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Berkeley Division

Bylaws

June 2004


ARTICLE I. Name and Authority
ARTICLE II. Membership
ARTICLE III. Duties and Responsibilities
ARTICLE IV. Officers, Representatives, Committees 		ARTICLE V. Elections
ARTICLE VI. Meetings
ARTICLE VII. Amendments and Ratification

ARTICLE I. Name and Authority

The Librarians’ Association of the University of California, Berkeley (LAUC-B) is a division of the Librarians’ Association of the University of California (LAUC) and through it is recognized as an official unit of the University (APM360, Appendix B.).

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ARTICLE II. Membership

Section 1.
Membership in LAUC-B shall consist of all persons in the University, including those with temporary appointments, (a) holding appointment half-time or more in the Librarian Series, or in any one of the following titles: University Librarian, Associate University Librarian, Assistant University Librarian, Law Librarian, Associate Law Librarian, Assistant Law Librarian, or in these same titles in an acting capacity, and (b) who work principally on the Berkeley campus, or who work at a location apart from any of the nine campuses and report administratively to a statewide office but work nearer the Berkeley campus than any other.

 
Section 2.
All those employed half-time or more are considered regular members and are eligible to make motions, nominate candidates, vote and to hold office. Those employed less than half time and all retired LAUC members are considered affiliate members and may not make motions, nominate candidates, vote or hold office.

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ARTICLE III. Duties and Responsibilities

Section 1.
LAUC-B shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Chancellor and Library administration on professional and governance matters of concern to all librarians.

 
Section 2.
LAUC-B shall advise the Chancellor and Library administration on professional standards, rights, privileges, and obligations of members of the Librarian Series of the University.

 
Section 3.
LAUC-B shall advise the Chancellor and Library administration on the planning, evaluation, and implementation of programs, services, or technological changes in the libraries of the University of California, Berkeley.

 
Section 4.
LAUC-B shall work with the Librarians’ Association of the University of California on matters of University-wide concern.

 
Section 5.
LAUC-B shall not advise the Chancellor or Library administration with respect to matters that are covered by a memorandum of understanding or otherwise subject to negotiation between the University and any exclusive bargaining agent.

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ARTICLE IV. Officers, Representatives, Committees

Section 1.
Officers, representatives and alternates shall be full voting members of the Division.

 
Section 2.
Terms of office shall be one year, commencing September l, unless otherwise specified. (See Article IV, Section 6).

 
Section 3.
Officers shall be elected by the membership and shall perform the usual functions of office. They shall be as follows:
A. The Chair, who shall also serve as a member of the LAUC Executive Board.
B. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect.
C. The Secretary.
D. The Treasurer.
Section 4.
Representatives to the LAUC Assembly shall be as follows:
A. The Chair.
B. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect.
C. The Secretary.
D. Others as provided by the formula for representation set forth in the LAUC Assembly structure, divided as follows:
  1. One shall be the Affiliated Libraries Affairs Committee Chair.
  2. All others shall be representatives from The Library.
  3. If an officer or representative is unable to attend the LAUC Assembly, a replacement shall be designated as follows:
    4. a. The Affiliated Libraries Chair shall be replaced by the Affiliated Libraries Chair-Elect.
    b. An officer or representative from The Library shall be replaced by a Library member selected by the Executive Committee.
Section 5.
Committees.

