IUG Bylaws
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Innovative Users Group (hereafter IUG).
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
The purpose of the IUG shall be to:
a. serve as a forum to influence the development and improvement of Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (hereafter III) products for the benefit of IUG members;
b. foster and improve relationships and communication among members, and between members and III; and
c. gather and disseminate information on the use of III products among the users of the systems.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership categories
a. Member Institutions. The Corporation shall have one class of voting members which shall be designated as Member Institutions. The rights and privileges of Member Institutions are described in Article III, Section 2. Member institutions will be those institutions using the Innovative Interfaces computer system, which have paid the annual dues for the current year.
b. Affiliate Members. Any corporation or business entity invited to exhibit at the Annual Conference shall become an Affiliate Member upon payment of Annual Conference registration fees. Membership in this category shall confer no voting rights to the corporation or privileges as outlined in Article III, Section 2. The Affiliate Membership will terminate 1 year from the date of the annual conference, or at the start of the following year's conference, whichever comes first.
Section 2. Rights and Privileges
a. Each member institution will appoint and certify to the Chair one person to be its official representative.
b. Each member institution may cast one vote on any issue presented to the IUG.
c. Any person currently employed by a member institution may participate in IUG activities at the member rate, hold office, serve on committees, and engage in debates on IUG policy. Only the official IUG representative from each member institution may cast a vote. Nonmembers may attend open meetings and participate in discussions.
Section 3. An institution's membership in the IUG will terminate upon failure to pay the annual dues.
ARTICLE IV. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of this organization shall be a Chair, a Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, a Secretary/Treasurer, and the immediate Past Chair.
Section 2. Terms of Office
a. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect shall serve the first year after election as Vice-Chair and the second year as Chair. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect becomes the Chair following the conclusion of the annual membership meeting. The current Chair then becomes the Past Chair following the conclusion of the annual membership meeting.
b. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be elected for a term of two years.
Section 3. Vacancies
a. The Vice-Chair shall immediately become Chair upon the resignation of the chair for the unexpired term, including the term s/he was initially elected to serve.
b. A vacancy of the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect position shall be filled by special election to take place no later than 16 weeks after the vacancy was announced to the membership.
c. A vacancy of the Secretary/Treasurer position may be filled for the balance of the term thereof by special appointment of the IUG Steering Committee.
Section 4. Duties of the Chair
a. Preside at the annual and special membership meetings of the IUG and at meetings of the IUG Steering Committee.
b. Appoint members to the Program Committee to handle local arrangements, solicit agenda items and user report topics, and prepare the agenda for the annual membership meeting.
c. Appoint annually with the approval of the IUG Steering Committee such standing or special committees as may be required to carry out the purposes of the organization.
d. Perform other duties as are necessarily incident to the office of Chair and as may be prescribed by the IUG Steering Committee.
Section 5. Duties of the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
a. Perform the duties of the Chair in the event of the Chair's temporary disability or absence from meetings, or if the Chair becomes ineligible to hold office.
b. Serve as Chair of the Program Committee.
c. Complete assignments as delegated by the Chair.
Section 6. Duties of the Secretary/Treasurer:
a. Take and distribute minutes of the annual and special membership meetings, and of the IUG Steering Committee meetings.
b. Distribute, or cause to be distributed, mailings to the membership at appropriate intervals throughout the year.
c. Maintain, or cause to be maintained, IUG membership list.
d. Collect, or cause to be collected, registration fees (if any), membership fees, and other monies as required.
e. Keep, or cause to be kept, an account of all monies received and expended and make disbursements as authorized by the IUG Steering Committee.
f. Serve as primary contact with contracted financial outsource vendors.
g. Deliver over to his/her successor or to the Chair all books, monies, and other property at the expiration of his/her term of office.
h. Perform other duties as are necessarily incident to the office of Secretary/Treasurer as may be prescribed by the IUG Steering Committee.
Section 7. Duties of the Past Chair
Serve in an advisory role to the Chair and the IUG Steering Committee and chair the Nominating Committee.
ARTICLE V. IUG STEERING COMMITTEE
Section 1. The IUG Steering Committee shall consist of the executive officers of the organization and five members of the organization elected at large to represent a broad spectrum of the user population. Steering Committee meetings are open to all interested parties.
Section 2. Duties of the IUG Steering Committee
a. Exercise the powers of the organization when it is not in session, reporting to its members thereon at the succeeding meeting.
b. Appoint a nominating committee of three representatives from member institutions in good standing who will nominate candidates in accordance with Article VIII.
c. Approve appointments made by the Chair to other such standing or special committees as may be required to carry out the purpose of the IUG.
Section 3. Terms of Office for Members-at-Large
The membership shall elect five IUG members to serve on the IUG Steering Committee for a two-year term. To provide for continuity, two members-at-large would be elected in odd years and three members-at-large would be elected in even years.
Section 4. Vacancies of Member-at -Large Positions
A vacancy of a Member-at-Large position may be filled for the balance of the term thereof by special appointment of the IUG Steering Committee.
