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By-Laws

The Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools

By-Laws

Article I. Name

The name of the organization shall be the Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools.

Article II. Purpose

The purpose of the Library Council shall be to provide a forum for the development of library cooperation and to create task forces on specific areas of library cooperation.

Article III. Membership

3.1 Participating[1]  Members. An institution which is a participating member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools may become a member of the Library Council.

3.1.1 Representatives of Participating Members. Each Participating Member shall designate the Director of the Library to represent, vote and act for the Participating Members in all affairs of the Library Council. The Director of the Library may appoint an alternate representative who shall represent, vote and act in the absence of the Director of the Library.

3.2 Associate Members. An institution located in Chicago and the surrounding area which is not a participating member of the Common Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools, but which desires to enter into cooperative programs with the Library Council, or, an institution which qualifies for Participating Membership as outlined in 3.1 but does not wish to be a full member of the Library Council, may join one or more of the task forces.

3.2.1 Representatives of the Associate Members. Each Associate Member may designate a librarian to represent, without vote, and to act for the Associate Members in all affairs of the Library Council.

3.3 Ex Officio. The Library Council may invite the Common Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools to designate one of its members to serve as an ex officio member of the Library Council.

Article IV. Meetings

4.1 Meetings. The Library Council shall meet at least one time each year at a time and place mutually agreed upon. All meetings are open to interested observers.

4.2 Quorum. A majority of the Participating Membership shall constitute a quorum.

4.3 Voting. Each Participating Members shall be entitled to one vote. Matters of program and budget require two-thirds of the Participating Membership voting in the affirmative.

4.4 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Library Council may be called by the chairperson or may be petitioned by a majority of the Participating Members, provided the membership is notified ten days in advance.

4.5 Annual Meeting. The Annual meeting shall be the finance meeting at which the proposed budget shall be the presented and acted upon for submission to the Common Council, and at which officers are selected.

4.6 Relationship to the Common Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools. The chairperson of the Library Council shall report at the regular meetings of the Common Council. The Common Council shall act on the budget proposal of the Library Council at its annual meeting. The Common Council may request studies, receive reports and recommendations from the Library Council, and approve and fund new levels of library cooperation.

Article V. Officers

5.1 Officers of the Library Council. Officers of the Library Council shall be appointed for two-year terms from among Participating Members based on the founding year of the member institution.

5.1.1 Chairperson. The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Library Council and shall be in charge of the general management of the Library Council.

5.1.2 Vice Chairperson and Secretary. The vice chairperson shall, in the absence or disability of the chairperson, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the chairperson. The vice chairperson shall record and distribute the minutes of the meetings of the Library Council.

5.2 Officers of the Task Forces. The officers of any task force shall be determined and chosen by the task force as it sees fit.

5.3 Vacancies. A vacancy in any office can be filled by the next person on the rotation as prescribed in the By-Laws.

Article VI. Committees and Task Forces

6.1 Committees. Committees necessary for the conduct and business of the Library Council shall be appointed by the chairperson and confirmed by the Library Council.

6.2 Task Forces. The programs of the Library Council designed to extend theological library cooperation throughout the metropolitan area may be carried out through task forces. Membership of the task forces shall include the representatives of the members of the Library Council. Other Chicago area libraries may also be invited to participate.

6.3 Authority and Responsibility. The committees and task forces shall be accountable to the Library Council and shall make recommendations and reports as determined by the Library Council.

Article VII. Budget

The budget shall be determined annually as outlined in Article 4.6.

Article VIII. Years

The membership year, fiscal year, and service year for officers shall follow the academic calendar and run from July 1 to June 30.

Article IX. Rules of Order

The rules of order contained in the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the Library Council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws.

Article X. Amendments

The By-Laws may be adopted, suspended or amended at any duly constituted meeting by a two-thirds majority vote of both the Library Council and the Common Council.

Adopted by the Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools September 29, 1983

Approved by the Association of Chicago Theological Schools Common Council October 19, 1983

Amended by the Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools May 9, 1990

Amended by the Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools April 4, 2005

Emendations approved by the Association of Chicago Theological Schools Common Council April 11, 2005

Amended by the Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools March 15, 2012

Amended by the Library Council of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools September 30, 2016


[1] When the term “Participating” is used, it refers to institutions and comes from the Association of Chicago Theological Schools By-Laws. ACTS Library Council By-Laws, Rev. 4/2005 p.2