BRG+Bylaws

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 * Bylaws of the Access Pennsylvania Beaver Regional Group**

=Article I: Name= The name of the organization shall be the Access Pennsylvania Beaver Regional Library Group, hereinafter referred to as "The Beaver Regional Library Group."

=Article II: Purpose= The Beaver Regional Library Group is an association of public, school, academic, and special libraries. Members have agreed to share their resources, information, and expertise for the purpose of improving the quality and availability of library services offered to the residents of Beaver County.

The majority of members participate in the [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Database Project, however, this is not a requirement for membership. The statewide [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Database is a union catalog of the holdings of more than 2,800 school, public, academic, and special libraries in Pennsylvania. The purpose of the database is to facilitate resource sharing through interlibrary loan. The database contains over 44.5 million holdings of more than 6.6 million unique records and is available on the World Wide Web. The Beaver Regional Library Group facilitates the program within Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

The Beaver Regional Library Group provides professional development workshops and seminars for its members to improve their capabilities to provide quality library services for the residents of Beaver County.

=Article III: Membership= Each library located in Beaver County joining the [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Database Project will be assigned to the Beaver Regional Library Group by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries and must agree to abide by the policies established by Commonwealth Libraries and the Regional Group.

=Article IV: Governance= A Board of Directors, hereinafter referred to as the "Board," shall have power and authority to manage, regulate, and govern the affairs of the Beaver Regional Library Group. The Board shall determine policies and take such actions as it considers necessary to carry out the purposes of the Beaver Regional Group.

=Articel V: Board of Directors= The Board shall be responsible for organizing and maintaining programs which will promote [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] and its utilization among the members and their communities.

Section 1: Composition
> A. The board shall consist of three (3) representatives, one from each membership class: one school, one public, and one academic or special representative. > B. In the event that a membership class is unable to fill their position on the board, a member at large will be elected from the general membership.

Section 2: Board Member Qualification
> A. Represent a participating [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Beaver Regional Group Library. > B. Committment to the [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Database project. > C. Willingness to serve and the availablity to meet the projected time committments. > D. Knowledge and awareness of current developments in the library profession. > E. Capacity to work well with others and to achieve group goals and objectives. > F. Ability to foster good communication and networking among Board, library members, and [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA]. > G. Discretion with confidential matters and professionalism in handling sensitive information

Section 3: Nomination and Election
> A. The Board representatives shall be elected by the membership at large at the annual meeting. > B. Each member library is entitled to one vote. > C. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for each representative position shall be elected to that position.

Section 4: Term of Office
> A. Board representatives will be elected to a three (3) year term beginning on July 1 following their election. > B. Incumbents may succeed themselves once. > C. Shall a vacancy occur on the Board, the Board will appoint an interim representative who will serve until the next scheduled election, at which time a representative will be elected, if necessary to fill the unexpired term of office. > D. Elected Board members may be removed from the Board for just cause or for non-performance of their duties after due process and by affirmative Board vote.

Section 5: Representative Duties
> A. Attend Board meeting/respond to requests for participation in matters before the Board. > B. Serve as the first level of contact for each type of library. > C. Serve as training and mentoring resource for county librarians > D. Contribute to the coordination and development of an annual program of meetings and workshops/training.

Section 6: Chairman
> A. The Board will elect from their membership a Chairman who will serve without compensation for a two (2) year term. > B. The Chariman will act as presiding officer of the Board and general membership; appoint special committees, as needed; act as liason between the members and Commonwealth Libraries as well as [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] and generally will perform the duties of a presiding officer. > C. The Chairman will only vote to break a tie. > D. The Chariman will serve as a non-voting member of all committees. > E. The Chariman, or designee, will maintain a file of all minutes, correspondence and reports for the current and previous term of office.

Section 7: Meetings
> A. The time and place of regularly scheduled Board meetings shall be established following the election of representatives. > B. Special meetings may be called as necessary and buisness may be conducted by phone, fax, or e-mail. > C. The acts of the Board shall be recorded and reported to the membership.

=Article VI: Committees= Committee membership is open to any Beaver Regional Library Group member. The standing committees are working membership groups.

Section 1: Standing Committees
> A. **Bylaws and Procedures-** Review Bylaws, policies, and procedures on an annual basis; Make recommendations to the Board. > B. **Communications-** Coordinate communication to all member libraries; Provide a centralized source for current information; Facilitate collaboration among library types. > C. **Continuing Education/ Professional Development-** Identify training needs; Provide orientation for new members; Provide and/or coordinate mentoring and extended training; Provide centralized and on site training; Plan and/or coordinate meetings and activities for member libraries; Identify meeting sites and handle local arrangements. > D. **Nominating-** Prepare slate of candidates; conduct and certify elections.

Section 2: Special Committees
Special or //Ad Hoc// Committees to carry out specific duties may be established by the Director with the approval of the Board.

Section 3: Committee Chairpersons
> A. Committee charipersons shall be appointed by the Chairman with Board approval. > B. Committee chairpersons shall be appointed to a two year term. > C. Committee chairpersons may succeed themselves once. > D. Committee chairpersons shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Board, detailing the committee's accomplishments for the preceding year. =Article VII: Meetings=

Section 1: Number of Meetings
There shall be at least one general meeting of the membership each year for the purpose of conducting business, exchanging information and electing Board representatives.

Section 2: Time and Place of Meetings
> A. The Board shall set the time and place of general meetings. > B. There shall be at least thirty (30) days notice of general meetings.

Section 3: Quorum
The members present at a regularly scheduled meeting shall constitute a quorum.

=Article VIII: Parlimentary Standard= In parlimentary procedure, Robert's Rules of Order, latest edition, shall be the authority except in matters specifically provided for in the Bylaws. =Article IX: Regional Group Members Responsiblity= > A. Abide by the policies and guidelines as established by [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Database Project and found in the Project Manual, PA ILL Cde, and VDX manual. > B. Attend [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] training, Regional Group meetings, and workshops. > C. Educate patrons concerning the services available through [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] and Power Library. > D. Explain and promote the goals of the [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA] Database and Power Library to local administrators. =Article X:Responsibilities of Intermediate Unit= > A. Provide necessary hardware/software to support e-mail. > B. Serve as full member to schools in the IDS system. > C. Provide van delivery service to schools participating in interlibrary loan. > D. Provide necessary clerical support and supplies necessary to the delivery system and IDS. > E. Coordinate and maintain the flow of information concerning [|ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA], Power Library, and the Regional Group with county superintendents and principals. =Article XI: Amendments=

Section 1: Procedure
> A. Proposed amendments will be referred to the Bylaws and Procedures Committee for review and comment. > B. The Bylaws and Procedures Committee will make Bylaw change recommendations to the Board. > C. The Board will present proposed amendments at a regular meeting for open discussion.

Section 2: Adoption, Amendment, or Repeal
These Bylaws may be adopted, amended or repealed at any regular meeting by a vote of a 2/3 majority of the member libraries in attendance, provided that such amendment has been openly discusses at a regular meeting.

Proposed: November 2003 Final Revision: April 2004 =Appendix 1=

Initial Board "Transition" Period
To accomodate anticipated vacancies created by retirements and to establish a rotation of Board members, the next Board election will include elections for 1, 2, & 3 year terms. Subsequent elections will return to the 3 year term period, thereby allowing us to elect one new Board member each year.