The kinds of decisions that the Code4Lib community has made in the past are really more like suggestions, as Code4Lib is not an entity.

If the Code4Lib community wants to work with a fiscal agent, it needs to have some kind of legal structure in order to have the standing to do that. It does not need to incorporate, but it will need bylaws and some form of governance to get to the point where it can hire, appoint or elect someone with the authority to sign agreements on its behalf.

Thanks,

Cary

> On Jul 21, 2017, at 1:35 PM, Adam Constabaris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> It's an interesting question, but code4lib -- whatever exactly that is --
> has managed to make all sorts of decisions, about where to hold
> conferences, keynote speakers, etc. for over a decade without formalizing.
> 
> I am unclear on the exact details, but there is some carryover of
> conference funds from year to year and if I had to guess -- and this is a
> guess -- it relies on the good will of the previous year's fiscal sponsor(s)
> transferring the funds to the upcoming year's fiscal sponsor(s). However
> exactly that process works, it's happened multiple times at the direction
> of the community; each time, though, different parties are involved.
> 
> The F*C*IG is attempting to address (among other things) the tenuousness of
> that arrangement, and they've identified a number of proposals that appear
> to yield enough formal organization to ensure continuity.   The
> decision doesn't
> strike me as more momentous or different in kind from the ones code4lib has
> made in the past, and shouldn't require any new mechanisms.
> 
> if not that, what, maybe blockchain?
> 
> cheers,
> 
> AC
> 
> * please no blockchain why did I say that
> 
> On Fri, Jul 21, 2017 at 3:49 PM, EDWIN VINCENT SPERR <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> I realize this is late on a Friday, but I did want to take a moment to
>> tease out an important distinction between establishing a governance
>> structure for Code4Lib and incorporating Code4Lib. While formal
>> incorporation requires governance, we could certainly formalize things
>> without going to the trouble of incorporating. Indeed, I would argue that
>> it's long overdue.
>> 
>> I get that most rational people don't geek out on Robert's Rules of Order,
>> but Parliamentary procedure serves a real purpose. It gives folks a chance
>> to have their voices heard, and confers democratic legitimacy on the
>> decisions taken by the whole. Self-nominating ad-hoc groups are a nimble
>> way of handling things (and many thanks to those that have served so far!),
>> but they don't scale well. We're running into the tangible limitations of
>> that approach right now.
>> 
>> Frankly, I think it's problematic to talk about Code4Lib "deciding"
>> anything going forward without a better definition of what the organization
>> actually is and how it is supposed to make decisions.
>> 
>> 
>> Ed Sperr
>> Clinical Information Librarian
>> AU/UGA Medical Partnership
>> Athens, GA
>> [log in to unmask] | [log in to unmask]
>> 
>>