Membership Rules

Table of Contents

I. Criteria for Membership
II. Process for Joining
III. Process for Rejoining
IV. Participation Rules

• Code of Conduct
• Rules of Confidentiality and Information Sharing
• Payment of Dues
• Breaches of Participation Rules

V. Job Changes and Retirement

• Job Changes
• Emeritus Members

These rules are aimed at encouraging and enabling broad participation. We value your presence and constructive participation in our shared community, and thank you for your care for the comfort, safety, and well-being of fellow UIPO members and guests.

The rules will be routinely assessed and should evolve to reflect the needs of the membership.

Portions of these rules were inspired by DLF and ARL.

I. Criteria for Membership

UIPO members represent a range of institutional affiliations, job titles, organizational positions, and degrees held. There is no single institution type, job title, or organizational position that is required or preferred for membership. Nor are there requirements for years of experience, for holding specific degrees, or for place of residence inside or outside the United States. 

Members must meet all three of the following criteria to join and remain in UIPO:

1. Work at or substantially on behalf of academic institutions or research libraries.

2. Be directly responsible for copyright information policy and education (practitioners, not solely scholars).

3. Demonstrate commitment to the interests of libraries and the public on matters of copyright.

II. Process for Joining

The application process is as follows.

1. An eligible colleague submits an application; they receive an automated message acknowledging that their application was received. 
2. The Membership Committee reviews the application for conformance with the Criteria for Membership, clarifying information with the applicant if necessary.
3. The Membership Committee notifies the applicant of their decision within 10 days of submission. The final decision will be announced to the UIPO email list after the eligible candidate is notified and has paid their annual dues.

III. Process for Rejoining

Colleagues may let their membership lapse on occasion. If or when this happens, individuals can easily rejoin UIPO with no 14-day review period as long as they have not moved into a different position (including retirement), and they still meet all membership criteria. If they have experienced a change in positions or responsibilities, however, they should follow the process for joining above, and they will undergo full review.

IV. Participation Rules

Code of Conduct

UIPO is dedicated to developing and maintaining a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment, one that will strengthen collaboration, promote intellectual freedom, and support honest discourse and debate that is free from all forms of harassment and inclusive of all people. Small actions you can take will help us meet this goal. For instance, we suggest listening as much as you speak and remembering that colleagues may have expertise you are unaware of; encouraging and yielding the floor to those whose viewpoints may be underrepresented in a group; encouraging participation across differing educational backgrounds; using welcoming language, for instance by honoring pronouns and favoring gender-neutral collective nouns (“people,” not “guys”); accepting critique graciously and offering it constructively; giving credit where it is due; and seeking concrete ways to make physical spaces and online resources more universally accessible.

Likewise, it is important to understand the range of behaviors that may constitute harassment. Harassment can include unwelcome or offensive verbal comments or nonverbal expressions related to age; appearance or body size; employment or military status; ethnicity; gender identity or expression; individual lifestyles; marital status; national origin; physical or cognitive ability; political affiliation; professional degree status; sexual orientation; race; or religion. Harassment can also include the use of sexual and/or discriminatory images in public spaces (including online); deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; bullying behavior; ad hominem attacks; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention. 

Sexual, discriminatory, or potentially triggering language and imagery is generally inappropriate for the email list or UIPO events. However, this policy is not intended to constrain responsible scholarly or professional discourse and debate. We welcome engagement with difficult topics, done with respect and care.

Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest should be disclosed as warranted, e.g., when standing for election or when recusing oneself from a conversation. “Conflict of Interest” means a conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, between the private interests and official responsibilities of a member of UIPO. Conflicts of interest may include but are not limited to board memberships, research partnerships, or work as a consultant or legal representative which would adversely influence their decision-making on behalf of UIPO.

Rules of Confidentiality and Information Sharing

All list members must maintain a commitment to confidentiality. 

