Members expect the following of each other:

Meetings: The Library Executive Council (LEC) will meet for two hours each week, usually 10-noon Tuesdays.

Attendance: Members should make every effort to attend meetings as scheduled. Meetings will begin and end on time and members should be prompt. If members cannot attend a meeting, they should contact the facilitator or the director of Planning and Administrative Services (PASD). The facilitator is responsible for updating anyone absent from the meetings and for giving them copies of any meeting handouts.

Quorum: Meetings will proceed if one member is absent but will be cancelled if two or more members will be absent.

Communication: The LEC will strive to communicate promptly, clearly and fully to everyone affected by or with an interest in discussions in LEC sessions or decisions.

Confidentiality: Discretion is necessary regarding sensitive issues such as personnel or certain aspects of other work of the LEC.

Decision-Making: LEC will strive to reach decisions by consensus. The facilitator or other members should assure that consensus is solid and that it is clear:

• How the decision will be announced, if other than the minutes,
• Who will announce the decision,
• Who will follow up on related matters caused or affected by the decision, and on what schedule,
• Whether the topic needs to be on a future LEC agenda.

Referrals: LEC needs to be clear whether a proposed agenda item needs to go to another group instead of or before it comes to LEC. Communication and follow-up for such referrals need to be clear and complete.

Assignments: Members agree to share the workload and complete assignments, including review of pre-work, in a timely manner. If they cannot or if topics for which they are responsible need to be rescheduled, members should notify the facilitator or the director of PASD.

Guests: Experts or individuals with particular interests in certain topics may be invited to attend LEC meetings. The facilitator for a particular meeting is responsible for contacting the suggested guests and negotiating the time slots and receiving any pre-work for distribution to LEC.

Meeting Management: Good meeting management is essential to the success of LEC.
Meeting roles of timekeeper, scribe/notetaker and facilitator are assigned in that order, in advance and on a rotating basis so that each member has assignments three weeks in a row. Agendas and pre-work are drafted and circulated in advance of each meeting. LEC members strive to follow meeting guidelines from the “Meeting Management and Communication Skills” and “Secrets of Effective Meetings” workshops, as sponsored by the UM Libraries’ Staff Learning and Development Office and the Learning Curriculum.

Minutes and Agendas: The scribe/notetaker will capture items and decisions on a flip chart, concentrating on outcomes and next steps. The group will agree to wording if need be. The scribe will transcribe the notes for minutes, include the topics for the next meeting, and send a draft to LEC members by noon on Wednesdays. LEC members will respond to the draft by noon Thursdays and will add their announcements to the minutes. The facilitator for the upcoming meeting will finalize the minutes for the previous meeting and the agenda for the upcoming meeting and receive and distribute pre-work (compiled by the topic leader) no later than the end of the day Thursdays. The final version of minutes from the previous week and the agenda for the upcoming week will be shared with all library staff by the end of the day Fridays. Minutes will also be posted on the Library Executive Council web page, which also links from the web page of the Office of the Dean.

The PASD director is responsible for maintaining the list of pending topics and the calendar of meeting dates and rotation of roles.

August 2004

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