LIBRARY FACULTY HANDBOOK
2. b ORGANIZATION OF THE LIBRARY FACULTY
Library Faculty includes the Director of Libraries and ranked faculty assigned to the Library. (Approved by WSU Senate 1/19/98)
1. The Chair of the Library Faculty shall be the Director of Libraries.
2. Library Faculty meetings will be held monthly subject to cancellation by the Director of Libraries (8/26/85 Library Faculty Meeting). The purposes of these meetings are as follows:
a. To promote the group's professional involvement in the field of library and information science.
b. To provide for the group's active participation in the library and academic affairs of Washington State University.
c. To fulfill those duties as listed in the WSU Faculty Manual under SECTION III. Administration and Organization, Faculty and Staff Organization, The Faculty, Duties.
3. Agenda formulation for meetings of the Library Faculty:
a. The Library Faculty, in consultation with the Chair, shall be responsible for setting the agenda for each meeting. The administrative secretary will solicit agenda items from the Library Faculty two weeks prior to each scheduled meeting and distribute the agenda one week prior to the meeting.
b. The Chair of LFAC shall serve as facilitator for a portion of each regular monthly faculty meeting. The agenda will be distributed as part of the main agenda. (Library Faculty Meeting 5/18/98)
c. The faculty representative to Library Council from the LFAC membership shall be a part of the agenda of any regular monthly faculty meeting. (Library Faculty Meeting 5/18/98)
d. Reports from faculty or faculty/staff committees, working groups, task forces, etc. (hereinafter called "groups") will be put on the agenda at the request of the respective chairs.
e. Action items will normally be submitted by groups. The Chair will apply the following criteria for inclusion:
1) Clarity and correctness of formulation;
2) Adequacy of documentation;
3) Appropriateness for consideration by the Library Faculty as a whole.
4) The Chair will not approve or disapprove proposed items on their merits.
f. If a proposed action item is not approved for inclusion in the agenda, it will be returned to the originator with an explanation of the action. A copy of this communication will be sent immediately to the LFAC Chair. If LFAC disagrees with the Chair's action, it may put the item directly on the agenda under "Other."
g. The Chair may make minor editorial changes in approved agenda items, provided that the respective originators are consulted and concur.
h. Normally, items submitted at least 10 days before a meeting and approved for inclusion in the agenda will be considered at that meeting. When the agenda for a particular meeting threatens to become too long, or under other special circumstances, some items may be deferred to the next following meeting after consultation with the respective originators.
4. Meetings will be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order revised, unless superseded by rules in the Library Faculty Handbook. (4/24/89 Library Faculty Meeting)
a. Quorum (for Library Faculty Meeting purposes) is defined as a majority of library faculty, i.e., one-half of filled library faculty positions plus 1, the same definition as used by the Faculty Senate. (2/25/91 Library Faculty Meeting)
b. A person holding a secretarial position in the Libraries shall be assigned the responsibility of recorder at the monthly faculty meetings. (9/25/89 Library Faculty Meeting)
5. WSU Faculty Senate:
a. Membership in the WSU Library Faculty is limited to those with appointments to the Library Faculty. For purposes of Faculty Senate elections, the constituency for senators elected by the Library Faculty is limited to that membership.
b. The Library Faculty is represented by three senators in the Faculty Senate, each with a 3-year term; the terms are to be staggered such that one senator is elected each year. Each year the Director of Libraries appoints 3 faculty members to serve on the Libraries' Senate Election Subcommittee for the purpose of conducting the election of senator. For continuity, the chair of the committee should be one of the members from the previous year's committee.
c. Each Library Faculty member may vote in the election of a senator if his/her appointment is at least .50 FTE without a terminal date. However, to serve as a senator, the appointment must be full-time (either 100% annual or 100% academic) without a terminal date with the University, in accordance with the policies of the WSU Faculty Senate.
d. The Senate Election Subcommittee contacts each nominee for the election for permission to include the nominee on the ballot. In the event that the Subcommittee cannot contact a nominee concerning his/her willingness to be placed on the ballot, then that nominee will not be included on the ballot. (10/4/82 Library Faculty Meeting)
e. The Senate Election Subcommittee will prepare a ballot of nominees willing to serve. Library faculty will be instructed to vote for their first choice nominee. The nominee receiving the most votes will win the election if a minimum of 40% of the eligible voters for that position have voted (WSU Senate Constitution). In case of a tie, a run-off election will be held between the two nominees who received the same number of votes. (5/23/88 Library Faculty Meeting)
f. If a senator will be absent for two months or more of the academic year, a letter of resignation shall be provided and an election shall be held to select someone to complete the unexpired term. (12/14/98 Library Faculty Meeting)
Rev. 12-14-98