NASIG Newsletter

[Ed. note: Highlights from the January committee report to the Executive Board.]

BYLAWS
Konstantin Gurevich and David Bynog, Co-Chairs

COMPLETED ACTIVITIES
In the fall of 2007, the committee prepared the bylaws amendment that would reduce the treasurer’s term from four years to three. The wording of this amendment along with the justification was approved by the board, and the amendment was forwarded to the N&E Committee for inclusion in the 2008 ballot.

CONTINUING ACTIVITIES
At the board’s request, the committee prepared the amendment that would remove from the bylaws the statement that membership dues cover the calendar year, thus allowing for rolling due dates. The wording of this amendment has been submitted to the board.

The committee also did a preliminary survey of the bylaws to identify the articles that will have to be amended should the board adopt  the open elections  policy. The findings were reported to the board.

ACTIONS REQUIRED BY THE BOARD
The committee is presently awaiting comments from the board concerning the proposed wording of the above amendment.

QUESTIONS FOR THE BOARD
If the board adopts the open elections policy, the committee will need extensive and detailed instructions on the new procedures in order to amend the bylaws accordingly.

2007 BYLAWS AMENDMENTS
Adolfo Tarango, Bylaws Committee Chair

This year the Bylaws Committee presented, and the membership approved, four amendments to the NASIG bylaws.  The impetus for presenting these amendments came from the Executive Board, who had asked the committee to perform an extensive review of our bylaws.  The board especially wanted the committee to remove any language from the bylaws that would prevent NASIG from adopting technological developments for carrying out NASIG business more effectively. Three of the amendments, to Article III, Section 2, to Article VIII, and to Article XII, addressed this by removing or changing text having to do with mailing ballots, allowing the board to move forward with online voting.

The board also asked the committee to address problems with specifically naming committees in the bylaws.  The issue is that anytime the specified committee changes its name, the membership would have to take a vote to change the name in the bylaws. The amendments to Articles VII and XII replaced the specific references to the Nominations & Elections Committee and to the Bylaws Committee with more generic references to those committees. The committee also took the opportunity to rename Article XII to better reflect its content and to eliminate an unnecessary section heading under that article.

Over the years, and especially since the membership approved the nominations through petition process a couple of years ago, the elections process has become very difficult to plan and execute.  On a few occasions, because of the early timing of our annual conference, the specified deadlines for various elections processes were nearly missed.  The board asked the Bylaws Committee to review Article VII, which outlines our elections processes, to see if we could stage the election process better.  After identifying the key conceptual processes of the article, the committee decided to totally rewrite the article and established a new election process.

The revised article now vests the Nominations & Elections Committee with developing the election calendar every year.  This will allow them to accommodate the changing dates of the annual conference and give the membership adequate time to seek nominations by petition.  Addressing a different issue, given current communication technologies, the revised article shortened the period to challenge election results, since members have the means to act more quickly.  In keeping with the board’s requests stated in the previous two paragraphs, the committee also revised the article to delete references to mailing ballots and used a generic reference to a committee.

BYLAWS
Adolfo R. Tarango, Chair

April 2007

Committee members: Janet Arcand (Iowa State University), David M. Bynog (Rice University), June Garner (Mississippi State University), Konstantin Gurevich (Co-Chair, University of Rochester), Elizabeth Parang (Pepperdine University), Sandhya Devi Srivastava (Columbia University), Adolfo R. Tarango (Co-Chair, University of California, San Diego), Veronica Walker (North Carolina State University)

Board Liaison: Katy Ginanni (EBSCO Information Services)

I am pleased to submit the annual report of the Bylaws Committee for 2006/2007.

The committee held its annual meeting at the NASIG annual conference in Denver, CO, on May 6, 2006. David Bynog volunteered to continue as the committee’s web liaison. The committee reviewed its past year’s work, its charge, annual report, and committee guidelines. In fulfillment of a specific charge by the Executive Board to systematically review the bylaws to identify language tied to past practices that may no longer be relevant, the committee began a review of proposed revisions suggested to date. This review has continued throughout the year. For this election cycle, the committee was able to submit four amendments to the membership for consideration (see Appendix A) as a result of this review. The ballot was mailed to eligible voting members on February 12, 2007, along with the Nominations & Elections Committee ballot for NASIG officers: the postmark deadline for the ballot was March 15, 2007.

Ballot results were as follows:

Amendment 1:  272 voting yes, 5 voting no = 98% approved

Amendment 2:  273 voting yes, 4 voting no = 98% approved

Amendment 3:  175 voting yes, 1 voting no = 99% approved

Amendment 4:  262 voting yes, 8 voting no = 97% approved

Per Article XII of the NASIG Bylaws, each having received a least a two-thirds vote in favor of adoption, the amendments became effective immediately.

