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Draft AskWisconsin ByLaws AskWisconsin Librarians Consortium Organizational Bylaws January 2004 Article 1 – Name and Authority The name of the organization shall be the AskWisconsin Librarians Consortium (hereinafter referred to as AskWisconsin).  AskWisconsin is created and organized as an agreement among Wisconsin libraries to offer virtual reference services to their customers. Article 2 – Purpose and Mission AskWisconsin was created to offer virtual reference services to Wisconsin library customers and to test the concepts, policies and procedures for delivering such services. Article 3 - Membership Membership shall be open to all Wisconsin libraries and library agencies.  Each subscription to the virtual reference service software being used will be considered one membership. Article 4 - Meetings 1.  The general membership will meet twice a year, once electronically, in the spring, and once at the annual Wisconsin Library Association conference in the fall, which will be considered the official annual membership meeting.  The board will meet four times a year—before and after each meeting of the general membership.  One face-to-face board meeting will be held in July.  The board will also meet at other times as deemed necessary by the president. 2.  Minutes will be routed to board members for additions and corrections via the board's listserv.  After approval by the board, the minutes will be posted to the general membership listserv for additional corrections and additions.  Final meeting minutes will be posted on the AskWisconsin web site and archived after a year. Article 5 – Board 1.  All official business of AskWisconsin shall be conducted by the AskWisconsin Board with guidance from the general membership. 2. The Board will consist of seven elected members and an ex-officio WiLS representative.  Each Board member will be elected for a two-year term.  Board membership is staggered so that roughly half the Board is elected each year.   The terms of office will run from July 1-June 30.  3.  Initial Board representation consists of:       2 representatives from the academic libraries       1 representative from the public libraries       1 representative from the technical colleges       3 at-large representatives 4.  Officers will consist of a Chair, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect, Secretary and committee chairs.  Duties of the chair will include the scheduling and running of meetings and the delegation of committee responsibilities. The vice-chair will substitute for the chair when necessary and become the chair after one year.  Each committee chair will recruit members for his/her committee.   The ex-officio member from the WiLS staff will help the consortium implement goals, provide general support to the Board and serve as a liaison with the product vendors.  5. Meetings shall be run in accordance with the most recent edition of "Robert's Rules of Order.” 6. A quorum of the Board shall consist of a simple majority of the members. 7.  Any board member that needs to resign while their institution is still a member of AskWisconsin shall do so in writing. 8.   Any board member whose institution withdraws from membership shall automatically be replaced through an election without a need to resign.   Article 6 - Elections Elections will be held four weeks before officers take office with the nomination process beginning at the time of the spring membership meeting.  The vice-chair, who is in charge of elections, will determine the exact dates of the elections each year.  Each membership is entitled to a vote for their appropriate type of library and one at-large vote.  Voting will take place via email over a one-week period.  If a Board member resigns, the vice-chair will be in charge of elections to fill the vacancy.  The replacement will be from the same type of library as the person who resigned.  The vice-chair will also be in charge of general elections and will appoint a nominating committee. Article 7 – Hours of Operation 1.  A discussion of specific hours of operation will be generated on the listserv by the Board president in December for the spring academic semester; in April, for the summer months; in July for the fall academic semester; and in November for the period between the fall and spring academic semesters.  2.  AskWisconsin service will be closed for the following federal holidays:  New Year’s Day; the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving Day; and Christmas Day.  The service will also be closed on Christmas Eve Day; and New Year’s Eve Day.  Members should post specific dates the service is closed on their local web sites. Article 8 - Amendments These by-laws, except as otherwise specified in this document, may be amended at any meeting of the AskWisconsin Board where a quorum of the Board is present by a two-thirds vote of the members present, providing a copy of the proposed amendment was introduced one meeting previously and sent out in the call for the present meeting. These By-laws shall be reviewed every two years, beginning in the year 2004.