Faculty Congress

Charter and By-Laws Hilo Library

Charter and By-Laws of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Library

Drafted Fall, 2007; Revised Fall, 2009; Amended Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Spring, 2021

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Charter of the Library Senate

Preamble

Board of Regents Policies, Section 1-10 states, “With unanimous agreement and understanding that the faculty of an educational institution contributes to its quality, spirit, aspiration, and effectiveness, the Board of Regents issues this policy to provide for organized faculty involvement in the development and maintenance of institutional academic policies and to emphasize the maintenance of a collegial approach to academic decision making and policy development.”

The Library Senate, its standing committees, and various ad hoc committees, function as forums for professional discourse and consideration of such policies which have Library-wide concern and relate directly to the intellectual life and educational process of the University.

Article I. Name, Purpose and Actions

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the University of Hawai’i at Hilo Library Senate (hereinafter called the Library Senate or Senate).

Section 2. The Library Senate shall advise the Library Administration on matters impacting and/or relating to the development and maintenance of academic policy and standards to the end that quality library collections and services are provided, preserved, and improved.

Section 3. As stated in Board of Regents Policies, Section 1-10, “the faculty has primary responsibility for such fundamental academic areas as curriculum content, subject matter, and methods of instruction and research.” The Library faculty contributes to these endeavors through specialized educational services and has primary responsibility for such fundamental academic areas as:

  1. developing and maintaining the collections;
  2. extending access to, and bibliographic control over, the collections;
  3. instructing students (both formally in the classroom and informally in the library);
  4. providing personal, value-added reference services;
  5. enabling research through information technology, and
  6. advising users in the use of the collections.

Section 4. The Library Senate shall also have the responsibility to speak for the library faculty on academic policy matters such as:

  1. policy determining the initiation, review, and evaluation of proposed or authorized research, instructional, and academic programs;
  2. budget planning and implementation policy;
  3. student-faculty relations policy;
  4. policy for the evaluation of faculty and campus academic administrators;
  5. personnel policies;
  6. other subjects affecting academic policy subjects referred to it or them by the Chancellor and/or Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, or by request of the University Librarian or appropriate faculty organization.

Section 5. In fundamental academic areas in which the library faculty have primary responsibility, Senate-initiated resolutions and proposed actions shall be directed to the attention of the University Librarian and/or appropriate agents for consideration and timely response.

Section 6. Matters coming to the attention of the University Librarian, and in areas under the University Librarian’s responsibility, relevant to the concerns of the Library Senate and the welfare of the University of Hawai’i at Hilo Library (hereinafter called the Edwin H. Mookini Library or Mookini Library) shall be forwarded to the Library Senate for its consideration and timely response.

Section 7. The Library Senate is concerned with matters relating to the Library Faculty and its governance as described (above). With the exception of academic policy proposals, other matters relevant to the UHH campus as a whole, or to the UH System, are referred to the UHH Faculty Congress by the Library’s representative(s), elected by majority of the voting membership of the Senate. Additionally, any Library Faculty member may bring matters individually to the Congress without prior notification to, or involvement of, the Senate.

For academic policy proposals, committee recommendations are forwarded to the Library Senate for a vote. The proposal and results of the vote are forwarded to the University Librarian, who may require additional committee and/or faculty review. If the proposal affects only the Library and the University Librarian approves, it is codified in the Library’s policy and procedure documents. If the proposal affects one or more units other than the Library, the University Librarian forwards the proposal, along with his/her recommendation for approval or disapproval, to the Faculty Congress per the UHH academic policy proposal and modification process.

Article II. Principles of Shared Governance

The Library Senate endorses and calls for principles of openness and collegiality in the shared governance and administration of the Edwin H. Mookini Library.

Article III. Membership

Section 1. Voting Members

The regular voting members of the Library Senate are all library faculty who: (1) hold Board of Regents appointments, (2) hold positions that are half-time or more, and (3) hold appointments that are no shorter than four months.

Section 2. Associate Members

Librarians with less than half-time appointments, librarians appointed by Hawai’i Community College, librarians on temporary, 89-day hire, and APT (Administrative, Professional and Technical) librarians are non-voting members of the Library Senate.

Section 3. Ex-officio, non-voting members

Ex-officio, non-voting administration members shall include the University Librarian.

Article IV. Officers and Duties

Section 1. Officers

The elected officers are a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson/Chairperson Elect, to be elected, at-large annually, prior to June 1. The term of office is one year. Any officer has the option of declining to serve on any Library Senate committee during his/her term in office.

Section 2. Eligibility

All voting members of the Library Senate are eligible to hold any office and to serve as chair of any committee. All voting and non-voting members of the Library Senate are eligible to serve on any committee, except the Library Personnel Committee which has its own policies and procedures.

Section 3. Duties

The duties of the Officers are as follows:

  1. Chairperson 1) Presides at meetings of the Library Senate 1) Appoints a Parliamentarian who interprets procedures from the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order; 1) Appoints ex-officio members to Senate committees as needed; 1) Implements the purposes and objectives of the Library Senate, subject to the approval of the body; 1) Appoints Chairpersons of all committees except standing committees; 1) Calls emergency meetings when extraordinary circumstances exist. 1) Notifies the membership of all meetings; 1) Prepares the agenda for all Library Senate meetings, including soliciting by email agenda items from all Library Senate members.
  2. Vice-Chairperson/Chairperson Elect 1) Assumes the duties of the Chairperson in his/her absence; 1) Prepares the minutes of Library Senate meetings and posts them online; 1) Maintains master copies of official Library Senate documents.

Section 4. Quorum

A quorum consists of two-thirds of the voting members of the Library Senate. Business is conducted according to the procedures outlined in the latest unabridged edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, except as otherwise stated in this Charter and By-Laws.

