The school library system advisory council meets with the School Library System Coordinator on a quarterly basis to:
Minutes to the SLS council meetings can found here: Council Meeting Minutes
Chair: Amy Weisz
Co-Chair: Kara Haggerty
Members Include:
Maura Albertson - Saugerties
Zac Spaulding - SENYLRC
Libbie Werlau - Wallkill
Crystal Middleton - Public Library
Amy Weisz - Onteora
Kara Haggerty - Kingston
Lynn "Asha" Golliher - Ellenville
Emma Tourtelot - Rondout Valley
Elizabeth Stegmayer - Kingston
Dieter Chimmelpfennig - Administrator
Council meetings will begin at 1:00pm on the following dates:
September 20th, 2024
December 6th, 2024 (on zoom)
March 14th, 2025
May 30th, 2025
BY-LAWS OF THE ULSTER BOCES
SCHOOL LIBRARY SYSTEM COUNCIL
ARTICLE I. NAME AND AUTHORITY OF THE COUNCIL
Sec. 1 The name of the organization governed by these By-Laws is the Ulster County BOCES School
Library System Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council. The Ulster BOCES School
Library System is hereinafter referred to as the System.
Sec. 2 The Council is governed by Section 282 of the New York State Education Law, The Rules of the
Board of Regents, the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, and these By-Laws.
ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES
Sec. 1 The Council, with the governing board of Ulster County BOCES, is responsible for development
of the System’s Plan of Service.
Sec. 2 The Council will monitor implementation of the Plan of Service of the System.
Sec. 3 The Council will make recommendations to the Board of Ulster County BOCES for the filling of
Vacancies on the Council.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Sec. 1 Number: The Council membership shall consist of (10) members.
Sec. 2 Representation:
The Council membership shall include the following nine (8) member seats:
Six (6) library media specialists, one (1) representative from a component
Public school district in the Ulster County BOCES: two (2) elementary, two (2)
Middle, two (2) high school
One (1) representative from Southeastern New York Library Resources Council
One (1) representative from a public library in Ulster County
The Council’s (2) remaining seats shall be chosen from any of the following
categories:
School Administrator
Teacher from Ulster County
Community member
The System Coordinator is an ex-officio member of the Council.
Sec. 3 Nominations: Nominations for membership on the Council will be made by the Nominating Committee appointed annually for that purpose by the Chair. The Committee shall follow a nominating procedure developed by the Council (see appendix 1).
Sec. 4 Term: Members of the Council shall serve a three year (3) term, the terms to be staggered so that one-third of the members of the Council shall be appointed each year. No member shall serve more than three (3) consecutive terms if feasible.
Sec. 5 Vacancies: In the event of a district vacancy the Chair shall ask a district to send a representative until the Nominating Committee shall recommend an individual to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Sec. 6 Disqualification: a Council member who fails to attend two consecutive meetings without excuse accepted as satisfactory by the Council shall, at the next regular meeting following the second consecutive absence, be declared to have resigned.
Sec. 7 Voting: Each Council member shall have one vote and must cast it at a meeting or electronically within a time span of three school days.
ARTICLE IV. PRESIDING OFFICERS
Sec. 1 The officers of the Council shall be a Chair, Vice-Chair and a Secretary.
Sec. 2 The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of officers for the coming year to the members of the Council at the last quarterly meeting of the Council. The officers shall serve for two (2) years. No officers shall serve for more than three (3) consecutive terms.
Sec. 3 The duties of the officers shall be:
Chair:
Convene the meetings
Prepare the agenda in conjunction with the director
Appoint the Nominating Committee, and other Committees as needed
Assist in the selection of the System Director
Vice-Chair:
Assume the duties of the Chair in the Chair’s absence
Assist in the selection of the System Director
Secretary:
Record the minutes
Submit the minutes to the Chair and Director
Assist in the selection of the System Director
ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES
Sec. 1 Establishing Committees: Committees to carry out specialized activities or responsibilities, may be authorized by the Council. The Chairperson will appoint committee members and designate a committee chairperson.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
Sec 1 Meetings
The Council will meet four (4) times each year.
The majority of members of the Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting.
ARTICLE VII. RECORDS OF THE COUNCIL
Sec. 1 All records of the System and the Council shall be maintained at the System headquarters.
ARTICLE VIII. RULES OF ORDER
Sec. 1 Robert’s Rules of Order, latest revised edition, shall in the absence of provisions to the contrary herein, be observed in governing the Council.
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS
Sec. 1 Amendments to these by-laws maybe made by a two-thirds majority vote of the Council, provided that the proposed changes shall have been submitted at an earlier regular meeting, and that a copy of the proposed changes is part of the call of the meeting.
Sec.2 These by-laws and subsequent amendments are subject to approval by the Ulster County BOCES Board of Education.
Adopted 5/19/88 Council
Adopted 7/7/88 BOE
Amended 12/5/89 Council
Adopted 1/25/90 BOE
Amended 9/20/93 Council
Adopted 11/18/93 BOE
Amended 5/4/99 Council
Adopted 5/27/99 BOE
Amended 5/8/01 Council
Adopted 6/26/02 BOE
Amended 5/8/07 Council
Adopted 5/23/07 BOE
Amended 12/11/07 Council
Adopted 2/27/08 BOE
Reviewed 2020/2021
Revised 2023
(Appendix 1)
Guidelines/Timeline for Nominations of
School Library Systems Council Members
Nominating Committee will consist of:
Past Council Chair (if available)
One other Council member
A school library media specialist who is not on the Council
Responsibilities of the Committee
Analyze the Council’s composition to assure equitable distribution among elementary, intermediate and high school library media specialists
Present names of proposed appointees to the Council
Timeline
The nominating process will take place between March and May
Third Council Meeting:
A nominating committee is established by the Council Chair
A list will be provided by the System’s Director to the Committee indicating which Council member’s terms are expiring and their eligibility for re-appointment.
The Committee will conduct a search to identify interested and qualified individuals.
Fourth Council meeting:
Nominating Committee presents proposed names for appointment to the Council.
Following action by the Council, nominations will be forwarded to the BOCES Board for appointment to the June meeting.