Our Constitution
Revised May 2015 | Download Constitution Here |
Article I. Preamble | |
Section 1 | The name of this organization shall be the Malawi Library and Information Consortium. The acronym MALICO shall be used to denote the consortium. |
Section 2 | The Consortium combines its skills and resources intended to serve the scholarly and research communities of the member libraries and the global community. The consortium participates fully in the acquisition and delivery of relevant electronic resources. It offers leadership for library cooperation, training and development, mechanisms for improved access to information and a capacity for members to respond to the information needs of the country. |
Section 3 | The status of the Consortium will be that of an unincorporated body with institutional based membership. This consortium is an information network having a formal organization and communication capability to serve the scholarly and research communities of the member libraries. |
Article II. Purposes & Mandates |
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Section 4. |
The purposes of this consortium shall be to:
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Section 5 |
In pursuit of its mandate the consortium shall:
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Article III. Membership |
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Section 6 | Membership is open to all organizations in Malawi. Those interested in applying for membership should contact the Secretariat of the Consortium. Membership will include Public and Private Universities, Financial Institutions, National Library Services, Education Institutions, Research Institutes, Vocational Training Institutions, National Archives, and Science and Technology Institutions. |
Section 7 | Membership to the Consortium will be based on membership agreement to be determined by the Executive from time to time. |
Section 8 | Membership shall be on annual basis upon payment of an agreed annual membership fee. |
Article IV. Contributions |
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Section 9 | Contributions, grants, or gifts may be accepted by the Consortium for the advancement of the purposes of the Consortium as set forth in Article II of this Constitution. |
Section 10 | All funds received shall be deposited in the MALICO Account and shall be used upon authorisation of at least two signatories of the MALICO Executive |
Section 11 | Members shall contribute an annual membership fee as determined by the Consortium at an Annual General Meeting |
Section 12 | Members shall contribute a fee for access to electronic resources as set out in the Cost Sharing Model devised by the Consortium. |
Section 13 | Contribution towards access to e-resources shall be made by the date set out by the executive |
Section 14 | Use of electronic resources shall be upon payment of the contribution fee set out in Section 13. |
Article V. Administration |
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Section 15 |
The consortium shall have a Board of Trustees
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Section 16 | The administration of the affairs of the Consortium shall be vested in the MALICO Executive which is empowered to take whatever actions deemed necessary to accomplish the purpose of the consortium. |
Section 17 | The MALICO Executive Committee members shall have the authority to act on behalf of the Board of Trustees in order to conduct the ongoing business of the Consortium. |
Section 18 |
MALICO Executive shall:
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Section 19 |
The MALICO Executive shall be drawn from the institutional membership and include:
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Section 20 |
The ex-officio members will be drawn from the following:
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Section 21 |
Working Groups
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Article VI. Meetings |
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Section 22 | The MALICO Executive as well as the Working Groups shall hold at least 4 meetings in a financial year in order to carry on the business of the Consortium. |
Section 23 | Meetings of the Executive Committee as well as the Working Groups shall be scheduled by the Chairperson in consultation with the other members. The members will be notified of time, place, and nature of the business to be transacted not less than Seven (7) days prior to the date of a meeting. |
Section 24 | Additional meetings of the Executive Committee or working groups shall be called at the discretion of the Chairperson |
Section 25 | Unless a member of the Executive Committee makes an objection to the Chairperson, the business of the Executive Committee may be transacted by mail, telephone, or electronic communications. |
Section 26 | The Consortium shall hold an Annual General Meeting in every financial year to brief members on the business of the Consortium. |
Article VII. Voting |
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Section 27 | Each member institution shall be entitled to one vote. The person representing the member institution shall cast the vote for the institution. |
Section 28 | A quorum required for the Executive Committee meetings or Annual General meetings shall be a majority of two-thirds (2/3) of the members. |
Section 29 | Ex-officio members shall not be allowed to vote |
Section 30 | A majority votes at a meeting of the MALICO Executive shall be binding upon the Consortium subject to such conditions and exceptions as are provided elsewhere in the Constitution. |
Article VIII. Elections |
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Section 31 | Offices of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected during the Annual General Meeting through a secret ballot |
Section 32 |
Tenure of Office
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Article IX. Amendments |
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Section 33 | The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the member institutions at any General Meeting of the Consortium , provided that written notice of any proposed change or the substance thereof be sent to the entire membership not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of this meeting. |
Section 1 | Procedures may be adopted, amended, suspended, or rescinded by a majority vote of the entire MALICO Executive after 30 days notice. |
Section 2 | The MALICO Executive shall have sole authority to appoint committees, working groups or task forces it deems necessary for the furtherance of the consortium purposes. The charge and make-up of any committee, working group or task force will be at the discretion of the MALICO Executive. |
Section 3 | The MALICO Executive shall support the creation of working groups as a means of executing its functions to serve the interests of the member institutions |
Section 4 | Chairpersons of all committees, task forces, and working groups shall be appointed by the MALICO Executive at the time of their establishment |
Section 5 |
The responsibilities of the MALICO Executive shall be as follows.
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Article II. Agreement on Resource Sharing |
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Section 1 | To aid member institutions to meet their demands for electronic information resources, the Consortium shall establish agreements and takes other initiatives for the advancement of access to resources among member institutions. |
Section 2 |
Agreements
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Section 3 | Affirmative Action No person, will be excluded from participation in or be denied benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination of any form unless they are not paid up members. |
Section 4 | Disclaimer Member institutions and their personnel shall be responsible for any liability from claims, damages and actions of any nature arising from negligence on the use of e-resources. Membership to MALICO shall not be used by institutions to avoid responsibility for providing their own adequate and accessible library resources and services. |