Section 5. Meetings
a. The IUG Steering Committee shall have a regularly scheduled meeting in conjunction with the annual membership meeting.
b. The IUG Steering Committee shall meet upon call of the Chair, or on demand by a majority of the membership, in accordance with the fulfillment of the purpose of the organization.
c. Four members of the IUG Steering Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
ARTICLE VI. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Section 1. Number of Meetings
a. There shall be an annual meeting held at a site and time selected by the IUG Steering Committee. This meeting may be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association, or may be held at a different time and place as deemed appropriate by the IUG Steering Committee.
b. Special meetings may be called by the Chair or by a written request of 25% of the official representatives from member institutions.
c. Informational or program meetings may be held during the conferences of any appropriate professional organization, but no official business of this organization may be conducted unless called as a special meeting in accordance with Section 1(b) of this article.
Section 2. Notice of Meetings
Notice of any meeting shall be distributed to each member institution by the Chair no less than thirty days in advance, with a statement of the time and place, and containing information as to the subject or subjects proposed for discussion or consideration.
Section 3. Powers
All official representatives from member institutions present at a membership meeting shall have, by majority vote, the power to:
a. Adopt rules and agenda for governing membership meetings.
b. Refer any matter to the IUG Steering Committee, including recommendations for action, and may request the IUG Steering Committee to report on such matters at a future meeting of the organization.
Section 4. III Representation
III shall be invited to send representatives to the IUG annual membership meeting as they deem appropriate. Such representative may speak to any issue at any meeting of the organization, but may not make motions or vote.
ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
Section 1. Special Committees
a. Special committees shall be formed as needed.
b. Committees shall serve to the completion of appointed task.
c. Committee members and committee chairs shall be appointed by the Chair subject to the approval of the IUG Steering Committee.
d. All committees shall report directly to the IUG Steering Committee.
Section 2. Program Committee
a. A Program Committee will be appointed annually by the Chair to plan for the annual membership meeting.
b. The Program Committee will make arrangements for the meeting rooms and refreshments, solicit program items, and propose an agenda. The final agenda will be subject to approval by the IUG Steering Committee.
ARTICLE VIII. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
Section 1. Nominations
a. A Nominating Committee of three representatives from member institutions in good standing shall be appointed annually by the IUG Steering Committee, to be chaired by the IUG Past-Chair.
b. The Nominating Committee shall appoint candidates for the offices of Vice-Chair/ Chair-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, and for the Member-at-Large positions on the IUG Steering Committee.
c. The Nominating Committee shall nominate not fewer than two candidates for each vacancy.
d. The Nominating Committee will announce to all members of the IUG the intent to seek nominations on or about January 15th of each year.
e. Nominations may be submitted in writing to the Nominating Committee for 30 days after the announcement of the intent to seek nominations.
f. No name shall be placed on the ballot without the written consent of the person being nominated.
g. The Nominating Committee will submit the final slate to the Chair no later than March 1 of each year.
Section 2. Elections
a. The Past Chair will prepare an electronic ballot and announce the election to the official IUG representative of each member institution no later than 30 days before the annual meeting.
b. Balloting will be close no sooner than 5 business days from the date opened. The exact voting dates will be clear on the ballot.
c. The ballots will be tallied by Past Chair and verified Chair.
d. All candidates will be elected by majority vote. In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by a coin toss, to be mediated by the IUG Past-Chair immediately following the election.
e. The Past Chair will contact each candidate with the results and the Chair will announce the results at the annual membership meeting.
f. New officers and members-at-large will take office immediately upon adjournment of the annual membership meeting.
Section 3. Special Elections for Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
a. The Steering Committee will serve as the Nominating Committee.
b. The Nominating Committee will announce its intent to seek nominations immediately upon the announcement to the membership of the vacancy in the position of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect.
c. Nominations and elections will proceed according to the appropriate provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of this article and shall meet the time limit set forth in Article IV, Section 3b.
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS
The Bylaws of the IUG may be amended, repealed, or altered in whole or in part by official ballot only. Amendments to the Bylaws require a majority vote of the returned ballots from the official IUG representatives of each member institution.
ARTICLE X. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the IUG in all cases to which it is applicable and in which it is not inconsistent with the Bylaws.
ARTICLE XI. MISCELLANEOUS
Section 1. Membership Fees
a. Membership fees shall be assessed to each institution that has requested to join the IUG. Only those institutional members which have paid shall be eligible to appoint an official IUG representative as defined in Article III, Section 2(a) of these Bylaws.
b. The amount of the membership fee shall be determined annually by the IUG Steering Committee.
Section 2. Distribution of Membership Information
a. Each member institution will receive only one copy of any ballots, minutes, questionnaires, announcements, or other IUG communications. This copy will be sent to the official IUG representative.
b. Distribution of information to the membership may be accomplished by normal mail delivery, by fax delivery, by electronic mail, and/or other electronic means, as appropriate.