The committee will continue with its ongoing review of the Bylaws.

As a concluding note, I my sincerest thanks to my fellow committee members, to my Co-Chair, Konstantin Gurevich, and to Katy Ginanni, our board liaison, for being such great group to work with.

BYLAWS COMMITTEE STATISTICS

Number of questions/proposals received: 0

Number of questions/proposals in progress: 0

Number of Bylaws Committee proposals submitted to NASIG membership: 4

APPENDIX A

NASIG Bylaws Committee Ballot
2007

Colleagues:

The Bylaws Committee presents the following four amendments for your consideration. A “yes” vote means you approve of amending the bylaw as stated. A “no” vote means you do not approve of amending the bylaw as stated.

Over the past year and at the request of the Executive Board, the Bylaws Committee has undertaken an extensive review of our bylaws. The Board especially wanted the Committee to review the bylaws for language that would be a barrier to adopting technological developments for carrying out NASIG business more effectively. The first two proposed amendments below address this by removing or changing text having to do with mailing ballots. This is proposed so that the Board can move forward with online voting. In the proposed amendments below, deleted text is struck out and in bold, added text is given in bold italics.
Amendment 1:  Shall Article III. Membership, Section 2. Dues and fiscal year, be amended to read:

Article III. Membership.
Section 2. Dues and fiscal year.
Dues, which shall cover a fiscal year of January 1 through December 31, shall be remitted to NASIG annually by individuals desiring active membership. Proposals for changes in dues shall originate with the Executive Board and shall be voted upon by the membership by a mail ballot. A two thirds majority of those voting shall constitute a decision. Corresponding membership shall be complimentary.

____ Yes

____ No

Amendment 2:  Shall Article VIII. Meetings, be amended to read:

Article VIII. Meetings.
An annual business meeting shall be called by the Executive Board, to be held at the site of, and in conjunction with, the Annual Conference. Other meetings as deemed necessary may be called by the Executive Board. Notice of meetings shall be distributed mailed to the membership at least thirty days in advance of the meeting and shall include notice of business to be transacted.

____ Yes

____ No

The Board also asked the Committee to address problems with committees being referenced by name in the bylaws. The issue is that anytime the specified committee changed its name, a vote would need to be taken to change the name in the bylaws. In the following proposed amendment, the reference to the specific committee is made general. This amendment also removes a reference to mailing a ballot. It also renames the article to better reflect its content and deletes the section header since it is not needed.
Amendment 3:  Shall Article XII. Bylaws, be amended to read:

Article XII.  Amendments to Bylaws
Section 1. Amendments.
Proposed amendments may be submitted in writing to the committee responsible for bylaws Bylaws Committee, or may be presented at any meeting of the membership. Proposed amendments shall be distributed to the membership by the committee responsible for bylaws Bylaws Committee at least thirty days prior to the call for vote. Voting shall be by mail ballot. Adoption shall be by two-thirds majority of those voting. An amendment shall become effective after adoption, unless otherwise stated.

____ Yes

____ No

The fourth proposed amendment completely revises Article VII by charging the Nominations and Elections Committee with setting an election calendar that accommodates the changing dates of the Annual Conference from year to year, gives the membership adequate time to seek nominations by petition, and shortens the period to challenge election results. The latter is made possible by current communication technologies that allow members to act more quickly. The revision also deletes reference to mail ballots and uses general language in reference to a committee. Because this article was completely revised, the original text follows after the question is called.
Amendment 4:  Shall Article VII. Nominations and Elections, be amended to read:

Article VII.  Elections and Nominations.

Section 1. Elections.
The committee responsible for nominations and elections shall submit an election calendar for the upcoming election cycle to the Executive Board no later than sixty days after the Annual Conference. The election calendar shall state the steps and deadlines for nomination to eligible offices and officers, and members-at-large of the Executive Board, of announcements for the pending and final slate of candidates, for receiving nominations by petition, and for execution of the ballot for said election cycle. The Executive Board shall approve the calendar and report it to the membership within fifteen days after submission.

The election calendar deadlines shall be set to accommodate the following time requirements:

1. Ballots for an election shall be distributed at least sixty days prior to the Annual Conference and completed ballots shall be accepted for thirty days after distribution.
2.  Persons seeking a nomination by petition shall be allowed at least fifteen days from the time of notice to the membership of the pending slate of candidates, to gather and submit their petitions to the committee responsible for nominations and elections.

