ASSOCIATION OF LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION SCIENCE STUDENTS
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University of Washington Association of Library and Information Science Students
Constitution
Section 1 The name of this organization will be the Association of Library and Information Science Students [ALISS] at the University of Washington.
Section 1 The purposes of this organization will be:
- To function as a student government.
- To provide official channels for communication between students, faculty, and administration of the Information School.
- To provide opportunity for social, cultural, and professional activities.
Section 1 Admission to the graduate program in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington, and enrollment therein, will be the sole eligibility requirement for regular membership.
em>Section 2 The faculty and administration of the Information School will be honorary members.
Section 1 The executive offices of this organization will be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, GPSS Senators.
Section 2 The duties of the officers will be as follows:
- President: The duties of the President are to: (1) Call official meetings of the organization and to preside at such meetings; (2) be responsible for the administration of any business of the organization; (3) organize and delegate responsibility for Convocation and Orientation committees; (4) represent the MLIS student body in meetings of the faculty; (5) hold transition meeting(s) with past and present officers and committee members.
- Vice President: The duties of the Vice President are to (1) assume the duties of the President in the event of that officer's absence; (2) appoint and oversee an Editor to produce the Silverfish; (3) appoint and oversee a Webperson to maintain the ALISS website and listserv; (4) organize or delegate responsibility for social events, such as the End-of-the-Quarter Party.
- Secretary: The duties of the Secretary are to: 1) Maintain ALISS records and correspondence; 2) Maintain the calendar and bulletin board for ALISS; 3) Organize and delegate responsibility for the Booksale; and 4) Will serve concurrently as the chair for the Booksale committee and will serve in this capacity until its completion.
- Treasurer: The duties of the Treasurer are to (1) maintain ALISS financial records; (2) provide financial reports to the Executive Board; (3) coordinate the supply of snacks; (4) and maintenance of the Student Lounge and ALISS Oval Closet space.
- GPSS Senators: The duties of the GPSS Senators are to: 1) Inform and encourage involvement in UW campus-wide issues and events; 2) To represent the concerns and needs of ALISS to the GPSS; 3) Be responsible for applying for departmental funds and represent the majority of their constituency in deciding how these funds are used; 4) Be responsible for assisting GPSS in recruiting and placing qualified graduate students as representatives to university committees; and 4) To fulfill any of duties as outlined in the GPSS Constitution or Bylaws.
Section 3 Any member of the association may be nominated or elected to an executive office. Although a candidate may be nominated for more than one office, the candidate will have to decide, before the election, which office they will seek.
Section 4 The term of office for all officers will be one full year, except GPSS Senators. This term will commence on the first day of the Spring Quarter. GPSS officers will hold their position for two years. The term will commence as soon as election results are announced.
Section 1 Elections for executive officers will be held in the Winter Quarter, except GPSS senators. The election for the GPSS senator will be held as early as possible in the fall quarter to elect the new officer.
Section 1.1 The current executive officers must solicit candidates during the second full week of the quarter and prominently post the candidates' names. Candidates must be members of this organization and may nominate themselves or be nominated by another member. Candidates must confirm their nomination by submitting a campaign statement. The duration of the nomination period will be no less than twelve days. In the event that no nominations have been made for one or more executive officer positions by the fourth week of the quarter, nominations for all those positions will remain open until at least one candidate has been confirmed for each position. Voting will not begin until there is at least one candidate for each executive officer position. Regardless, voting must begin by the ninth week of winter quarter.
Section 1.2 Voting will be held during the week following completion of nominations. The duration of the voting period will be no less than five days. The current executive officers must publish the campaign statements for all candidates during the voting period. The ballot will provide a choice for a write-in candidate for each position, even if a candidate is running unopposed. The votes will be tallied for each position during the weekend following the voting period. The candidate for each position with the most votes will be selected as officer-elect for that position. Officers-elect will be announced during the week following voting. In the event that the top candidates for a position receive an equal number of votes, a run-off election will be held for that position during the week following the initial voting period.
Section 2 Vacancies may be filled by appointment or special election at the discretion of the executive board.
Section 3 All regular members will be eligible to vote. Secret ballot will be the method.
Section 1 Elected Committee and Representatives will be as follows: Admissions Committee, Curriculum Committee, Research and Colloquium Committee, Alumni Association, DISC (Disabled/International/Students of Color) Liaison, and Evening Degree Representative. If sufficient interest exists, two people may jobshare any of the above positions.
Section 2 The duties of the Elected Committee Members and Representatives are:
- Admissions Committee Member: To carefully read and evaluate each applicant's application folder. To attend committee meetings and discuss and vote on each candidate. The admissions committee meetings begin in October and run through April; occasionally the committee meets every other week. As a committee member, your vote counts the same as a faculty member's vote. MLIS Program Coordinator provides training for each new student Admissions Committee member.
