WINNEFOX TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE COUNCIL BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I: NAME
A. The name of this body shall be the Winnefox Technology Executive Council (hereinafter referred to as WTEC).
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
A. The purpose of WTEC is to provide guidance and to make recommendations to Winnefox for the development of Winnefox Automated Library Services (hereinafter referred to as WALS) and other Winnefox technology services.
ARTICLE III: COMPOSITION
A. The Director (or designee) of the Berlin, Fond du Lac, Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh and Ripon public libraries shall be ex-officio members of the WTEC.
B. The Director of Winnefox (or designee) shall be an ex-officio member of WTEC.
C. Other Winnefox member libraries shall elect three (3) members at large to WTEC.
D. The WALS Technology Coordinator, the Winnefox Assistant Director and the Winnefox Cooperative Technical Services Program Coordinator will be ex officio non-voting members of WTEC.
E. If the Director of Winnefox is also the Director of Oshkosh Public Library, he/she may cast two votes rather than appointing a representative from either agency to represent the interests of that agency.
ARTICLE IV: DUTIES
A. Work with WALS management and staff to adopt such policies and procedures as are necessary to coordinate and facilitate use of the automated resources system.
B. Recommend an annual WALS operating budget for approval by the Winnefox Board of Trustees and monitor budget reports.
C. Address concerns raised by member libraries regarding the operations of WALS or other Winnefox technology services.
D. Provide oversight and guidance on projects related to WALS and other Winnefox technology services. Evaluate ideas for new projects, monitor the status of continuing projects, and make recommendations on priorities among technology projects.
1) Continuing projects include the development and maintenance of a telecommunications network; computer servers and associated equipment; network user accounts; email; a shared bibliographic database; integrated library system software for servers, clients and public access; procedures for cataloging, acquisitions, circulation/inventory control; and reporting of statistical data.
2) Special projects are those activities that are not ongoing, that relate to the development and advancement of the shared, automated resources system.
E. Participate in long range planning activities pertaining to WALS and other Winnefox technology support services.
ARTICLE V: ELECTIONS, OFFICERS AND DUTIES.
A. Elections for at-large members of WTEC shall be held at the Winnefox annual meeting. Nominations for at-large WTEC members may come from the floor and must be seconded by at least one other library. Ex officio members shall not participate in nominating or electing at-large members.
B. The new members of WTEC will take office at the first meeting following the Winnefox annual meeting.
C. The officers of WTEC shall be the Chair, and the Vice-Chair. The Winnefox Director shall serve as Chair. The Vice-Chair shall be elected by the members of the committee at the first meeting following the Winnefox annual meeting.
D. The Chair shall establish the agenda for and preside at all meetings of WTEC; shall see that the by-laws are enforced; shall appoint all sub-committees with the approval of WTEC, designating one member of each committee as Chair; shall authorize calls for special meetings; and shall generally perform the duties of a presiding officer. In the absence of the Chair the Vice-Chair shall serve as Chair.
E. The Vice-Chair shall perform all of the duties of the Chair in his/her absence.
F. A Winnefox employee shall serve as secretary at meetings, taking minutes and disseminating them to all WALS members upon approval by WTEC.
ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS
A. A schedule of regular meetings of WTEC shall be established annually by the committee, including the place, time and date of each meeting. The date or time may be altered provided that such decision is made at a meeting prior to the meeting in question or by emergency decision of the Chair, and provided that proper notice is given. The schedule of meetings for the upcoming year shall be posted on the Winnefox extranet. Meetings of WTEC shall be open to representatives of all Winnefox member libraries.
B. A quorum of WTEC shall be required to conduct committee business. A quorum shall be defined as a simple majority of the committee. Decisions require a simple majority of the votes present. Members of WTEC may send a voting proxy to any meeting they will be unable to attend, or designate another member of the committee as their proxy.
