The CORAL Project is overseen by two groups: the CORAL Steering Committee and the Affiliates group.
The Steering Committee is composed of librarians and information technology representatives from member libraries. The Steering Committee makes recommendations regarding the project’s web presence, documentation Wiki, outreach activities, and software development priorities for CORAL.
The Affiliates group consists of for-profit vendors and software development or hosting companies that participate in and support the CORAL Project.
Decision-Making Process
The proposed decision-making process is as follows:
- The Steering Committee and Affiliates group work collaboratively toward consensus on decisions through the coral-admin listserv and monthly meetings.
- If consensus cannot be reached between the Steering Committee and Affiliates group, the Steering Committee will attempt to reach consensus independently.
- If consensus cannot be reached within the Steering Committee, the Steering Committee will resolve by majority vote. If the majority opinion is not clear, Steering Committee members will cast votes. Each Steering Committee member will receive one vote. In the event of a tie, the Chair will cast the deciding vote.
- A quorum for Steering Committee voting will consist of a simple majority of current Steering Committee members. No official vote may be conducted without a quorum present.
Chair Position
The Steering Committee will maintain a Chair position. The Chair must be a Steering Committee member with experience in electronic resources management. This requirement is intended to ensure that leadership regarding CORAL’s future direction remains informed by expertise in electronic resources management.
In the absence of the Chair, another Steering Committee member with electronic resources management experience may serve in the role as needed.
The Steering Committee will seek volunteers from among its members to serve as Chair for a two-year term beginning on July 1.
- If there is only one volunteer, that individual will be appointed Chair.
- If there are multiple volunteers, the Chair will be selected by majority vote of the Steering Committee.
- If there are no volunteers, the Steering Committee will appoint a Chair by majority vote.
Steering Committee Membership
The Steering Committee will strive to maintain a minimum of eight members representing at least four separate institutions. While there is no maximum number of members, the Steering Committee will consider the appropriate functional size of the group when evaluating new membership requests.
Libraries may volunteer to join the Steering Committee or may be invited by the Steering Committee. Participating institutions must maintain a local production installation of CORAL and will generally be asked to contribute one or two representatives, including:
- a technical services librarian or staff member with expertise in electronic resources management; and/or
- an information technology professional or developer.
New Steering Committee members must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of existing Steering Committee members. Steering Committee members serve two-year terms and may be reappointed or renewed without term limits upon approval of the Steering Committee. Once appointed, members serve two-year terms unless special circumstances arise. Members may request early dismissal by notifying the Chair of the Steering Committee.
Affiliates
Affiliates may volunteer to participate or may be invited by the Steering Committee. New Affiliates must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Steering Committee. Each Affiliate organization may designate up to two participants to join the monthly conference calls. The total number of Affiliate participants in Steering Committee conference calls may not exceed the total number of Steering Committee members.
Affiliates are expected to participate in good faith and in the best interests of the CORAL community. Affiliates must disclose any conflicts of interest related to their participation in the CORAL Project and may be asked to abstain from discussion or voting on related matters at the discretion of the Steering Committee.
Authority and Participation
The Steering Committee guides the strategic direction of CORAL and haas final authority on key project directions. However, the Committee will make every effort to encourage, recognize, and incorporate contributions from all parties invested in CORAL as trusted partners.
GitHub Administration and Repository Oversight
Each Steering Committee member will be granted administrative and ownership rights to the CORAL GitHub repositories. Each Affiliate organization may be granted up to two administrative GitHub accounts with merge privileges for code contributions, if requested.
Steering Committee members are responsible for the oversight and stewardship of the GitHub repositories and for ensuring compliance with established contribution procedures and repository governance policies. The Steering Committee will establish and maintain clear procedures for contributing to the codebase and managing repository activity. Information technology representatives on the Steering Committee will have primary responsibility for monitoring GitHub activity and enforcing repository procedures. They may revoke administrative privileges from accounts when necessary to protect the integrity and governance of the project.
Ex Officio Members
The following Steering Committee members joined prior to the adoption of these governance rules and are therefore granted ex officio status: Emma Cryer, Doug Hahn, Eric Hartnett, Jeffrey Mudge, Steve Oberg, Remington Steed, Katherine Swart, Scott Vieira, Ben Heet.