Constitution | Bylaws

Article I. Dues and Calendar

• Sec. 1.Regular membership.The annual dues for a regular member of the Association shall be payable at any time during the year. Membership shall be free to those joining during the first year of their appointment as a library faculty member at Indiana University. Membership shall also be free to retired librarians.
• Sec. 2. Membership year.The membership year shall be from July 1 through June 30.
• Sec. 3. Fiscal year.The fiscal year shall be July 1 through June 30. The fiscal year shall govern all business activities of the Association, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution and Bylaws.
• Sec. 4. Dues of the Association shall be used to support its purposes as stated in Article II of the Constitution.

Article II. Nominations and Elections

• Sec. 1. By March 1st the Executive Board shall select by lot from the regular membership an Election Committee of five members, no one of whom shall be a member of the Executive Board or a candidate for an elective position. The Executive Board shall designate three of the five the Nominations Subcommittee. The remaining two shall be designated the Electoral Subcommittee. Alternate members shall be selected by lot to replace those unable to serve.
  • A. Nominations Subcommittee
    • 1. The Nominations Subcommittee shall nominate at least two candidates for each of the elective positions.
    • 2. The Nominations Subcommittee shall present their nominations in writing and/or by e-mail to the general membership at least fourteen days prior to the May business meeting or any other designated meeting.
    • 3. Additional nominations may be received from the floor of the meeting or received by the Subcommittee before midnight on the day of the meeting.
    • 4. The Nominations Subcommittee shall prepare a ballot and e-mail it to the regular membership within two weeks after the slate is presented.
  • B. Electoral Subcommittee
    • 1. The Electoral Subcommittee shall receive, validate, and count all ballots.
    • 2. For each office, the candidate receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected, provided that at least one Representative-at-Large shall be a regular member from IUPUI or a regional campus of Indiana University. The results of the election shall be so reported to the Executive Board by the Electoral Subcommittee. In the case of the tie vote, the successful candidate shall be determined by lot by the Electoral Subcommittee in the presence of the Executive Board and the candidates involved, with candidates from IUPUI or regional campuses participating remotely, if they so elect.

• Sec. 2. The Election Committee shall serve throughout the membership year.
• Sec. 3. The Election Committee shall conduct the annual election of officers and all other elections as directed by the Executive Board.

Article III. Standing Committees

• Sec. 1 Standing committees shall consist of at least three members, and one of the members of each committee shall agree to serve as vice-chair/chair-elect.
• Sec. 2. Appointment to standing committees shall be for two membership years, with half of the membership appointed each year. The Executive Board shall appoint standing committee chairpersons and members. The Executive Board shall select the committee chairperson from the members of the previous year’s committee. The chairperson must be a Regular member.
• Sec. 3. Whenever there is a vacancy within a standing committee, the Executive Board shall choose a successor to complete the term of the original appointee.
• Sec. 4. Any member of a standing committee may be removed from office for cause by a three-fourths vote of the Executive Board.
• Sec. 5. Standing committees may appoint subcommittees including non-committee members to work on specific projects or problems.
• Sec. 6. The standing committees and their charges shall be as follows:
  • A. Book Sale Committee. This committee shall organize a book sale normally held in conjunction with National Library Week.
  • B. Constitution and Bylaws Committee. This committee shall consider proposals for amending the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws, and shall present such proposals to the membership for approval as specified in Article VII of the Constitution. The Committee chairperson shall also perform the duties specified in Article VIII of the Constitution.
  • C. Grants and Scholarship Committee. This committee shall receive and review applications for the research incentive fund and scholarship program applications and submit their recommendations to the Executive Board for approval and funding.
  • D. Program and Social Committee. This committee shall organize at least one program of interest to the members. This committee shall also design, administer and publicize such activities as workshops, institutes or conferences for the professional development of librarianship. It may also organize a fund-raising event to support the InULA Research Incentive Fund.
  • E. Communications Committee. This committee shall administer the InULA listserv and the InULA Web site. It shall compile, edit, prepare and distribute all publications, both print and electronic, of the Association.
  • F. Membership Committee. This committee shall conduct the annual membership drive, contacting new librarians during the year to inform them of the Association and invite their membership, and to assess the needs and interests of members in order to advise the Executive Board in its planning.

Article IV. Special Committees and Affiliated Groups

• Sec. 1. Special committees shall perform duties which are specified at the time of the committee’s appointment or as otherwise specified in the Bylaws.
• Sec. 2. Special committees as needed shall be appointed by the Executive Board. They may be dissolved at the request of the committee by approval of the Executive Board, or at the discretion of the Board. By-laws governing specific committees shall take precedence over the Board’s discretion.
• Sec. 3. The Association welcomes the formation and affiliation of special interest groups whose concerns are compatible with the purposes of the Association.
• Sec. 4. No one shall speak for the Association without the approval of the Executive Board.

Article V. Fiscal Arrangements

• Sec. 1. In August or September, the Executive Board shall determine committee appropriations for the following membership year.
• Sec. 2. Committees must obtain approval from the Executive Board before expending more than their allocated appropriations.
• Sec. 3. Bills should be submitted to the Treasurer for payment on or before June 1. The Treasurer shall close the books on June 30 and prepare a final report for the Executive Board to be submitted by August 1.
• Sec. 4. The Executive Board shall have the Treasurer’s final report audited by a non-Board member. The audited report shall be received by the Board by September 15.
• Sec. 5. The Executive Board shall vote to accept the audited final report of the Treasurer by October 1.

Article VI. Charter

• Sec. 1. Name. See InULA Constitution, Article I.
• Sec. 2. Purpose. InULA is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, for such purposes the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. Also see InULA Constitution Article II.
• Sec. 3. Restricted Activities. No part of the net earnings of InULA shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the Association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article V., Section 2. No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the Association shall not participate in or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the Association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an association exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an association, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
• Sec. 4. Dissolution. Upon dissolution of InULA, the Executive Board, after paying or making provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of InULA, shall dispose of all the assets of InULA exclusively for the purposes of InULA. Assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of InULA is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Article VII. Amendments to the Bylaws

• Sec. 1. Proposals for amending the Bylaws may originate with the Executive Board or with any regular member of the Association.
• Sec. 2. Proposals shall be presented in writing and/or by e-mail to the entire regular membership at least fourteen days prior to the meeting at which they are to be introduced.
• Sec. 3. A proposed amendment shall become effective as stated on the ballot, providing it receives a majority of the votes cast by the Association’s regular membership.

7/87, 6/90, 6/91 rev. 6/2000, 6/2002, 12/2006, 7/2007, 7/2008, 7/2012, 7/2017, 3/2020