Chapter 12 - Oregon Association of School Libraries Bylaws

 

12.01 NAME AND HISTORY

12.011 The name of this organization shall be Oregon Association of School Libraries (also known as OASL), a division of the Oregon Library Association (OLA).

12.012 OASL is affiliated with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It was incorporated in 1971, and it became a division of OLA in 2012.


12.02 PURPOSE

12.021 The purpose of OASL shall be to provide leadership, encourage the professional growth and status of its members, and to promote, strengthen, and unify school library programs in the State of Oregon by:

  • advocating information literacy for all

  • supporting reading instruction and enjoyment of literature

  • supporting the highest levels of library media services in schools

  • strengthening member professionalism through communications and educational opportunities

  • promoting visibility in education, government, and the community

     

12.03 AFFILIATIONS

12.031 OASL may be affiliated with educational and professional organizations which encourage and promote the ideas and purpose of OASL. Affiliations shall be determined by OASL's Board of Directors.

12.04 MEMBERS

12.041 The membership of OASL shall be limited to members of the Oregon Library Association who are affiliated with the OASL division.

12.042  Lifetime members shall be selected by the Executive Committee and approved by the OLA Honors, Awards, and Scholarships Committee (HAS). Lifetime membership shall not require renewal and has no dues.


12.05  REGIONS, STANDING COMMITTEES, AND AD HOC COMMITTEES

12.051 Regions 
12.0511 OASL shall be divided into geographical regions. The number and geographical description of the regions shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Each region shall be entitled to one representative on the Board of Directors. Representatives will be liaisons for membership, program, and board activities for their region and will report on region activities to the Board of Directors.

12.052  Standing Committees 
12.0521 The President shall appoint standing committee chairs for all standing committees.

12.0522 The standing committees of OASL shall be Accounts, Advocacy, Publishing, Reading Engagement, Recognitions, and Teaching and Learning. 

12.0523 Committee chairs shall serve a two-year term and may be reappointed.

12.0524 The Accounts Committee shall oversee any and all types of OASL accounts that individuals receive as members of OASL, including but not limited to listserv, board member online accounts, and membership.

12.0525 The Advocacy Committee oversees any and all types of OASL business to promote and advocate for the important role of school libraries staffed with both teacher-librarians and classified library staff.

12.0526 The Publishing Committee oversees any and all physical and electronic methods of communication of OASL, including but not limited to journals, newsletters, websites, and social media.

12.0527 The Reading Engagement Committee oversees any and all OASL activities that promote reading and the freedom to read, including but not limited to, book awards, book competitions, and intellectual freedom.

12.0528 The Recognitions Committee oversees any and all OASL methods of recognizing individuals related to school library business, including but not limited to awards and scholarships.

12.0529 The Teaching and Learning Committee oversees any and all types of OASL resources for the instruction of school library skills, including but not limited to instructional standards and online resources. 

12.053  Ad Hoc Committees
12.0531 When necessary to carry on the work of OASL, the Board of Directors may form ad hoc committees, or the board may choose to affiliate with existing organizations, if a majority of the members of the Board of Directors approves. The President shall appoint chairs for any ad hoc Committees.

12.054  The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

12.055  Each committee shall have more than one member. Only chairs of standing committees will serve as voting committee members on the Board of Directors. If the chair of a standing committee is unable to attend a board meeting, the chair may designate a committee member to attend the meeting with full voting rights.

12.056  The activities of each region or committee will be open to all OASL members.

12.057  The organization, activities, and the management of the funds of each region or committee are under the direct control of the Board of Directors of OASL.


12.06 OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

12.061 The officers of OASL shall be the President, the President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. An officer must be a member of OASLand have experience as a teacher-librarian. The officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these Bylaws.

12.062 Officers shall be elected by online ballot. Terms of office shall begin at noon during the spring board meeting or June 1st, whichever comes first.

12.063  No member shall hold more than one office at a time.

12.064  The President-Elect shall succeed to the office of President for a term of one year. The President shall succeed to the office of Immediate Past President for a term of one year.

12.065  Should the President be absent at an official event, the President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President. Should the office of President become vacant between elections, the President-Elect shall assume the vacancy and continue through his/her rightfully-elected term.

12.066  The Secretary and the Treasurer shall each serve two-year terms and shall be eligible for re-election. The Secretary is elected in even years, and the Treasurer is elected in odd years.

12.067 The Executive Committee shall include the five officers of OASL and two Members-at-Large, elected on alternate years from and by the voting members of the Board of Directors, to each serve for a two-year term.

12.068 A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be a majority of its members.

12.069 The Executive Committee shall act for OASL during the intervals between annual meetings, determine current and long-range policies, direct the activities of all standing and ad hoc committees on behalf of OASL, and empower the President to perform delegated responsibilities on behalf of OASL and the Board of Directors.


