L-net Advisory Board Charge and Structure

revised 12/01/2007

The L-net Advisory Board is made up of 6 - 10 voting members, drawn from all areas of the state and representing the public, school, and academic libraries that use or provide service for L-net. In addition, the Fiscal Agent of the project serves as a voting member of the Board. The L-net Program Coordinator and the Oregon State Library Liaison to the L-net project are non-voting members of the L-net Advisory Board.

Board Responsibilities

The role of the L-net Advisory Board is to set the mission, goals, and direction of L-net program. The ultimate vision is to create, maintain and continually improve a high-quality E-reference program that succeeds in serving the needs of all residents of Oregon.

The primary responsibility of the L-net Advisory Board is to advise the L-net Program Coordinator and the Fiscal Agent regarding the development, implementation, promotion and evaluation of L-net.

To do this, the Board may advise on the following:

General policy and budget issues

Collaboration among provider libraries

Service standards, benchmarks, and guidelines

Promotion of L-net to the public and the Oregon library community

Staff training and best practices

Evaluation and assessment of the program

Software and vendor selection

Meeting Frequency and Scheduling

Advisory Board meetings will meet three times per year, in-person, with intermittent meetings or telconferences as needed. One meeting will be held in the beginning of the calendar year, one at the annual Oregon Virtual Reference Summit, and one in the fall. At least one meeting will be on a Saturday. Board members are expected to attend all regularly scheduled meetings. Email may be used to discuss ongoing issues and ideas between meetings.

Meeting Minutes

Minutes will be taken by an L-net Advisory Board member on a rotating basis. Minutes will be approved by the Advisory Board via email after each meeting and then will be posted on the L-net website.

Creation of Subcommittees

In order to carry out its advisory work, the L-net Advisory Board may create subcommittees. A subcommittee will be led by at least one Advisory Board member or the L-net Program Coordinator. Other members can be drawn from the libraries that provide service for L-net, the Oregon library community as a whole, or from interested Oregon residents as appropriate.

Selection of Advisory Board Members

Advisory Board members are asked to serve for a term of two years, beginning in January, and can serve for no more than two consecutive terms. Appointments of new Board members will be staggered to assure continuity. Nominees for vacant Board positions will be solicited from the Oregon library community, reviewed by the Board, and ultimately appointed by the current chair of the Advisory Board. The chair should strive to keep a balance of representation on the Board, from both type of library and geographic region.

The L-net Advisory Board Chair is asked to serve for a term of one year, beginning in January, and can serve for no more than two consecutive terms. Candidates for L-net Advisory Board Chair are nominated by any member of the L-net Advisory Board and one chair will be chosen by a majority vote of the Advisory Board.