organization shall not discriminate on the basis of age, color, ethnicity, gender, national orgin, disability or handicap, race, religion, sexual orientation, Vietnam Era veteran status. This policy will include, but is not limited to recruiting, membership, organization activitites or opportunities to hold office.

STATEMENT OF NON-HAZING

This organization will not conspire to engage in hazing, participate in hazing, or commit any act that causes or is likely to cause bodily danger, physical harm, or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to any fellow student or person attending the institution.

COMPLIANCE WITH CAMPUS REGULATIONS

This organization shall comply with all University and campus policies and regulations and local, state, and federal laws.

FINANCES

ALA/LSO membership dues are payable once from each member for the tenure at their time at SIRLS, at a rate agreed upon by the Executive Council. Changes in dues amount will require a simple majority of the Executive Council.

Student membership dues to ALA at reduced membership rate are payable at any time on an individual basis. Students are eligible for discounted membership for three years only, after which time they must pay the full membership dues.

MEETINGS AND ACTIVITIES

ALA/LSO general membership meetings shall be held on a regular day and time, biweekly, or as necessary during the fall and spring semesters. All meeting dates, including Summer Sessions, shall be determined by the Executive Council.

As part of the orientation activities, ALA/LSO shall sponsor a welcoming event for all students in the fall and spring semesters and Summer Sessions.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT STATEMENT

This is a not-for-profit organization.

OFFICERS

The officers of this organization shall be President/ALA Liaison, Vice President/Treasurer, Faculty/Student Liaison, Secretary, Program Coordinator, Webmaster/Listserv Manager, Jobs Coordinator, Social Activities Coordinator, Distance Student Liaison, and Fundraising Coordinator. All ALA/LSO officers and representatives may delegate responsibilities as needed. All officers must be supporting members.

OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES

The President/ALA Liaison shall be executive authority on all matters concerning membership, functions of the organization, and ALA/LSO sponsored projects and activities. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Council and general membership and communicate the activities, needs, and suggestions of ALA/LSO members to the faculty advisor and SIRLS Program director.

The Vice President/Treasurer shall assume any function the President shall designate, and assume the responsibilities of the President when s/he is absent. As Treasurer, s/he shall collect dues, maintain accurate financial records and coordinate all fundraising activities for the organization. All financial transactions shall occur in a timely manner. The Vice President is responsible for any communication with the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC).

The Faculty/Student Liaison shall attend all regularly scheduled Faculty Meetings and represent the SIRLS student body. The liaison shall report to the Executive Council.

The Secretary shall record the minutes of all ALA/LSO executive, general, and special meetings and make them available to all students no later than 72 hours after the respective meeting. The Secretary shall report any formal communication sent to the organization requiring a response.

The Program Coordinator shall coordinate and schedule programs and activities, with an emphasis on professional development. S/he accepts suggestions and requests for programs and speakers from all members and communicates with the SIRLS faculty and staff as necessary regarding upcoming events.

The Webmaster/Listserv Manager shall ensure that the information on the LSO website is current and accurate. This includes the calendar of events, meeting minutes that the secretary has prepared, and other items as necessary. S/he is also responsible for maintaining the LSO listserv. This duty includes adding new members to the listserv and handling error reports.

The Jobs Coordinator shall identify job opportunities in the field of library and information science and post them to the JOBOPS listserv.

The Social Activities Coordinator shall coordinate monthly social events in Tucson for LSO members. S/he will generate ideas for events and share them with other LSO officers. S/he also acts as chair of the Graduation Event committee.

The Distance Student Liaison shall identify the concerns of the distance student community and communicate them with other LSO officers and the SIRLS faculty and staff. Duties: The new officer will write their own responsibilities, in response to how they see their unique skills benefiting the Distance Student population. In general, the DL should represent the unique concerns of Distance Students to the LSO Executive Council and the SIRLS Faculty and Staff. Requirements to hold position: No physical location requirement has been specified. RECOMMENDATIONS: The candidate will have taken at least one WebCT class, and ideally the officer will have also come to campus for a class and become acquainted with some aspects of the 'local' SIRLS experience.

The Fundraising Coordinator shall coordinate fundraising activities for the LSO. S/he seeks out fundraising opportunities and shares them with other officers.

The LSO ALA/LSO Student Representative elected for the spring semester shall be the nominee for the Students-to-ALA Project at the annual conference. Room and board are normally paid for the Student Representative by ALA, depending on funds, with SIRLS contributing travel funds as their budget permits. In the event that the ALA Student Representative cannot attend the annual conference, the spring term President of ALA/LSO shall attend in his/her place and if neither the Student Representative nor the President can attend, the Vice President shall go. In the event that the Vice President cannot attend, the ALA/LSO Secretary shall attend. Whoever works at the Students-to-ALA project must be a personal member of ALA and enrolled full-time in the SIRLS program in the spring semester before the annual conference. A report of the Students-to-ALA project shall be made to a general ALA/LSO membership meeting in the fall following the conference. To facilitate this reporting function, the ALA Student Representative should be enrolled in the SIRLS program for the fall semester in which the report is to be given.

ELECTIONS

Elections for executive officers shall take place during the final periods of the fall semester and the spring semester. Officers elected in the fall shall serve in the spring. Those elected in the spring shall serve in the summer and the fall, whenever possible. A supplemental election may be held at the start of the fall semester to fill any vacant positions. Additional elections may be held as necessary to fill vacancies remaining after the elections described above.

