Constitution Article I. Name This association shall be known as the Library Association of the City University of New York, heretofore to be identified as LACUNY. Article II. Purpose The Association is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes, including, without limitation, the encouragement of cooperation among the libraries of the City University of New York, the stimulation of the professional growth of the librarians on their respective staffs, and the promotion of the professional interests of the members of the association. The association is not organized for pecuniary profit or for financial gain and no part of its assets or net earnings shall be distributed to, or inure to the benefit of, its members, officers, or any other private individual. Reasonable compensation, however, may be paid for services rendered to or for the association in the furtherance of its purposes. In the event of dissolution, the assets and property of the association remaining after payment of expenses and the satisfaction of all liabilities shall be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction upon application of the executive council, for the charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes of the association, or to such charitable, scientific, literary, and educational organizations as the executive council or such court may determine. Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution, the association shall not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of its charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these articles, the organization is organized exclusively for one or more of the purposes specified in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal income tax under IRC 501(c)(3) or corresponding provisions of any subsequent Federal tax laws. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be carrying on propaganda, of or otherwise attempting to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided by IRC 501(h) and does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publication or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of any candidates for public office. In the event of dissolution, all of the remaining assets and property of the organization shall after payment of necessary expenses thereof be distributed to such organizations as shall qualify under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In any taxable year in which the corporation is a private foundation as described in IRC 509(a), the organization shall distribute its income for said period at such time and manner as not to subject it to tax under IRC 4942, and the organization shall not (a) engage in any act of self-dealing as defined in IRC 4941(d), retain any excess business holdings as defined in IRC 4943(c), (b) make any investments in such manner as to subject the organization to tax under U.C. 4944, or (c) make any taxable expenditures as defined in IRC 4945(d) or corresponding provisions of any subsequent Federal tax laws. Article III. Membership Section 1. Membership in the association is open to all librarians and teachers of library science, both active and retired, on the staffs of the City University who are, or were, members of the following ranks: Professor Adjunct Professor Associate Professor Adjunct Associate Professor Assistant Professor Adjunct Assistant Professor Instructor Adjunct Lecturer Lecturer Membership is also open to anyone on the staffs of the City University libraries who has a master’s degree in educational technology or a master’s degree in computer science, and to anyone on the staffs of the City University who has a master’s degree in library science from an accredited institution. Section 2. Associate Membership All non-faculty library employees and others employed in library service in the City University of New York including retirees, high school teachers affiliated with the City University of New York, library/information science students attending Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, and library/information science students employed at a City University library. Section 3. Those persons eligible for membership as stated in Section 1 and 2 of this Article shall be considered members upon payment of dues provided for in the by-laws. If a member resigns from CUNY, that person’s membership in the association expires with the date of resignation. Membership fees will not be refunded in case of resignation from the Library Association of the City University of New York. Article IV. Officers and Executive Council Section 1. Officers Para. A. The officers of this association shall be a president, a president-elect who shall serve as vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, and an editor of the journal of the association, Urban Library Journal. Para. B. There shall be an executive council consisting of the officers mentioned in Paragraph A of this Section and of the delegates from each of the member colleges and the CUNY Office of Library Services as provided for in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph A of the by-laws. The past president of the association shall serve as a member of the council for one year following the conclusion of her or his term of office. Para. C. The officers and delegates shall be nominated and elected as provided for in the by-laws. They shall be on active service at one of the libraries of the City University or at the CUNY Office of Library Services during their tenure of office. Para. D. The president shall preside at all meetings of the association, appoint an institute chairperson, appoint an archivist, serve as a member of the budget committee, and discharge any other function customarily performed by a president. The president-elect shall serve the first year after an election as vice-president