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
Secretary: Debra Rosenfeld
Members Include:
Maryann Lis Simmons - New Paltz
Zac Spaulding - SENYLRC
Debra Rosenfeld - Wallkill
Public Library
Amy Weisz - Onteora
Kara Haggerty - Kingston
Sari Grandstaff - Saugerties
Emma Tourtelot - Rondout Valley
Elizabeth Stegmayer
Dieter Chimmelpfennig
Council meetings will begin at 1:00pm on the following dates:
April 12, 2024
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 eleven (11) members.
Sec. 2 Representation:
a. The Council membership shall include the following nine (9) 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) library media specialist representative from participating non-public school.
- One (1) representative from the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council.
- One (1) representative from a public library in Ulster County
b. The Council’s two (2) remaining seats shall be chosen from any of the following categories:
- School Administrator
- Teacher from Ulster County
- Community Member
c. The System Director 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 Council 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 school 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:
a. 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
b. Vice-Chair:
- Assume the duties of the Chair in the Chair’s absence
- Assist in the selection of the System director
c. 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
a. The Council will meet at least four (4) times each year.
b. A 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 may be 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
Board of Education amended 12/5/89
Council adopted 1/25/90
Board of Education amended 9/20/93
Council adopted 11/18/93
Board of Education amended 5/4/99
Council adopted 5/27/99
Board of Education amended 5/8/01
Council adopted 6/26/02
Board of Education amended 5/8/07
Council adopted 5/23/07
Board of Education amended 12/11/07
Council adopted 2/27/08
Board of Education 4 (Appendix 1)
Guidelines/Timeline for Nominations of
School Library Systems Council Members
Nominating Committee will consist of:
1. Past Council Chair (if available)
2. One other Council member
3. A school library media specialist who is not on the Council
Responsibilities of the Committee
1. Analyze the Council's composition to assure equitable distribution among elementary, intermediate and high school library media specialists
2. Solicit recommendations from the Superintendent for names of library media specialists to serve on the Council.
3. Present names of proposed appointees to the Council.
Timeline
The nominating process will take place between March and May
3rd 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.
When an opening occurs for a representative from a particular school district, a letter is sent to the superintendent of the district inviting them to recommend a library media specialist to be appointed to the Council (see letter 1).
If no response is received by the deadline (2 weeks), a second letter will be sent to the superintendent. (see letter 2)
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.