Re-elections are permitted. Nominations shall be submitted only to the President and any other person(s) supervising the election. Votes should also be submitted only to the President/election supervisor(s), who then tallies the votes and announces the new office holders to the SIRLS body. The identities of voters and nominators shall be held in confidence throughout the election process by the person(s) supervising the election except as necessary to ascertain candidate eligibility. If a recount becomes necessary, a neutral member of the executive council or the faculty advisor may assist under the same confidentiality stipulation. A simple majority of votes determines the winner among candidates running for the same position. In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be held.

VOTING

All students currently enrolled in the SIRLS and actively participating in its programs shall be allowed to vote for ALA/LSO officer candidates. Only registered ALA members shall be allowed to vote on resolutions which pertain to American Library Association matters, including the election of the student delegate to the annual convention.

All supporting student members currently enrolled in the SIRLS and actively participating in its programs shall be allowed to vote on matters pertaining to the LSO.

REMOVAL OF OFFICERS

Elected officers may be removed from office by a vote consisting of three-quarters of supporting ALA/LSO members. A petition consisting of 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the previous election is necessary to call for a removal election. Two weeks shall elapse between completion of the petition and submission to the Executive Council and the removal election. During that time, a general meeting shall be held. Regular balloting procedure will follow.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

The Executive Council shall consist of ALA/LSO officers, ad hoc representatives, and chairpersons of the standing committees. General meetings will be held twice per month.

The President shall nominate and the Executive Council shall approve a faculty sponsor/advisor who will advise the chapter on questions of SIRLS policy and ALA/LSO operations. The faculty sponsor shall be informed by the ALA/LSO President of all financial and other matters pertaining to the operation of the chapter.

Non-supporting members must receive permission to attend Executive Council meetings.

AD HOC REPRESENTATIVES shall be proposed as needed by the executive council and elected according to normal election procedure.

AD HOC COMMITTEES shall be created and chairs elected by the Executive Council as the need arises. Duties of all ad hoc committees shall be set by the Council. Chairpersons of these committees shall report to the Executive Council but shall not be voting members thereof. If a chair shall become vacant during a semester, a new chairperson shall be elected at the general membership meeting, as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs.

Representatives to policy-making committees shall be elected by the membership during the regular biannual elections. These students shall serve on the following committees:

Standing Committee representatives shall include Curriculum Evaluation, Budget, Faculty Status, ASIS, SIRLS/LSO Friends, and Library Staff Development. These positions may be combined as one or separated according to the needs of the coming semester(s) .

Committee representatives shall be elected by the membership according to the established election procedures. Committee representatives shall serve the same elected periods as ALA/LSO officers and be elected on the same schedule as ALA/LSO officers; re-elections are permitted. Representatives shall report at general membership meetings.

CURRICULUM EVALUATION COMMITTEE shall gather student opinions about present, future and proposed courses and present these opinions to the Faculty Curriculum Committee. The committee shall further the process by which both faculty and courses are evaluated by investigating and proposing to the faculty new content and formats of evaluating instruments. This representative shall report directly to the Faculty/Student Liaison.

LIBRARY STAFF DEVELOPMENT shall interact with the Main Library's Staff Development Committee in those activities specified by that group. Duties shall include Colleague Notebook updating and revisions. Duties include development of awareness among SIRLS students by posting and removing notices on the SIRLS windows on a weekly basis. Reports shall be made at ALA/LSO general meetings. This position reports directly to the Faculty/Student Liaison.

BUDGET COMMITTEE shall gather student opinions about budget issues and present them to the Faculty Budget Committee. This student representative shall have a vote on said committee. This representative shall report directly to the Faculty/Student Liaison.

FACULTY STATUS COMMITTEE representative shall be a non-voting member of said committee which reviews faculty members who are in line for tenure status or year reviews. This representative shall report directly to the Faculty/Student Relations Officer.

ASIS COMMITTEE chair shall report any activities pertinent to students from the ASIS organization. This representative shall report directly to the ALA/LSO President.

SIRLS/LSO FRIENDS COMMITTEE chair shall report on the status of the organization and the progress of its publications. This representative shall report directly to the ALA/LSO President.

SEARCH COMMITTEE representatives for the purpose of serving to select new faculty members shall be nominated by signing the nomination sheet at the SIRLS. Elections shall be held at the next ALA/LSO general meeting, and elections shall be by simple majority of the membership present.

AMENDMENTS

Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be raised during regular membership meetings.

Amendments to this Constitution shall be binding by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at a regular or a special meeting which occurs at least one month after amendments are proposed. In the event of changes, the most recent previous edition of the Constitution will be archived.

By-Laws

I. Requests from other organizations for financial support must be submitted to the Executive Council in writing at least one week in advance of the general membership meeting which precedes the date monies are required.

II. The ALA/LSO shall sponsor a welcoming activity for students.

III. General membership meetings shall be held at a regular day and time, bi-weekly or as necessary during fall and spring semesters.

IV. Executive council meetings shall be held as necessary during the fall and spring semesters.

V. The summer session meeting dates shall be determined by the newly elected executive council.

VI. Dues shall be determined at the first meeting of each semester.

VII. Robert's Rules of Order (latest ed.) shall be regarded as authority for any procedure not described in the constitution and by-laws.

VIII. Amendments to the by-laws shall be binding by a vote of a simple majority of the members present after formal announcement at least two weeks in advance of the proposed change and date of vote.