and as a member of the committee on committees, and the constitution and by-laws committee. The president-elect shall preside in the absence of the president and shall serve the second year after election as president. The secretary shall keep minutes of the executive council meetings and regular business meetings of the association and shall send the delegates copies of these minutes to distribute to all members of the association. The secretary shall draw up the calendar for each meeting. The secretary shall serve as a member of the constitution and by-laws committee. The secretary shall perform such duties as are customarily performed by a corresponding and recording secretary. The treasurer shall be the custodian of all dues and other funds belonging to the association and shall make such disbursements as are provided for in the by-laws. The treasurer shall serve on the budget committee. The treasurer shall monitor and, at the Spring Membership Meeting of the executive council, report membership totals for each college, on the basis of which the executive council shall determine the number of delegates to be elected from each college for the coming year. The Editor shall have overall responsibility for content, design and publication of the Urban Library Journaland shall preside over the Editorial and Advisory Boards. The editor will solicit articles, assign them for review, and have final approval for all articles. The editor will recruit the necessary staff to assure publication of the Urban Library Journal including the tasks of copy editing, proofreading, production, budget, publicity, and promotion. Section 2. Executive council Para. A. The officers of the association shall serve as officers of the executive council in their respective capacities. Para. B. The executive council shall seek information on subjects of interest to the association and from time to time shall present its findings to the association. Para. C. The executive council shall, as need arises, formulate policies and frame resolutions on all matters that are of direct concern to the business of LACUNY as spelled out in Article II of the constitution, and shall suggest such methods of procedure as it deems advisable. Para. D. The executive council shall hold power of approval for all programs proposed or planned for presentation by association committees and shall reserve the right to establish the appropriateness, rules, and regulations of any contests, awards, or prizes to be sponsored in any way by the association. Para. E. A quorum of the executive council shall be one-half the number of executive council members. Article V. Meetings Section 1. Meetings shall be held as stipulated in the by-laws. Section 2. If the membership of the association consists of 300 persons or less, a quorum shall be 30 members. For each additional 50 persons above 300 joining the membership, 5 members shall be added to the basic 30 to constitute a quorum. Article VI. Amendments to the constitution and by-laws. All proposals to amend the constitution and bylaws must be submitted to the constitution and bylaws committee. On approval of that committee, such proposals may be submitted to the membership by written or electronic poll. A two-thirds vote in favor shall be necessary for the adoption of constitutional amendments; a majority vote in favor shall be necessary for the adoption of bylaws amendments. If the constitution and bylaws committee rejects a proposed amendment, supporters of such proposals will have the right to appeal that decision to the executive council. If a majority of the executive council uphold the appeal, the constitution and bylaws committee shall be required to submit the proposal to the membership in accordance with above procedures within one month of the decision to uphold the appeal. The membership shall be notified by the secretary, either through the executive council minutes, or directly, of the number of votes for or against the proposals. Article VII. Voting No motion shall be passed at a meeting of the association unless a majority of the members present vote for it. Article VIII. Rules of order In all cases not otherwise provided for in this constitution, procedure shall be governed by the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. Article IX. Committees and Roundtables Section 1. Standing Committees Para. A. Standing committees consider matters of the association that require continuity of attention by the membership. Para. B. There shall be two types of such committees: (1) Elected committees (A) There shall be a budget committee, a committee on committees, and a constitution and bylaws committee. (B) The membership, terms of office of members, and functions of those committees are specified in the bylaws. (2) Non-elected committees (A) Non-elected standing committees may be established by the executive council. (B) The name, the size, and the wording of the functions of all such committees shall be determined by the committee on committees. Section 2. Ad-hoc Committees Para. A. Ad-hoc committees may be established by the president and/or the executive council at any time for the performance of a particular assignment. Para. B. No such committee may be continued beyond two years without review by the committee on committees and reapproval by the executive council. Section 3. Roundtables A. Para A. Roundtables are interest groups formed and led by members to enhance the professional development of the membership. B. Para B. The Executive Council has the authority to oversee, create, and dissolve roundtables as outlined in the By-Laws.
Article X. Archives The association shall maintain an archives, consisting of reports, official correspondence, publications, and minutes of the executive council, all committees, and all officers of the association. Updated 6/20/17 |