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OCALD Bylaws

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Article I – Name

The name of the organization shall be the Oklahoma Council of Academic Library Directors (OCALD), hereinafter known as the Council. The Council’s legal address is: Oklahoma Council of Academic Library Directors, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE), 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200, P.O. Box 108850, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101-8850.

Article II – Purpose

The purpose of the Council shall be to advance the interests of Oklahoma academic libraries and to serve as an oficial advisory board to the OSRHE.

Article III – Membership

The list of member institutions shall be based on the current OSRHE list of colleges and universities. Membership in the Council shall be limited to the chief administrative officers of all academic libraries. If a college or university has more than one independent library or library system, the chief administrative officer of each is eligible for membership on the Council. The chief administrator of learning resource centers is eligible for Council membership if library services are included as part of the learning center. The chief administrative officer may send a designated representative upon notification to the chair of the Council. Each library shall have one vote which may be cast by the chief administrator or designated representative. Besides voting, designated representatives can participate in council meetings, serve on committees and serve as officers and at large members.

Article IV – Officers

Section A. The officers of the Council shall be a Chair, Vice Chair/Chair-elect, Immediate Past Chair, and Secretary-Treasurer. The Vice Chair/Chair-elect shall be elected by May 1 of each year and serve one-year terms as Vice Chair/Chair-elect, Chair, and Immediate Past Chair. The Secretary shall be elected by May 1 of odd years and shall serve a two-year term.

Section B. As the presiding officer of the Council, the Chair shall exercise all duties incident to the office. These include representing the organization to other groups, presiding at all meetings, coordinating the work of all committees, and such other duties as may seem appropriate from time to time. In the Chair’s absence or inability to act, the Vice Chair/Chair-elect shall perform the Chair’s duties. The Vice Chair/Chair-elect shall also perform other duties as assigned by the Chair or the Executive Board. The Secretary shall: keep minutes of all meetings, maintain a register of all members. The Immediate Past Chair shall oversee, protect and guide the long-term preservation of the organization’s records and historical materials.

Section C. If an officer resigns or is otherwise unable to fulfill the duties of their office, they will be replaced. If the Chair resigns, the Vice Chair/Chair-elect will become Chair for the remainder of the term. The Vice Chair/Chair-elect will then serve the term of Chair for which they were elected. The Vice Chair/Chair-elect. Secretary. Other officers will be replaced by electronic ballot and announced at the next general meeting of the Council.

Article V – Executive Board

The Executive Board of the Council shall be composed of the Chair, Vice Chair/Chair-elect, Secretary. Immediate Past Chair, and two At-Large Members to be elected from the membership of the Council during the general officers’ election for alternate two-year terms (one At-Large Member to be selected during the odd years with the general officers and one At-Large Member during the even years). Four members shall constitute a quorum. The duties of the Executive Board shall be to: appoint the members of all committees, establish such ad hoc committees as may be needed, set the agenda for meetings, report at each Council meeting all Executive Board activities since the last meeting, and carry out other duties as assigned by Council. Officers who fail to attend three consecutive meetings will be removed from office by the Executive Board with the consent of Council. The Officers will be replaced in accordance with the established procedures in Article IV, Section B.

Article VI – Elections

Elections shall be conducted by electronic ballot. The nominating committee will be responsible for distributing the ballots to OCALD members in advance. Electronic ballots will be returned to the Chair of the Nominations Committee with a deadline for receipt of ballots.

Article VII – Committees
There shall be the following standing committees:

  1. Bylaws Committee
    1. Maintain and revise Council Bylaws as needed.
  2. Cooperative Collection Development and Resource Sharing Committee
    1. Recommend state database licensing and other cooperative agreements.
    2. List and describe all current cooperative efforts.
    3. Develop new proposals for cooperative collection sharing.
  3. Cooperative Library Services and Standards Committee
    1. Investigate and recommend statewide standards for established, new and emerging library services.
    2. Develop and recommend professional development for academic library director members of the Council.
  4. Nominating Committee
    1. The Vice Chair/Chair-elect shall serve as the Chair of the committee.
    2. The Nominating Committee shall submit a slate of two candidates for each office. They shall also conduct the election of officers by May 1 of each year.
  5. OK-Share Committee
    1. Support the OK-Share program by updating policies and procedures, membership and annual statistics of statewide borrowing activity.

The Executive Board appoints all committee members with the diversity of the organization reflected in the membership of each one. The Chair of each committee will be selected by the Executive Board. Each committee chair will report on activities to the Council Membership or electronically at each meeting. The report should contain the record of activities of the committee. Failure of a committee to fulfill its assignment as provided by the Chair will be sufficient cause for the removal of the committee’s membership.

Article VIII – Meetings

The Council shall meet at least quarterly except June and July at a location to be specified at the time the meeting date is announced. Other meetings may be called at the discretion of the Executive Board at a time, place and location to be selected by the Board. A majority of those present and voting shall decide questions.

Article IX – Records

The Secretary shall keep minutes of the proceedings of the Council and maintain a register of the names and addresses of members entitled to vote. He/she shall also keep such other records as may be required.

Article X – Cooperative Agreements

All cooperative agreements made by OSRHE or ODL, are on behalf of the individual libraries.

Article XI – Amendments

The By-laws Committee will give at least 30-day notice by email of a vote on by-law changes. An afirmative vote by a majority of those voting will be required for adoption. The Chair announces to the membership the result of the voting and changes made to the by-laws. The Secretary ensures the updated by-laws are posted to the OCALD website.

Article XII – Dissolution

In the event of dissolution, any assets shall revert to the OSRHE after payment of all liabilities.

Article XIII – Parliamentary Authority

ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER, NEW REVISED, latest edition, shall serve the Council as the parliamentary authority in all areas not in conflict with these Bylaws.

Adopted March 5, 1991
Revised October 10, 1996
Revised May 29, 2003
Revised November 20, 2003
Revised January 24, 2008
Revised October 28, 2010
Revised January 8, 2013
Revised April 16, 2026