The INFOhio Users Council will advance the vision of INFOhio by improving communication, fostering collaboration and supporting continuous improvement efforts for the purpose of increasing student achievement and meeting the current and future information needs of Ohio's students.

Criteria for Membership In order to qualify for selection as a member of the Users Council, an individual must be:

	An INFOhio user of at least one of the five INFOhio components (electronic resources, library automation, Curriculum Resources Catalog, media resources, instructional development)
	Actively working as a licensed school library media specialist, classroom teacher, technology coordinator or curriculum coordinator involved with school libraries.
	Willing to represent all INFOhio users in their respective ITC, including students, parents, and educators in all types of PreK-12 schools.

Selection of Representatives The following process will be used to select initial representatives to the Users Council. The Users Council will decide the process for subsequent selections. There will be two representatives for each ITC, for a total of 46 members. INFOhio staff may serve as ad hoc, non-voting members.

	Names of representatives will be submitted to INFOhio by a Provider from each ITC.
	Two representatives will be submitted by each ITC
	Possible strategies for selection by the ITC include:
	The ITC users group will select two names at a users meeting. Use available ITC distribution lists (e.g., All Librarians, Technology Coordinators, Curriculum Coordinators, Medianet Users) to ask for nominees. Then set up a voting process. Ask current ITC users group officers/chairs to serve.

Terms of Service

	For the first year of the INFOhio Users Council, one representative from each ITC will serve a one-year term; the other representative will serve a two-year term.
	Thereafter, all representatives' terms will be two years, with one ITC representative selected each year to maintain continuity and ease of transition.
	Members may serve consecutive terms. Once the INFOhio Users Council is underway, it may choose to make changes to the terms of service.

Representatives' Responsibilities Users Council members are charged with:

	Attending/participating in meetings including face-to-face and through other types of communication.
	Serving as liaisons between INFOhio, their ITC and local users by communicating needs and concerns of users and by relaying INFOhio news, updates and changes to users.
	Facilitating regional input.
	Maintaining confidentiality.
	Strengthening Ohio's school library community.
	Acting as an advocate for INFOhio in order to promote and improve student learning.
	Voting, as appropriate. In situations that call for a vote, each ITC shall have one vote.

Users Council Meetings

	Three face-to-face meetings will be held during the year in conjunction with the OELMA conference, the eTech Ohio conference and the INFOhio Planning Conference or other summer meeting.
	INFOhio will utilize additional technology, such as e-mail, blogs, IVDL conference calls and chats, to facilitate communication among members as needed.
	It is expected that at least one representative from each ITC will attend each face-to-face meeting.

Other Policies and Procedures

	INFOhio will send a request letter and/or a thank-you letter to the principal or superintendent of Users Council representatives to acknowledge their service. Individual members will have the opportunity to approve such letters before being sent.
	The grant funds used to reimburse mileage to Users Council representatives have run out. This, along with other budget cuts, means INFOhio will NOT be able to reimburse mileage for attendance at Users Council meetings. INFOhio will seek other funding during this year, but for now, no reimbursement is available.