1. Posts on the UIPO list and statements at UIPO events should not be shared with non-members without the author’s or speaker’s permission. 

2. That said, no permission is needed to share publicly available information with non-members, so long as the sharing member removes or does not disclose attribution information.

3. Otherwise, requests for permission to share information outside of UIPO should include asking whether the author or speaker wants to receive attribution for the information. Attribution information, such as the author’s or speaker’s name, email address, and institution, should not be shared with non-members without the author’s permission.

Payment of Dues

Membership in UIPO requires payment of annual dues. In case of financial hardship, dues waivers are available by contacting the Treasurer at treasurer@uipo.org.

Breaches of the Participation Rules 

Breaches of the Participation Rules are taken seriously. If you have any concerns about breaches of the Participation Rules, please contact a member of the UIPO Board immediately. To the extent possible, the identity of those reporting concerns will be kept confidential to Board members and any appointed mediators.

Disputes or disagreements among members can often be resolved through authentic engagement between the concerned parties. For this reason, resolving concerns through the following mediation process is preferred:

1. A UIPO member reports a breach of the Participation Rules.

2. A subgroup of UIPO members is appointed for mediation by the Board of Directors; subgroup appointment is confidential from the rest of UIPO membership.

3. The subgroup will meet individually and/or jointly with parties involved to attempt to mediate the dispute.

4. If additional action is recommended, parties will be notified of the Board's decision privately. Action may also be announced to the list by the UIPO Chair.

The Board of Directors reserves the right to take action without initiating the mediation process. Those who breach our Participation Rules may be warned, reprimanded, suspended, or removed at the discretion of the UIPO Board. 

V. Job Changes and Retirement

Job changes and retirement are two expected career trajectory changes that may result in members leaving UIPO. If a member experiences a change in position or responsibilities, they are expected to reassess their eligibility, guided by the Criteria for Membership and the section below. Members are encouraged to consult with the Membership Committee for advice on continuing membership following job changes. While it is expected that members will usually make their own determinations as to their continued eligibility, the Membership Committee will act as an overriding check when needed. 

Job Changes

1. Members should report their own job changes when they occur, by emailing the Membership Committee and updating their profile information on the UIPO website. Members may announce job changes to the UIPO email list if they choose. 

2. If members are no longer directly responsible for copyright policy and education through a lateral move or move up to an administrative-level position in an academic institution or research library, they are requested to assess their direct contribution to and benefit from the group and to recuse themselves from UIPO membership if they determine their career trajectory no longer meets the Criteria for Membership. 

   1. Note: There may be times when lateral moves into non-copyright policy positions are made, but the member anticipates returning to copyright policy work in their future career trajectory. Members are encouraged to consult with the Membership Committee in this circumstance if they have questions about their continued eligibility.

3. If members move into an administrative-level position in an academic institution or research library without direct responsibility for copyright policy and education, and with a junior colleague at the same institution who is directly responsible for copyright, and that junior colleague is a current UIPO member or is eligible for membership, the senior member is requested to assess how their continued membership may affect their junior colleague’s ability to participate freely and develop professionally, and to recuse themselves from UIPO membership as soon as may be appropriate to support their junior colleague’s professional independence. Multiple individual members from an institution are expected, with recognition that development of junior colleagues is to be prioritized.

Emeritus Members 

UIPO members who have concluded their careers are invited to remain in UIPO as an emeritus member with discounted membership dues. An official retirement from any given position does not necessarily mean that that person is concluding their career; if a person continues to do work that meets the Criteria for Membership, they could maintain a standard membership.

1. Members who retire from positions eligible for UIPO membership may elect to move to emeritus member status. Emeritus members are eligible to remain in UIPO until they choose to leave.

2. Emeritus members may not stand for election, but all other modes of participation are open to them. Emeritus members are encouraged to monitor the list for discussions where their experience or institutional knowledge would be of direct benefit, but to be mindful of making space for current members to develop their own expertise.