C. The WALS Technology Coordinator or her/his alternate (in case of emergency absence) shall attend all WTEC meetings.
D. Meeting agendas shall be provided by the Chair to the Winnefox office in a timely fashion and will be posted online by the designated Winnefox staff at least seven calendar days before the meeting. Any member of the committee may request that an item be placed on the agenda of the next meeting by making such request in writing (including email) at least 24 hours prior to the posting of the agenda.
E. Any five (5) Winnefox members may request that an item be placed on the agenda of the next meeting by making such request in writing (including email) at least 24 hours prior to the posting of the agenda. An Agenda may be modified at a meeting with the unanimous approval of members present, representing no less than seven members of the full committee.
F. The order of business at all regular meetings of WTEC shall be determined by the Chair and shall include the following:
1) Call to order;
2) Establishment of Quorum;
3) Minutes;
4) WALS Financial Report (once every two months);
5) Report on WALS operations and projects
6) Report on other Winnefox library technology services and projects;
7) Committee Reports,
8) Communications;
9) All Other Business.
G. Special meetings of WTEC may be called by the Chair, or upon written request of five voting members of the committee. Notice of any special meeting shall be delivered to each member at least one week in advance of such meeting, with a statement of time and place, and information as to the subject or subjects to be considered.
ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES
A. Winnefox Standing Technology Committees:
Winnefox shall have the following standing technology committees. The standing technology committees will provide information to and support the work of WTEC. It is expected that each library accounting for 5% or more of the circulation of the WALS system will send a representative to each of these committees. Directors of member libraries or their designees are encouraged to attend as well. WALS & Winnefox staff will participate in these committees. Significant recommendations from any of these committees to WTEC may be discussed by the entire Winnefox membership.
1) ALL-WALS. The ALL-WALS meeting occurs three times per year. It is not, strictly speaking, a committee. However, it is an opportunity, open to all members, for training, sharing, and discussing issues and concerns. Consensus recommendations on policies and procedures may emerge from discussion in these meetings. Portions of these meetings may be used to discuss guidelines and procedures pertaining to WALS operations, including resource sharing, bibliographic and patron database maintenance, and statistical reporting. Recommendations will be forwarded to WTEC for consideration.
2) Circulation Services User Group. The purpose of this group shall be to make recommendations to WTEC regarding changes in circulation policies and procedures.
3) Emergent Technology Committee. The purpose of this committee shall be to explore using technology to improve service delivery. This committee will forward recommendations to WTEC for changes to WALS and to Winnefox technology services.
4) Reference & Adult Services User Group. The purpose of this group shall be to serve as a forum for sharing best practices, sharing ideas for improving programs and services for adults in system member libraries and for formulating guidelines and procedures pertaining to improving users’ experiences of digital information resources, including the public access catalog, purchased electronic resources, etc. User group recommendations will be forwarded to WTEC for consideration.
5) Other committees may be established by the Chair with the approval of WTEC. All such committees shall be created with a stated purpose and a time certain in which to accomplish said purpose. All committees appointed under this section shall cease to exist upon their final report to WTEC, or their established sunset date, whichever occurs first.
ARTICLE VIII: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
A. WTEC will, on a regular basis, recommend policies and procedures for the efficient and effective operation of the automated system. Each member library is responsible for adherence to these policies and procedures, provided they have been distributed to each member library at least one month prior to the date they go into effect.
ARTICLE IX: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
A. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the organization in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these by-laws, the membership agreement, Wisconsin Statutes, or any special rules of order WTEC shall adopt.
B. In cases where the sources of authority are in conflict, the Wisconsin Statutes shall take precedence, followed by the WALS Terms and Conditions of Service, these by-laws, any special rules adopted by WTEC, and finally Robert’s Rules of Order.
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS
A. These by-laws may be amended or changed at any meeting of WTEC at which a quorum is present provided that the proposed amendment is properly noticed on the meeting agenda and that amendment or changes were distributed in writing and distributed to all members at least seven days in advance of the meeting at which the amendments are to be voted upon. Once approved by WTEC, changes to by-laws will be forwarded to the Winnefox Board of Trustees for final approval and implementation.