Constitution of the Student Chapter of the American Library Association (SCALA)
Adopted: September 19, 2006
Article I
Official Name:
The official name of this organization shall be the Student Chapter of the American Library Association (SCALA).
Article II
Affiliations:
This group shall be affiliated with the American Library Association (ALA) and the UNC-CH School of Information and Library Science (SILS).
Article III
Purpose:
This organization shall be a student chapter of the ALA. It shall serve to represent the ideas of the ALA at UNC-CH and within SILS and arrange activities where these ideas can be presented for and discussed by the students.
Objectives:
SCALA's objectives shall be:
1. To facilitate and encourage participation in the ALA.
2. To increase awareness and use of the resources of the ALA, including publications, promotional materials, scholarships, and conferences.
3. To provide a local forum for the exchange of ideas and information about trends, issues, and opportunities in the library and information science profession.
4. To assist students in developing skills and professional relationships that will enable them to have a creative impact on the library and information science profession.
5. To promote involvement in professional activities beyond the classroom.
6. To increase awareness of national issues in library and information science.
7. To promote interaction with other student chapters of the ALA.
8. To provide professional development activities that relate to one or more of the five key action areas adopted by the ALA: diversity, education andcontinuous learning, equity of access, intellectual freedom, and 21st century literacy.
Article IV
Membership and Participation:
Section 1 - Any student currently enrolled in SILS at UNC-CH may join SCALA, however, the majority of members must be full-time students. Any student and/or faculty member from any university or college in North Carolina may attend SCALA events, unless otherwise announced. Membership in ALA is not required by members, but it is encouraged.
Section 2 - All participating SILS students at UNC-CH shall be considered full members and have full voting rights on all SCALA governance decisions.
Article V
Advisor:
The advisor for SCALA shall be: (1) a current member of the faculty at UNC-CH; and (2) a current member of the ALA.
Article VI
Meetings:
Section 1 - An organizational meeting shall be held at the beginning of the executive board members' term. SCALA meetings shall then be held as needed and/or desired.
Section 2 - Meetings shall be planned and convened by one or more member of the executive board. Some of the meetings may be held with all SCALA members present, while others may be solely among the executive board; the meeting attendee make-up shall be dependent on the nature of the meeting. Meetings may be for professional development, entertainment, and/or consideration of SCALA business. Every Spring semester SCALA will hold a book sale to raise funds for the year.
Section 3 - The entire executive board and at least two SCALA members must be present when a vote is required on any decision made by SCALA that regards business matters.
Article VII
Executive Board:
All executive board members must be currently enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as full-time students. The executive board will consist of the following positions:
President - The President will coordinate with other student organizations in SILS, set and run meetings, coordinate programming, and delegate responsibilities to other board members as needed.
Vice President - The Vice President will assume the duties of the President in his/her absence, assist with programming coordination, and plan and execute the annual SCALA book sale.
Secretary - The Secretary will keep minutes at the meetings, maintain general correspondence with SCALA members, notify SCALA members of meetings and events, and assist with programming coordination.
Webmaster - The Webmaster will maintain the SCALA website, aid the Secretary, and assist with programming coordination.
Treasurer - The Treasurer will handle all of SCALA's finances and assist with programming coordination.
Article VIII
Elections:
Section 1 - The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Webmaster, and Treasurer will be elected by the student body of SILS. Terms for each officer position will last for one year, running from January to December. A person may hold any SCALA office for a single one-year term.
Section 2 - Nominations for each office listed in Section 1 are anonymous and take place during the Fall Semester. Any student from SILS may nominate any other student who is able to fulfill the office by sending that student's name and the office for which they are being nominated to a single election coordinator, appointed by the Information and Library Science Student Association (ILSSA). ILSSA orchestrates all SILS student organization elections each year.
Section 3 - Nominees are not required to present their qualifications in any formal way. Elections will be held online during the Fall Semester.
Section 4 - If a runoff is required, ILSSA will orchestrate and supervise the runoff.
Article IX
Committees/Divisions:
SCALA has no standing or ad-hoc committees or divisions. In the event that a committee must be formed to organize an event or take on a project, any interested SCALA member(s) and/or Executive Board member(s) may present their idea to the Executive Board for approval.
Article X
Funds:
SCALA will raise funds primarily through an annual book sale. Funds will be allocated by the treasurer with approval from the other officers.
Article XI
Ratification:
The Constitution will be approved by a preliminary vote by the Executive Board. If revisions are necessary, they shall be made and the revised Constitution will be presented to the full membership of SCALA for approval.
Article XII
Amendments:
Amendments to the SCALA Constitution can be proposed by any member of SCALA. Amendments should be officially presented to the Executive Board in written form. The Executive Board shall then present the proposed amendment to all SCALA members for a vote. An amendment receiving a majority of votes will be added to the SCALA constitution.
