Oneida/Herkimer School Library System Advisory Council By-Laws

1. The School Library System Council shall be the policy recommending body of the Oneida and Herkimer BOCES, in compliance with Commissioner's Regulation 90.18.

90.18(7) (b) (I) The board of cooperative educational services shall be the governing board of the school library system.

90.18(7) (b) (2) (ii) The governing board and the Council shall be responsible for the development of the plan of service.

The Council of the SLS shall consist of 15 members including: ten representatives of the 24 member school districts and one representative from a nonpublic school, Mid York Library System, the Central NY Library Resources Council, Mohawk Valley and Herkimer County Community Colleges. The school representatives shall be appointed as follows: 6 library media specialists, teachers, or technology coordinators; 2 superintendents or designee (1 from each BOCES); and 2 principals (1 from each BOCES). Representatives from parent groups or boards of education will be encouraged and may replace either a librarian or teacher representative.

Administrators shall nominate their representatives on the SLS Council. Teachers or technology coordinators and library media specialists shall be recommended by the Communication Coordinators Committee and nominated by the Chief School Officer of their respective districts. Council members from the other agencies shall be nominated by that agency's executive officer. All Council members shall be appointed by the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES Board of Education. Appointments for vacant Council positions shall be made by the first of June each year. Members may be re-appointed to additional terms.

All members shall serve three-year terms. One third of the Council members shall be appointed each school year. There shall be a rotation of the above categories so that the School Library Council will be broadly representative of both users and providers of the School Library System's services.

When a Council member misses two consecutive meetings without contacting the School Library System, he or she will be contacted to determine if he or she is still willing and able to serve. If not, a replacement will be sought.

If a vacancy should occur before a term of appointment ends, the group (such as librarians, principals, etc.) from which the vacancy arises will recommend to the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES Board of Education a person from that group to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

The chairperson of the Council will call and conduct meetings of the School Library System Advisory Council at least four times a year. A chairperson and vice-chairperson for the following year will be elected by the Council members at the first meeting of each school year. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair shall preside at meetings.

Quorum-For purpose of voting, a quorum shall consist of a majority of members (half plus one of serving members). If a quorum is not present, voting may be done by the SLS via an electronic vote.

Amendment Process-Amendments may be made at any Council meeting after a Council member has submitted the amendment, discussion ensues, and a vote is taken. If carried, the amendment will be adopted. An agenda will be provided for each meeting and minutes will be recorded and distributed to Chief School Officers, the School District Communication Coordinators Committee, and the Council members. Amendments may be made by a majority vote of the Council at any regular meeting (half plus one of serving members).

By-laws will be reviewed by the Council every three years, however by-laws can be amended at any time.

The four meetings for the School Library System Council will take place approximately every two months. An optional fifth meeting, held jointly with the Communication Coordinators Committee, may be held in the late spring for a total of 5 meetings per year.

The rules contained in the most recent edition of Roberts Rules of Order shall govern the proceedings of the council.

1. Description of Communication Coordinators

a) procedures for communicating with school library system communication coordinators: five meetings of the Communication Coordinators Committee are planned annually.

b) the responsibilities of communication coordinators: Communication Coordinator Committee members have the responsibility of communicating SLS policies, procedures and services in their home districts. Conversely, they also have the responsibility of communicating their district's needs and requirements to the SLS and their colleagues on the Communication Coordinators Committee.

c) the method of selection of communication coordinators: School district Communication Coordinator Committee members shall be designated by the chief school officer of the member district. Communication Coordinator Committee members must be certified library media specialists in public school districts. The term of service for the committee member will be determined by the chief school officer of the member district.

d) procedures used by Communication Coordinator Committee members in promoting awareness of resources and services among system members and participants: before each regularly scheduled meeting, Communication Coordinator Committee members gather information on issues that will be discussed so district opinions are considered. Communication Coordinator Committee members report annually to superintendents and or boards of education on how the district or school has used SLS services.