- Curriculum Committee Representative: To represent the students' voice in curriculum matters: at curriculum committee meetings, to appropriate faculty, to students, or other creative resources that might resolve student concerns. To determine student needs or provide a forum for concerns through: personal contact, regularly held student meetings, and electronic means.
- Research and Colloquium Committee Member: This representative will be responsible for organizing special colloquiums sponsored by ALISS. The representative will attend meetings and represent student needs and desires to faculty committee members, and report planned events to student groups. The representative should also facilitate communication between other student groups so colloquia do not overlap.
- Alumni Association Representative: The ALISS Alumni Representative is a member of the Board of Directors of the Information School Alumni Association. The representative attends board meetings once a month; assists with planning and promotion of the annual Soiree and Project Network. The representative serves as Chair of the Convocation Committee. The convocation committee solicits recommendations for the convocation speaker. The committee, in conjunction with the Dean of the Information School, and the President of ALISS, narrows the list of speaker candidates and prepares the ballot. The committee organizes the event, including programs, catering, music, ushering, and decorations.
- DISC (Disabled, International, Student of Color) Liaison: This position serves as a liaison with ALISS and the Minority/International/Disabled Student Faculty Advisor. The purpose is to coordinate academic support services and extracurricular functions for students of color, international, and disabled students. Academic support services include: coordinating note taking services and study groups, and acting as a liaison with faculty, college offices, and other UW student organizations which provide support to students of color, international, and disabled students. Extracurricular functions include a quarterly potluck and other social events.
- Evening Degree Representative: This position represents and advocates for the interests of MLIS Evening Degree students, including (but not limited to): the scheduling of courses to be offered outside day hours; class times; lab hours; availability of required materials and resources; program equability between day/evening. The Evening Degree Liaison will be the official channel of communication between evening students and MLIS administration, ALISS, and/or other organizations.
Section 3 Standing Committees will be as follows: Social, Lounge, Booksale, Convocation, Orientation, and Technology.
Section 4 The Executive Board may create ad hoc committees as required.
Section 5 The Executive Board will organize and hold the election of the GPSS Senator and new committee representatives Fall Quarter. Candidate nominations will be solicited during the second full week of the quarter and prominently posted. Voting will be held during the fourth week of the quarter and officers-elect announced during the fifth week. In the event that an unopposed candidate seeks a given office, that person shall assume the office afterelections are held.
Section 1 Meetings of this organization will be held on the Call of the President. Meetings must be announced no less than a week in advance. Notice shall consist of postings on the ALISS bulletin boards, the ALISS calendar, and may be announced via email by posting on imlis@u.washington.edu.
Section 2 A quorum will consist of no less than 6, including executive officers, committee representatives, and regular members present at a regularly scheduled or other appropriately announced meeting.
Section 3 The President may call closed meetings of the Executive Board for discussion of items for presentation to the regular association members. A quorum for decisions made by the Executive Board will consist of no less than 4 officers. Decisions will be made by majority vote of the officers in the quorum.
Section 4 The President may veto any decision made by the Executive Board. However, the other officers of the quorum may override that veto by a unanimous vote.
Section 1 The executive board is composed of the following: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, the two GPSS senators, and representatives from the student organizations (e.g. ASIS&T, SALA, and SLA).
Section 2 Administration of the organization will be vested in the executive officers.
Section 3 The board will keep the faculty advisor informed regarding the association's activities.
Section 1 There will be one faculty advisor who will be a member ex officio, without a vote.
Section 2 The advisor will be selected by the administration of the Information School.
Section 3 The duties of the advisor will be:
- To advise and assist in class organization and activities of the association.
- To serve as a personal ombudsman to students on matters other than those related to courses.
- To act as liaison between the administration of the Information School and the members of this association.
- To appoint a temporary chairperson, if no executive officer is present to conduct the association's business.
Section 1 The constitution may be amended by a majority vote of the regular members (as defined in Article III, Section 1) by written ballot or in person at a duly called meeting.
Section 2 Advance notice of proposed amendment(s) will be made via the ALISS webpage, the ALISS bulletin boards, the Silverfish, and printed copies.
Section 3 Members will have no less than one calendar month to review the proposed amendment(s) and to communicate their acceptance/rejection in a duly called meeting of the membership called for the purpose.
Section 1 Adoption of bylaws and amendment/revision will be by simple majority vote of regular members (as defined in Article III, Section 1) following due prior notification of the membership and published deadline for receipt of comments/objections/questions.
Section 2 Any member can propose an amendment to the by-laws by submitting it in writing (print or email) to an Executive Board member. Advance notice of the proposed amendment will be made to the membership at large via email, posting on the ALISS bulletin boards, and publication in Silverfish. The proposed amendment will be formally addressed at the next scheduled meeting.
Amendations by Executive Officers, 2002-2003
Revisions by Executive Officers, 2001-2002
Revisions by Executive Officers, 1997-1998
Previous Amendations by Executive Officers, 1995-1996