At its meeting on Sept. 16, the Board of Directors approved proposed amendments to the Code of Regulations that will change the organization’s structure and update aspects of the OLC’s governance. Implementation of these changes will require an affirmative majority vote of the OLC membership.

Working from recommendations originally proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Review and Restructuring, the Board recommends the following changes:

Proposal 1: Dissolve the OLC Chapters
Following the 2017 Chapter Conferences, the current six geographically-based Chapters (Central, North, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest) will be dissolved.

Beginning in 2018, the OLC will host conferences and workshops at various locations around the state with content developed by Committees and Division Action Councils, as directed and approved by the Professional Development Committee (formerly the Library Education Committee).

Proposal 2: Update Titles of the OLC Officers
The titles of the officers would change to:

• Chair of the Board
• Vice Chair of the Board/Chair-Elect
• Secretary-Treasurer
• Immediate Past Chair

The OLC Officers are elected by the Board of Directors, not by the membership at-large, and these updated titles reflect the true nature of the role of the officers and their service to the organization.

Available on the OLC website is (1) background information (PDF) regarding the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Review and Restructuring, the rationale for the proposed changes, and the process for approval by the membership can be found on the OLC website, and (2) the specific amendments to the OLC Code of Regulations (PDF) that reflect the proposed changes.

A vote by the membership on the proposed changes will be conducted by an online ballot for members who have a valid e-mail address on file or by paper ballot for members who do not have a valid e-mail address on file. The vote will take place Oct. 3-14, 2016.

Watch Access and the OLC website for more information.