A. The Executive Committee shall be composed of:
  1. The duly elected officers: Chair, Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, Past Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer.
  2. Three members-at-large, of whom two are elected by The Library members and one is elected by the Affiliated Libraries members for the terms of office as stated in Article IV, Section 6.
a. The Library members-at-large: Two members-at-large elected by The Library members.
b. Affiliated Libraries members-at-large: elected by the Affiliated Libraries’ members. The second year incumbent is designated representative and Chair of the Affiliated Libraries Affairs Committee, and the newly-elected member is designated incoming representative and Chair-Elect of the Affiliated Libraries Affairs Committee.
  • Each LAUC-B member who is also a LAUC officer shall be a non-voting member.
  • The Chair of the Committee on Appointment, Promotion, and Advancement (CAPA) shall be a non-voting member.
  • Chairs of standing and ad hoc committees may be invited by the LAUC-B Chair to attend Executive Committee meetings as non-voting members.
  • Unless otherwise designated by the Chair, all meetings of the LAUC-B Executive Committee are open to LAUC-B members to attend as non-voting observers.
  • The Executive Committee shall perform the usual functions of such a body and shall:
    • a. Fill Executive Committee positions vacated prior to the end of the term of office.
    (1) In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chair, the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect shall serve as Chair for the remainder of the term under the following provisions:
    (a) If the vacancy in the office of the Chair occurs on or before 30 November, the Vice-Chair Chair-Elect shall fill the chairperson’s office until the expiration of the term, 31 August. For the next term commencing 1 September, an election shall be held for the positions of Chair, and Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect.
    (b) If the vacancy in the office of chair occurs on or after 1 December, the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect shall fill the presidential office for the remainder of the term and shall succeed himself/herself for the next term commencing 1 September. Regular elections under these circumstances shall be held for the position of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect.
    (2) In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice-Chair/Chair Elect, there shall be a special election for Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect unless the vacancy occurs at a time when the election can be included in the regular nominating and election sequence (see Article V).
    (3) In the event of a vacancy in the office of Secretary or Treasurer, a Secretary or Treasurer pro tem shall be selected by the Executive Committee by its remaining members.
    (4) In the event of a vacancy in a position of a Library representative, the Executive Committee shall appoint a LAUC-B member from the Library to fill that position. A special election shall be held only if a meeting of the LAUC Assembly members is to take place prior to the next regular election, and there is an insufficient number of LAUC voting representatives. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Affiliated Libraries Affairs Chair, the Chair-Elect of the committee on Affiliated Libraries Affairs shall fill that position.
    b. Meet at least once a month.
    c. Appoint members of all LAUC-B committees and nominate LAUC-B candidates as representatives to other committees including those of LAUC, those formed by the University Librarian, and other bodies as needed.
    d. Have jurisdiction with LAUC-B in all matters of policy concerning APM sections that affect librarians, peer review and other professional governance issues, and make recommendations thereon to the appropriate administrator.
    e. Outline and set policies and establish guidelines for all LAUC-B committees.
    f. Continually review library policy and practice.

    B. The Committee on Appointment, Promotion, and Advancement (CAPA) shall be composed of seven members appointed by the Executive Committee. The membership and duties of CAPA shall be as stated in the most recent Procedures for Review of Librarian Appointments, Promotions and Advancements (CAPA) guidelines.


    C. The Nominating and Elections Committee shall be composed of at least four members appointed by the Executive Committee. Membership and duties shall be as stated in Article V, Sections 4, 5, and 6.

    D. The Committee on Affiliated Libraries Affairs shall be composed of four members: the Affiliated Libraries Representative to the LAUC-B Executive Committee, who will be Chair of this Committee for one year; the Affiliated Libraries incoming representative, who will be Chair-Elect for one year; the convener of the Heads of the Affiliated Libraries; and ex officio, the Vice-Chair of LAUC-B.
    1. The Committee will investigate areas of concern to Affiliated Libraries librarians and will make recommendations relative to those concerns to the LAUC-B Executive Committee.
    2. The Committee shall make recommendations to the Nominating Committee, the LAUC-B Executive Committee, and the University Librarian regarding Affiliated librarians to be appointed to committees.

    E. The Committee on Diversity shall be composed of five members: three members will be selected from the general LAUC-B membership. Two Library staff members will be appointed by the Staff Development Committee. To the extent possible, one member shall represent the Library Human Resources Department. All members of the Committee shall serve two years with staggered terms of office. The chair of the Committee shall be a LAUC member, and shall serve a one year term of Office. The Berkeley representative to the Systemwide LAUC Committee on Diversity shall serve as an ex officio member of the local Committee until his/her term of statewide office expires. The LAUC-B Committee on Diversity shall serve as an advisory body to LAUC-B on issues related to diversity, including but not limited to collections, public service, staff training and development, recruitment and retention, and Library-wide policy issues. Diversity is defined broadly to include such matters as those related to gender, ethnicity, race, class, physical and mental disability, age, and sexual orientation.

    F. The Committee on Research shall be composed of at least three members to be appointed by the LAUC-B Executive Committee. At least one member shall be from the Affiliated Libraries and one member shall be a former Townsend Center Fellow. All members of the Committee shall serve two years with staggered terms of office. The Chair of the Committee shall be a LAUC member, and shall serve a one year term of office. The Chair shall regularly consult with the LAUC-B Chair of the Professional Development Committee. The Berkeley representative to the Systemwide LAUC Committee on Research shall serve as an ex officio member of the local Committee until his/her term of statewide office expires. Members serving on this committee may not review their own applications to the LAUC Research Grants for Librarians Program. The Committee shall:
    1. Review campus applications for the University-wide Research Grants for Librarians Program and advise prospective grantees on the feasibility and appropriateness of applications.
    2. Recruit LAUC-B participants for the Townsend Center Librarian Fellows program.
    3. Investigate and disseminate other campus or system-wide research opportunities and funding for UC Berkeley librarians.

