I.          Name and Mission

1)       The name of this organization shall be Mountain Library Network.

2)       The purpose of the Mountain Library Network (MLN) is to provide citizens of Southern West Virginia with free and reliable access to information and member library collections.

II.            Membership

1)       Members. There shall be one class of membership in MLN.  Each member system is a voting member with one (1) vote.

2)       Qualifications.  Membership shall be limited to school, academic, and WVLC recognized chartered public West Virginia library systems in the MLN area.

3)       Application for Membership.  Prospective members may apply to join MLN by submitting a MLN Membership Agreement form to the Chair of the Executive Board.  The Executive Board shall vote on all prospective membership applications.

4)       Term. Membership shall be effective upon receipt of a signed MLN Consortium Membership Agreement.  Membership continues unless notification of termination is given as described in item 6 below, "Termination."

5)       Member Representatives.  Each member shall appoint a Member Representative who shall receive all communications.

6)       Termination.  Any member may terminate membership in MLN by providing written notice to the Chair of the Executive Board as stated in the MLN Membership Agreement.  The member libraries may, by a two-thirds majority, terminate a membership whenever in its judgment the best interests of MLN would be served.

 III.            Meetings

1)       MLN shall meet at least once a year in May with the time and location to be determined by the Executive Board.  Other meetings may be called by the Executive Board.  Members will be notified by electronic mail fourteen (14) days in advance of the annual meeting.

2)       Minutes of meetings shall be kept and distributed to the membership by MLN.

3)       The Chair shall convene a membership meeting upon receiving a written request signed by two-thirds of the membership.

 IV.            Executive Board

1)       Number and Composition.  The Executive Board shall consist of eleven (11) members, and shall be representative of the membership of MLN.    The Executive Board shall consist of:

a)      Five (5) permanent member representatives from Craft Memorial Library, Fayette County Public Libraries, Greenbrier Service Center, Raleigh County Public Library, and the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library systems;

b)      One (1) permanent member representative from the academic libraries;

c)      Two (2)  3 year term member representatives from medium public library systems;

d)      Two (2) 3 year term member representatives from small public library systems;

e)      One (1) 3 year term at large member representative from either a small or medium library system;

Public library system size shall be by population served and by any adjustments designated by the Executive Board.    The current division of libraries is by service population with Small Libraries having between 0 and 9,999, Medium Libraries serving between 10,000 and 34,999, and Large Libraries serving over 35,000 people.

2)   Non-voting Members.  The following shall be non-voting members of the Executive Committee:

•  Secretary of WVLC  
  

•  MLN Systems Administrator

3)       Election and Term.  Members of the Executive Board will be elected by the corresponding membership at a meeting in May.  Executive committee members will serve a term of three years to commence on July 1.  The members of the Executive Board will be elected over three years, with a rotation of (2) members the first year (1 medium & 1 small), (2) members the second year (1 medium and 1 small), and (1) member the third year (at large), and then rotate back to first year.  The elected Executive Board shall be elected by the voting members of the corresponding divisions by majority vote.

4)       Officers.  The Executive Board shall elect the following officers: Chair, Chair-elect, and a Secretary.

5)       Officers' Duties.  The Chair, Chair-Elect, and Secretary will perform the following duties and may perform other duties assigned by the Executive Board:

Chair:  The Chair will preside over all MLN and Executive Board

Chair-Elect:  The Chair-Elect will assume the authority and responsibilities of the Chair in the Chair's absence or unavailability, and will become Chair in the following year.

Secretary:  The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining the minutes of the Executive Board meetings and the MLN meetings.

6)       Officers Election and Term.  The Executive Board Officers shall be elected by majority vote. The term of office for the officers shall be one (1) year, to commence on July 1. 

7)       Vacancies.  Vacancies on the Executive Board shall be filled by appointment by the Executive Board until the next election of members of the Executive Board.

8)       Quorum.  A majority of voting members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at meetings.  Two-thirds of representatives from member libraries constitutes a quorum for a membership meeting.

  9)       Powers.  The Executive Board shall:

1)       Formulate and enact policies pertaining to MLN.

2)       Act upon recommendations pertaining to the MLN.

3)       Make recommendations regarding information technology and budget proposals pertaining to MLN and other related issues, e.g. personnel, upgrades, enhancements, support, etc.

4)       A vote of three-fourths at a membership meeting can overrule any policy adopted by the Executive Board.

V.           Voting

To vote, a member library has to have their representative (director, chair or designee) be present at the meeting.  No proxies, written or electronic balloting will be accepted.

VI.            Nominations

The Executive Board Chair shall appoint a Nominations Committee comprised of three individuals from the member libraries to solicit and propose a slate of candidates for annual election to open Executive Board posts.  Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting.

VII.            Subcommittees

Appropriate subcommittees such as Circulation, Cataloging and Bibliographic Management, OPAC, and Acquisitions/Serials will address requests, grievances and suggestions for enhancements from the member libraries.  Subcommittee members will be recommended by MLN member library directors and approved by the Executive Board.

VIII.            Amendment of the Bylaws

1)       The MLN Bylaws may be amended at any meeting by a three-fourths majority vote of the member libraries.

2)       Thirty (30) days prior written notice shall be given to all member libraries of proposed amendments.

3)       Proposed amendments may originate from the MLN membership with signatures from one-third of the member libraries.

IX.       Rules of Order

MLN meetings, including the Executive Committee meetings, shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, Latest Edition.