Governing Documents


The top link above is to our current and amended Governing Document.  The second link is to the original Governing Document as a result of our merger.  Below is the history of the changes to our Governing Document.

2022
Proposed changes to our governing documents (addressing what constitutes a quorum) were submitted to the Governance and Strategy Committee for review on August 11, 2022.  The Strategy and Governance Committee suggested a couple of minor changes to our scope note as well as some suggestions for clarifying our proposed amendment re: a quorum.  All of these recommended changes were incorporated into our proposed amendments which were then shared with all Community members asking for a vote to approve all of the proposed amendments.

On November 5, 2022, the below message was sent to the Academic and Education Community regarding amendments to our governing document.  The deadline for this vote was Wednesday, November 23, 2022 (at 5:00 PM CST).  At the close of the voting, 24 members had voted and the votes were tabulated.  The amendments all passed by the 2/3rds majority required.
  • Proposed amendment #1 -- 22 for (87.5%), 2 against (12.5%)
  • Proposed amendment #2 -- 24 for (100%), 0 against (0%)
  • Proposed amendment #3 --  24 for (100%), 0 against (0%)
  • Proposed amendment #4 --  24 for (100%), 0 against (0%)
Here was the post to connect:
The Academic and Education Board is putting forth four proposed Amendments to our governing document (bylaws):  1) the definition of a quorum, 2) duties of the Secretary, and 3) minor scope note clarifications to two (2) separate bullet points.  Each proposed amendment will be voted on individually.  These changes have been vetted by both the Board of the Academic and Education Community as well as the SLA Strategy and Governance Committee and must now pass a vote of the Academic and Education Community membership (to pass, the proposals would require a 2/3 majority vote of those voting).

Descriptions of the proposed changes are below (as well as on the ballot).

Here is the link to vote:   https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G72XLG5
The deadline: November, 23, 2022, 5:00 PM CST
  • Proposed amendment #1:

    Rationale re: quorum: we have had some challenges this year acquiring the necessary quorum for the Board to be able to conduct business.  The quorum is currently defined as having all three elected leaders in attendance at our meetings.  Our appointed officers have been much more successful in managing their attendance at meetings and this proposed change will truly facilitate our conducting Community business moving forward. 

    Existing language in the Executive Board section:

    The presence of the President, President-elect, and Secretary shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the board. 

    Proposed new language:

    The presence of the President, President-elect,  or Past President and at least two (2) other elected or appointed officers of the Community (not less than three officers in total) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the board.



  • Proposed amendment #2:

    Existing language in the Officer Roles section:

    The secretary shall have duties as specified by the Community Guidelines and the needs of the Community, including archiving or transferring to the Community archivist, the Community's records.


    Proposed new additional language (following the existing language):

    Additionally, if the Secretary is unable to attend a meeting, they will designate a replacement board member to take the minutes in advance of the meeting.


  • Proposed amendment #3:

    Existing language:
    (the second bullet point from the Scope Note)

    to enhance the skills of its members in the management and retrieval of such information and knowledge.

    Proposed new language:
    to enhance the skills and competencies of its members in the management and retrieval of such information and knowledge.



  • Proposed amendment #4:

    Existing language: (the fourth bullet point from the Scope Note)
    to improve the quality of teaching and research at academic institutions, and 

    Proposed new language:
    to improve the quality of teaching, research, and service in educational settings, and

2021
An original draft was prepared (March 29, 2021) and submitted to the Strategy and Governance Committee for review (April 2021).


The draft was approved by the Strategy and Governance Committee on May 27, 2021.

The draft was then submitted to the membership of the Academic and Education Community in early June and was approved by the membership (21 members voting: 19 in favor [90.5%], 2 against [9.5%]) on June 18, 2021.