    G. The Committee on Professional Development shall be composed of at least five members to be appointed by the LAUC-B Executive Committee.  At least one member shall be from the Affiliated Libraries. Committee members shall serve for two years with staggered terms. The Committee shall:
    1. Assess members’ professional development and training needs and develop and implement programs and activities to provide training and professional development opportunities for LAUC-B members on a regular basis.
    2. Biennially petition the LAUC-B Executive Committee to convene an ad hoc task force to design and implement a conference, workshop, or other intensive training activity for academic information professionals. This ad hoc task force and the LAUC-B Distinguished Librarian Award Committee shall be convened in alternate years.
    Section 6.
    Terms of office for the LAUC-B Executive Committee shall normally commence 1 September and shall be:

    A. One year for the Chair, who shall then serve one subsequent year as Past Chair.
    B. One year for the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, who shall then succeed to the office of Chair for one year.
    C. One year for the Secretary.
    D. Two years for the Treasurer.
    E. One year for The Library representatives.
    F. One year for the Affiliated Libraries Affairs Committee Chair.  One year for the Affiliated Libraries Chair-Elect, who shall then become representative and Chair the following year.
    G. No one shall serve more than four consecutive years as member of the Executive Committee, except that service of less than six months during any term shall not be counted.
    H. Members of committees appointed by the Executive Committee shall commence service and serve for the periods of time designated by the Executive Committee.

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    ARTICLE V. Elections

    Section 1.
    Elections shall be held prior to the LAUC election.

     
    Section 2.
    Elections shall be by secret ballot.

     
    Section 3.
    A plurality of votes cast shall be sufficient for elections.

     
    Section 4.
    The Nominating and Elections Committee shall have as members the following:

     
    A. At least three members from The Library.
    B. One member from the Affiliated Libraries.
    C. One member shall have recently served on CAPA.

     
    Section 5.
    The Nominating and Elections Committee shall:

     
    A. Present the nominations and the candidates for office at a business meeting to be held at least one month prior to the elections, where it shall be possible for the membership to present nominations from the floor. Nominations shall be formally closed at this time.
    B. Prepare the ballot and supervise the elections for both local and statewide elections, except that members of the Committee who are running for office shall not perform these functions.
    C. Solicit volunteers for LAUC-B and LAUC committees.

     
    Section 6.
    Special elections procedures shall be as specified by the LAUC-B Chair in consultation with the Nominating and Elections Committee Chair.

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    ARTICLE VI. Meetings

    Section 1.
    Membership meetings shall be called at least twice a year by the Executive Committee and must be called by the Committee if requested by no less than 25 percent of the membership. Such meetings must take place within 30 days of submission of the request or petition to the Executive Committee.

     
    Section 2.
    Notification and agenda for meetings shall be sent out at least five days prior to the meeting. The Secretary shall distribute minutes to all members within thirty days of the meeting. Minutes may be approved via e-mail or other electronic device.

     
    Section 3.
    Quorum and Parliamentary Procedure.

     
    A. The quorum for all divisional meetings shall be ten percent of the total membership.
    B. The quorum for the Executive Committee and for other committees shall be 51 percent of the committee members.
    C. Parliamentary procedures.
    1. The Secretary shall act as parliamentarian unless the Chair appoints another member to serve in this capacity.
    2. When not in conflict with the Bylaws, the current edition of the Sturgis Standard Codes of Parliamentary Procedure shall be the authority for rules of order.

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    ARTICLE VII. Amendments and Ratification

    Section 1.
    Amendments may be initiated by:

     
    A. The Executive Committee.
    B. An ad hoc committee appointed to review Bylaws.
    C. A petition signed by at least ten members.

     
    Section 2.
    Amendments may be presented for discussion at any membership meeting, but at the discretion of the Executive Committee amendments may be placed on the ballot without such discussion. Proposed amendments must be presented no later than one month before the voting takes place.

     
    Section 3.
    The ballot for the proposed amendment shall include:

     
    A. The text of the existing section and the text of the proposed amendment.
    B. Signed arguments for or against the proposed amendment, if either the proponents or opponents wish to present such arguments. Each side shall be limited to one typewritten page.

     
    Section 4.
    Voting shall be by secret ballot and shall be held at the same time as the annual election of officers and representatives, except that the Executive Committee shall be empowered to send out a special ballot on matters requiring earlier action.

     
    Section 5.
    Approval by two-thirds of the members casting valid votes shall ratify the Bylaws and any amendments thereto.

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    Last updated August 25, 2004.
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