- (a) Eligibility. Membership in the consortium is open to all institutions of higher education as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
- (b) Agreement. Institutions of higher education must file a membership agreement, signed by the president or chancellor, on joining the consortium. Participation in specific programs of the consortium may require additional agreements and fees.
- (c) Annual Report. Libraries of member institutions shall file a current and complete annual report for the preceding year with the commission by January 15 of each year. Failure to file a report by January 15 may result in suspension of membership for the next state fiscal year. Revisions to the annual report which would affect membership status for the next state fiscal year will not be accepted after February 15. Willful falsification of annual reports shall cause the library to be disqualified for one year in the first instance and disqualified for three years in the second instance.
- (d) Multiple Libraries. The unit of membership in the TexShare Library Consortium shall be the institution. Community college districts may apply as a single unit or as individual campuses; other institutions with campus libraries in multiple locations in one county shall apply as a single unit. Libraries affiliated with professional schools that demonstrate they are administered and budgeted independently of the campus library may apply for separate membership.
- (e) Suspension of membership. Membership will be automatically renewed for each state fiscal year, provided that an annual report has been filed as required by subsection (c) of this section, and that the institution remains qualified for programs of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Institutions which have lost accreditation or are otherwise not qualified on the first day of any state fiscal year will be suspended from membership until the first day of the succeeding state fiscal year.
(f) Tiers. Member institutions are placed in one of three tiers on the basis of the size of their book collection and student enrollment, as reflected in the latest annual report filed with the commission.
- (1) Tier 1: Over 750,000 volumes or over 10,000 enrollment.
- (2) Tier 2: 100,000-749,999 volumes or 2,001-9,999 enrollment.
- (3) Tier 3: Under 100,000 volumes and 2,000 or less enrollment.
- (g) Fees. Some consortium services are supported by fees paid by participants. Fees will be set by the Director and Librarian on the basis of costs for the individual programs and/or the tier placement of the institutions.
Source Note:The provisions of this §8.3 adopted to be effective June 24, 1998, 23 TexReg 6436.