Requirements for membership in CARL are currently expressed through the following clauses from the Association's by-laws and policies.

Excerpt from By-law No. 1 on “Conditions of Membership (revised June 9, 2005)”

3.1 Membership in the Corporation shall be limited to research libraries of Canadian universities or to such other research institutions as the membership may approve. Applications for membership in CARL will be accompanied by the following:

3.1.1 Written support from at least two present members confirming that the candidate is a Canadian institution with a capacity to contribute to the realization of the CARL mission;

3.1.2 A statement accepting all existing CARL inter-institutional agreements.

Excerpt from the Association Structures and Procedures on “Membership criteria and application procedure (s.3.1)”¹

Definitions

Member libraries exhibit four characteristics outlined below:

The “research libraries of Canadian universities” are those with extensive collections and services of sufficient breadth to contribute to the Canadian distributed national research collection. The member institution will be committed to graduate study and research with established PhD programs, normally in the arts, social sciences and sciences; and an income level from annual sponsored research normally equal to or greater than 15% of the institution’s general operating budget². Further, there will be clear sustained institutional commitment and support of the library.

Other “research institutions” are defined as those with distinctive research-oriented collections and resources of national significance in a variety of media on a scale appropriate for the support of a broad range of research activities. They typically include non-university libraries, archives, museums and galleries whose activities are supportive of academic research on a national scale and which, in the view of the current members, would be able to make a significant contribution towards the work of CARL on a continuing basis.

Membership entails full attendance by the chief executive of the library (in accordance with Section 3.4³) and voting rights at all meetings of members. Members are eligible to propose or be proposed as members of the Board of Directors. All members are expected to participate in one or more Association committees and to contribute to collaborative working groups in the furtherance of CARL’s mission and goals. Membership, once granted is not subject to withdrawal except as provided in 3.7.⁴

Procedures

The CARL Board of Directors will consider requests for membership from Canadian university libraries or other research institutions that can demonstrate that they meet CARL’s membership expectations.

Potential members will be asked to provide a written statement demonstrating that they are fully committed to CARL’s mission and are able to make a positive contribution to the work of the Association.

The CARL Board of Directors will consider an application for membership at any time. It is recommended that the initial point of contact would be an informal discussion with the Executive Director. If the institution wishes to proceed, it would prepare a formal letter of application. The letter would provide an explicit statement of how the applicant’s membership will contribute to CARL’s mission and how the applicant meets the membership guidelines. Further, the application must include a statement accepting all existing CARL inter-institutional agreements.

The Board of Directors will review the application and if positive, prepare a recommendation for membership to be presented at the next general meeting for confirmation. Membership will be voted upon by the members at the next annual general meeting following the recommendation of the Board and must be approved by at least 75% of all current voting members.

Membership will commence as soon as approved by the members at the annual general meeting. Association dues are pro-rated based upon the time remaining in the Association’s fiscal year but will under no circumstances be less than half of a normal year’s dues. Special levies in support of current specific projects or strategic directions will be charged in accordance with the original formula of cost allocation among the members and pro-rated from the period of the commencement of membership to the end of the period of the levy.

¹With minor corrections [B.Roe].

²The designated source will be the CAUBO Financial Information of Universities and Colleges (FIUC) Statistics [15% has been a “guideline” in practice.  –B. Roe].

³3.4 Members shall be represented at meetings by the member’s chief executive (hereinafter called the CE).  If the CE is unable to attend a meeting, he/she may appoint a senior member of his/her staff to attend the meeting in his/her place.  He/She will furnish the name of the delegate to the President or Secretary of the Corporation prior to the meeting.

⁴3.7 Any member may be required to resign by a vote of three-quarters of the members at an annual meeting where there appears to be a significant and sustained disparity between the accomplishment of the member institution and the mission and goals of the Corporation.

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