Section 5. Disclosure Rule

Any business not routine in nature or any motion or proposal of more than 15 words must be available for review by library faculty at least 24 hours before consideration by the Senate. This rule may be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the Senate members present.

Article V. Amendments

Amendments to the Charter may be initiated by any Library Senate member and voted upon either in a paper ballot, by email, or in a meeting of the Library Senate. No amendments to the Charter will be acted upon unless the proposed amendments have been distributed to the Library Senate members at least five working days excluding weekends and holidays prior to the meeting at which they will be voted upon or prior to the close of balloting. If approved by a two-thirds majority of those voting, amendments are adopted.

Article VI. Committees

Standing and special committees may be elected or appointed to carry out the objectives of the Library Senate. cf. By-Laws.

Article VII. Administrative Evaluation

The Library Senate will conduct an annual administrative review of the University Librarian. The Senate Chair will send to library faculty a confidential form via electronic or written means. Completed forms will be tabulated and a summary report prepared by the Library Senate Chair. In the case of an electronic form, every reasonable means should be taken to ensure confidentiality, anonymity, and one vote per person. The summary report will be submitted to the Chancellor via the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, with notification of completion to the UH Hilo Faculty Congress by April 15 of each year, and the completed forms destroyed. The summary report may be reviewed by the Library Senate in Executive Session and shall not be reported in the minutes.

Article VIII. Meetings

Section 1. Regular Meetings

The Library Senate shall meet at regularly prescribed times, but not less than once per semester. Meetings may take place in person or by electronic means. In the event that the agenda is empty 24 hours prior to the start of a meeting, the Chairperson may cancel the regular meeting.

Section 2. Emergency Meetings

Emergency meetings may be called by the Chairperson. Any Library Senate member or the University Librarian may request the Chairperson to call an emergency meeting. Any action taken at an emergency meeting will be reviewed at the next regular meeting.

Section 3. Notification of Meetings

Notification or cancellation of all regular meetings will be made by the Chairperson of the Library Senate to the membership by email. The Chairperson is responsible for notifying by email every member of the Library Senate when an emergency meeting is called.

Section 4. Executive Session

An executive session of the Library Senate is a special closed confidential meeting of senate voting members and any invited guests. An executive session may be placed on the agenda as part of a regular senate meeting, called as a separate meeting, or called for by a motion during a regular meeting and vote of two-thirds of the Library Senate. Regular senate meeting minutes should indicate when the Library Senate went into an executive session, what the primary reason was, any formal decisions that were made in the executive session, and when the senate came out of the executive session.

By-Laws of the Library Senate

(Drafted Fall, 2007; Revised Fall, 2009; Amended Fall, 2016, Spring 2021)

Article I. Committees

Section 1. Committees

  1. In the event of vacancies in major administrative offices in the library, the University Librarian will provide for Senate representation on any committee that is to offer advice and counsel in filling the vacancy. Senate representatives to such committees will be elected by the voting membership.
  2. In the event of problems not covered by an existing committee or union grievance mechanisms, any member of the Library Senate may be contacted. An Ad Hoc Ombudsman Committee consisting of three members will be appointed by the Library Senate if appropriate. This committee will hear the case, deliberate, and make recommendation to the Senate for such disposition as it sees fit.
  3. By majority vote of the Senate, ad hoc committees may be constituted and charged for a duration not to exceed their initial charge. These committees may be of any composition that the Senate chooses. The Senate itself may create these committees as it sees fit; the University Librarian may also mandate the creation of ad hoc committees as needed.
  4. The Senate may establish and dissolve standing committees at will by majority vote of the membership. Representatives to such committees will be elected by the voting membership.

Section 2. Membership

  1. No person may serve on more than two standing committees at one time.
  2. No elected officer may serve on more than one standing committee at one time.
  3. The Library Personnel Committees shall consist of the number of members specified in and chosen in the manner described in the current Library Personnel Committee Policies and Procedures.

Section 3. Chairpersons

  1. Chairpersons of standing committees shall serve one-year terms and are chosen by the committees at their first meetings.
  2. The Chairperson of the Library Personnel Committee will be chosen by the committee at its first meeting.

Section 4. Review

  1. Procedures and policies of the standing committees must be submitted to the Library Senate for approval by the voting membership.
  2. No person may serve as chairperson on more than one standing committee at one time.
  3. No elected Senate officer may serve as chairperson of a standing committee.

Section 5. Library Personnel Committees

  1. Vacancies on the Library Personnel Committee will be filled according to the current Library Personnel Committee Policies and Procedures.
  2. Annual terms of office for the Library Personnel Committees and their chairs will begin October 1.
  3. Members of the Library Personnel Committee are to serve for one year. The number of concurrent Library Personnel Committees and their membership will vary according to each year’s specific personnel action needs.
  4. The functions of the Library Personnel Committee are those defined in the current Library Personnel Committee Policies and Procedures.

Article II. Vacancies

Section 1. If the office of Chairperson of the Senate becomes vacant, the Vice-Chairperson/Chairperson Elect serves as Chairperson for the remainder of the term.

Section 2. If the office of Vice-Chairperson becomes vacant, the Senate will elect a member to fill the vacancy. If a Vice-Chairperson is elected in this manner, he/she may be considered Chairperson Elect and may become Chairperson for the following year.

Article III. Amendments

Amendments to the By-Laws are adopted if approved by a two-thirds majority of those voting either in a paper ballot, by email, or in a meeting of the Library Senate. No proposals to amend the By-Laws will be acted upon unless written notice thereof has been distributed to the Senate members at least five working days excluding weekends and holidays prior to the meeting at which they would be voted upon prior to the close of balloting.

Chancellor, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. University of Hawaiʻi (Dec 10 2009)