Charter

**1. Name**
Association of Librarians in English Speaking Schools in Hong Kong (ALESSHK).

**2. Mission Statement**
The mission of the association is to function as a networking association providing professional support and a sharing of local knowledge and resources.

**3. The aims of the group:**
To promote an awareness and enjoyment of literature together with the development of information literacy. To provide a supportive network to those working in school libraries in international schools in HK. To provide professional development for its members. To raise the profile of school libraries in international schools in Hong Kong. To raise awareness of Librarians and Teacher Librarians in international schools in Hong Kong.

**4. Structure of the Association**
__Membership__

Membership is free and is comprised of full members and invitational members.

Full membership is open to those currently employed in a school library in any capacity. This is inclusive of librarians, teacher librarians, library technicians and assistants.

Invitational members are those with an associated interest in school libraries. These members can be invited to attend and be involved in association meetings at the discretion of the group. The invitation will be extended by the coordinators.

Full members have full voting rights and are eligible to hold leadership positions in the association. Invitational members may not vote on motions or in leadership polls. They may not hold leadership positions.

__Leadership__

The association has two elected coordinators and two list serve moderators who are elected at the May AGM. These officers will serve from June to June.

Where possible, the coordinators should be from an ESF and a non-ESF school.

__List serve__

The association has an active list serve of which all members are encouraged to become full members. The role of the list serve is to facilitate communication between members for the sharing of ideas and resources. It is a closed list with membership by invitation only and all personal information remains within the list. Files are only available for ALESSHK members.

**5. Selection of leadership positions**
1.Nominations for leadership positions will be called from full time members two weeks before the May AGM 2. An anonymous poll is conducted on the ALESSHK list serve with a deadline of one week before the AGM 3. The new coordinators will be announced at the AGM and will take up the position from September. 4. The system will be reviewed every 12 months.

**6. Leadership roles**
__Coordinators__

1. Liaise with the host chair to prioritise the agenda items according to the needs and interests of the group. 2. Confirm cancellation, postponement or change of venue/ time of meetings. 3. Invite speakers and thank them for coming, in writing. 4. Ensure meetings start and finish on time. 5. Introduce, and thank guest speakers. 6. Accept and sign the approved minutes of the previous meeting. 7. Close the meetings. 8. If neither coordinator can attend meetings, another member may be delegated to do so. 9. Follow up matters arising from meetings. 10. Delegate jobs and follow up 11. Write and sign letters on behalf of the group. 12. Implement proposals for changes and collate a report on the results 13. Chair working committees where necessary. 14. Invite prospective members to join the group. 15. Liaise with community groups and other professional organisations in HK such as Hong Kong Teacher Librarians Association (HKTLA), International Association of School Librarians (IASL) etc.

The coordinators may only stand for this position for two concurrent years unless formally agreed by a quorum that they be reinstated.

If either coordinator needs to resign their post mid term, the following arrangements will apply: If there is less than 3 months until the May AGM, the remaining coordinator will take over the position. If there is more than 3 months until the May AGM, there will be a call for volunteers and a poll taken to replace the coordinator.

__List serve moderators__

1. Keep electronic records up to date e.g. maintain a current membership list. 2. Provide information to schools that qualify for membership but do not participate in ALESS. 3. Organise the electronic files. 4. Upload minutes of each meeting to the files section of the list serve.

**7. Meetings**
__Annual General Meeting__

1.A quorum is required for AGM to proceed. This figure will be dictated by the number of active members. 2.The AGM will take place during the May meeting and be limited to 30 minutes in length 3.The AGM will be chaired by the host school. 4.At the AGM, leadership positions polled in the weeks prior will be announced and reports from the incumbent coordinators presented. 5. Dates, venues and possible themes for each meeting will be set for the following year.

__Ordinary meetings__

1. The agenda is posted one week before the meeting by the host school. 2. Meeting times are 4.00 for a 4.15 start, to finish as close to 5.30 as possible. 3. Visiting presenters should be allocated first item on the agenda.

**8. Minutes**
1. Formal minutes are required which will include:

The host school and its location The name of the person taking the minutes The date and time meeting opened Who was present and apologies previously submitted Acceptance of previous minutes Matters arising from the minutes Agenda items Closing time Date and location of next meeting

2. Minutes to be taken by host school. 3. Minutes should be posted to the list serve by the chair of the meeting within 10 days of the meeting. 4. Minutes to be uploaded to the list serve files by list serve moderator/s. 5. The minutes are confidential - they cannot be passed on to third parties without the consensus of the whole group.

**9. Host school responsibilities for meetings**
1. Call for agenda items. 2. Distribute the agenda via the list serve. 3. Chair the meetings 4. Provide clear directions as to the location of the meeting. 5. Be firm on times. 6. Keep the meetings on track. 7. Provide refreshments. 8. Liaise with the coordinators when possible agenda problems arise.

**Members’ responsibilities**
1. RSVP to the host school a minimum of 2 days before the meeting. 2. Promote ALESSHK to others in international English speaking school libraries. 3. Members need to let the group know when they are leaving and inform the list serve coordinators. 4.Members are encouraged to inform their line manager / principal of ALESSHK events and emphasize the importance of their being able to attend. 5. To remain an active member of ALESSHK, members are required to attend a minimum of one meeting per term.

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