Candidates receiving a plurality of votes cast shall be elected. In case of a tie vote, the committee responsible for nominations and elections shall decide the election by lot. Notice of those elected shall be communicated to the membership prior to the Annual Conference, with a declaration made also at the Annual Conference.

Section 2. Nominations.
Nominations may be made by committee, by petition, or by write-in.

Nominations by Committee: The committee responsible for nominations and elections shall present candidates for the position of vice-president/president elect, secretary, treasurer, and Executive Board members-at-large, as required. The committee shall endeavor to present at least two candidates for each office to be filled. Candidates shall be selected in such a manner as to insure as broad a representation as possible of NASIG constituencies and of the geographic distribution of the membership. As specified in the election calendar, members may submit nominations to the committee responsible for nominations and elections for the above stated positions.

Nominations by Petition: Nominations may be made for any open position on the Executive Board by petition. Such petitions shall include endorsement by at least ten active members of NASIG as well as the written acceptance of the candidate. The petition must be submitted to the committee responsible for nominations and elections by the deadline stipulated in the election calendar. Any nomination which meets the petition requirements shall be included on the official ballot.

Write-in Candidates: Space shall be provided on the ballot for write-in candidates for each office to be filled.

Section 3. Challenges.
Challenges to the election results must be made to the President within ten days of the announcement of the election results.

____ Yes

____ No

Original text of Article VII:

Article VII. Nominations and Elections.

Section 1. Nominations.
Nominations may be made by committee, by petition, or by write-in.

The Nominations & Elections Committee shall present candidates for the position of vice president/president elect, secretary, treasurer, and Executive Board members-at-large when required.  The Committee shall endeavor to present at least two candidates for each office to be filled.  Candidates shall be selected in such a manner as to insure as broad a representation as possible of NASIG constituencies and of the geographic distribution of membership.  A notification of the pending slate of candidates shall be sent to the general membership no later than January 15, along with a request for any nominations by petition.   

Nominations by Petition:  Nominations may be made for any open position on the Executive Board by a petition.  Such petitions shall include endorsements by at least 10 active members of NASIG as well as the written acceptance of the candidate, and must be submitted in writing or by email to the Nominations & Elections Committee by February 1, after the initial notification of the slate of candidates. Any nominations which meet the petition requirements shall be included on the official ballot.

Write-in Candidates:  Space shall be provided on the ballot for write-in candidates for each office to be filled.

Section 2. Elections.
Elections shall be held by mail ballot at least sixty days prior to the Annual Conference. Candidates receiving a plurality of votes cast shall be elected, and be so declared at the Annual Conference. In case of a tie vote, the Nominating Committee shall decide the election by lot. Notice of those elected shall be communicated to the membership prior to the Annual Conference.

Section 3. Challenges.
Challenges to the election results must be made in writing to the President within sixty days of the announcement of the election results.

[Ed. note: Highlights from a report submitted for the fall Executive Board meeting.]

BYLAWS COMMITTEE
Adolfo Tarango and Konstantin Gurevich, Co-Chairs 

The Committee is continuing its ongoing review of the Bylaws per the Executive Board’s request. To date, the Committee has identified various editorial changes and some more substantive changes that could be made to the NASIG Bylaws. A listing of recommended revisions is presented under separate cover for the Board’s review.

BYLAWS
Adolfo R. Tarango, Chair 

Committee Members: Janet Arcand (Iowa State University), David M. Bynog (Rice University), Konstantin Gurevich (University of Rochester), Bob Persing (University of Pennsylvania), Alison Roth (Swets Information Services), Sandhya Devi Srivastava (Hofstra University), Veronica Walker (North Carolina State University), Kimberly A. Maxwell (Board Liaison). 

I am pleased to submit the annual report of the Bylaws Committee for 2005/2006. 

REPORT OF MEETINGS
The Committee held its annual meeting at the NASIG annual conference in
Minneapolis, MN, on May 21, 2005, at 7:30 am. David Bynog volunteered to be the Committee’s web liaison. The Committee reviewed its past year’s work, its charge, annual report, and committee guidelines. 

During this report period, the Committee received no questions/proposals. 

In other business, the Executive Board requested the Committee to systematically review the bylaws to identify language in the bylaws tied to past practices or necessities that may no longer be relevant or will probably become irrelevant. The Committee is in the process of identifying such occurrences and will begin a review of those identified to date at its meeting at the NASIG Denver conference. 

As a concluding note, I express my sincere thanks to the committee members and to Kim Maxwell, our Board Liaison, for their willingness to serve on this committee.

BYLAWS COMMITTEE STATISTICS

• Number of questions/proposals received: 0
• Number of questions/proposals in progress: 0
• Number of Bylaws Committee proposals submitted to NASIG membership: 0