Guidance on council resignations and non-participation

Owned by Maggie Hughes
Last updated: Sept 08, 2021 by Christine Di Bella

This is a flexible policy meant to provide guidance to the members of the TAC/UAC Coordinating Committee as well as increase the consistency of members’ experiences on the Councils. Guidance is provided for how to handle:

  • mid-term resignations from either Council
  • Council members who have not been participating for an extended period of time
  • filling mid-term Council openings

Council member resignations

If a Council member resigns for any reason, their resignation is accepted. The Chair and/or Vice Chair should notify the Program Manager immediately, as well as the leaders of any sub-teams of which they were a member.

Council member non-participation

If a Council member has a track record of non-participation for around 3 months, the Coordinating Committee may choose to review the member’s appointment. Non-participation is defined here as not attending Council or sub-team meetings, not participating asynchronously, and not explaining their absence. The process for reviewing a member’s Council appointment is:

  1. Council Chair or Vice Chair will ask the member to confirm their ability to participate in the Council as outlined in the overall Council member expectations via email.
  2. If the member responds that they can and will continue to participate in the Council, the member will stay on, pending demonstrated participation within the following three months.
  3. If the member responds that they cannot continue to participate in the Council, their resignation will be accepted. 
  4. If the member does not respond, the Chair or Vice Chair will reach out a second time. If after an additional month the member has still not responded, the Coordinating Committee will make a decision whether to remove the member.

Filling mid-term Council openings

  • According to the ArchivesSpace Bylaws, Councils can have between 15 and 17 members; they require a minimum of 15 active members.
  • If a Council has an opening due to a resignation but still has 15 or more active members, the Chair, Vice Chair, and Program Manager have discretion on whether to fill the opening during the current term.
  • If an opening is filled mid-term, the duration of the new Council member’s term should last no longer than three years, concluding with the standard appointment cycle. The new appointee will be eligible for re-appointment.
  • The Coordinating Council will fill openings up to 6 months before the end of the term (January 1). With vacancies after January 1, the position will remain open until the next appointment cycle.