12.07  BOARD OF DIRECTORS

12.071The voting members of the Board of Directors shall be the five officers of OASL, chairs of the standing committees, and the following elected representatives: Regional (one per region), Higher Education, and Classified Library Staff.

12.072 Non-voting members of the Board of Directors shall be the representatives from the Oregon Department of Education and the State Library of Oregon.

12.073 A quorum of the Board of Directors shall be a majority of the voting board members.

12.074 The Board of Directors shall have general supervision of the affairs of OASL between its business meetings, develop a set of written policies to assist in the transaction of the business of OASL, make recommendations to OASL, fix the hour and place of meeting, and perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws. The Board of Directors shall be subject to the orders of OASL, and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by OASL.

12.075 All board members must be members of OASL except for the representative members from the Oregon Department of Education and the State Library of Oregon.

12.076 The Board of Directors shall fill vacancies by appointment or special election except for the office of President. Should it be necessary for the President-Elect to assume the Presidency, the Board of Directors shall hold a special election to fill the President-Elect vacancy.

12.077 The transfer of board position responsibilities from an outgoing board member to an incoming board member shall occur at noon during the spring board meeting or June 1st, whichever comes first.

12.078 OASL’s fiscal year is September 1st to August 31st.


12.08 MEETINGS

12.081 The Executive Committee shall have the authority to plan the schedule of board and business meetings for OASL.

12.082 Additional board meetings may be called by the Board of Directors.

12.083 A business meeting of OASL membership shall be held annually.

12.084 Additional business meetings of the membership may be called by the Board of Directors or by a petition signed by 10% of the members of OASL.

12.085 For any business meetings, the membership must be notified not less than fifteen (15) days in advance of the meeting. An agenda is to accompany the notification of any business meeting. Only those items on the agenda may be acted upon; however, items from the floor may be discussed and action taken at a future business meeting.

12.09 ELECTIONS

12.091 The Past President shall present nominees for President-Elect and other officers and representatives to the Board of Directors.

12.092 Nominations for President-Elect and other officers shall be made by members of OASL and submitted to the Past President by an announced deadline.

12.093 Provision shall be made on the ballot for write-in candidates.

12.094 The Past President shall make arrangements for an online ballot for the general membership by late winter. Included on the ballot shall be appropriate descriptive information on all candidates and a deadline for return.

12.095 All ballots received by the deadline shall be counted, and the candidate for each position receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected. Tie votes shall be decided by lot. The Past President shall announce the results to the membership.

12.096 Election to all Board of Director positions, except for President-Elect, shall be for two years. Approximately one-half of the board shall be elected each year.

12.097 Region Representatives shall be elected from within their region. This election may take place at regional spring conferences. In the event that a spring conference is not held in a region, or an election is not held at the spring conference, an online ballot shall be used. The Past President must be notified of the Region Representative election results before the spring board meeting.

12.10 DUES

12.101 Dues for the various classifications of membership shall be set by the Oregon Library Association.

12.102 Membership dues are collected as defined by the Oregon Library Association.

12.11 DELEGATE ATTENDANCE AT NATIONAL MEETINGS

12.111 OASL shall budget annually an amount of money to be determined by the Board of Directors for the reimbursement of expenses for delegates' travel to attend national meetings as approved in advance by the Board of Directors.


12.12 AMENDMENTS

12.121 Amendment(s) to these Bylaws shall be presented in written form to the Secretary by the Board of Directors. After presentation, there must be an opportunity for discussion of the proposed amendment(s) at a called business meeting of OASL as provided in Article VIII.

12.122 Voting on amendment(s) shall be determined by board action and must occur either at the next regular annual election of OASL, or, if decided by the Board of Directors to be of an emergency nature, a special election may be held not sooner than fifteen (15) days nor later than thirty (30) days after discussion of proposed amendment(s).

12.123 Online ballots shall be sent to all members. A two-thirds majority of all members replying to the ballot within fifteen (15) days will be necessary to amend these Bylaws.

 

12.13 OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

12.131 The Executive Committee of OASL shall develop and maintain official documents that shall include but are not limited to position descriptions, affiliation agreements, business policies and procedures, minutes, and conference procedures. Such official documents shall be presented to the Board of Directors for approval.  

12.132 Each board position shall be issued an email account, and each member in a board position shall be responsible for maintaining said email account during their tenure and for transferring the account to their successor.

12.133 The President shall charge the Secretary with the development of appropriate storage, maintenance, and retrieval processes of OASL documents and materials, which shall further be referred to as archives. 

12.14 SPECIAL SERVICE CONTRACTS

12.141 The Board of Directors shall have the authority to enter into special service contracts for services that the Board of Directors deems necessary to facilitate the ongoing activities of OASL. These contracts shall be used for but not be limited to printing jobs and conference facilities.

 

Amended October 2019
Amended March 2014
Amended April 2011
Amended April 2008
Amended October 2006
Amended April 2005
Amended April 2004
Amended April 2000
Amended April 1999
Amended April 1997
Amended April 1994
Amended October 1991