SAMP Prospectus

Purpose of SAMP

The South Asia Materials Project shall acquire and maintain, for the common use of subscribing institutions, a readily accessible collection of materials in digital, microform, or any other format related to the study of South Asia. The collection will be formed and maintained as a cooperative enterprise through library subscriptions, which will entitle the subscribing libraries to access materials from the pool for their use locally. Materials will be collected both through the filming or digitization efforts of the project and through the purchase materials created and/or held by other groups, institutions and companies.

Organization

• Any institution or nonprofit organization maintaining a library may become a subscribing member of the project by paying the appropriate annual subscription. A subscriber may drop out of the project simply by giving written notice of its intention to withdraw by March 15 of the subscription year.
• The project will be administered by the Center for Research Libraries, which will bill and receive the subscription fees.
• There shall be a SAMP Committee consisting of one representative from each subscribing institution wishing to be represented which shall meet annually in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies. . The official business of this Committee will be conducted by email ballots.

• It shall be the function of the Committee to:

  1. Establish annual fees.
  2. Determine and approve any major changes in acquisitions policy.
  3. Allocate funding for the acquisition of new material.
  4. Elect members to the Executive Committee from among its membership.
  5. Advise the Executive Committee as to its wishes in matters related to acquisitions.

• There shall be an Executive Committee that shall carry on the business of the Project between annual meetings, which shall consist of 4 elected members, one representative of the Library of Congress, Committee on South Asian Libraries and Documentation, (CONSALD), and a Project Administrator from the staff of The Center for Research Libraries. A Chairperson shall be elected from among the members of the Executive Committee to serve a two year term and to continue to serve as a member of the Executive Committee for one additional year after the expiration of his or her term as Chairperson. The elected members of the Executive Committee shall represent subscribing members of the project and shall be made up of two classes, serving two years each. Each class shall contain a Librarian Representative and a Faculty Representative.

1. Election of the Executive Committee
   The Executive Committee shall appoint a nominating committee at least sixty days prior to the annual meeting. The nominating committee shall solicit recommendations through written communications with the full membership and on the basis of these recommendations shall circulate a ballot with the nominees at least thirty days before the annual meeting. The new officers will take office immediately after the annual meeting. Should a vacancy occur on the Executive Committee between elections, the Chairperson of the Executive Committee may appoint a member of the SAMP Committee to fill the vacant position for the remainder of the unfilled term.
2. Duties of the Executive Committee
   • To elect a Chairperson and Secretary from among the members of the Executive Committee who shall serve both the Executive Committee and the project.
   • To make recommendations to the full committee concerning policy.
   • To carry on the business of the project between the meetings of the full committee.
   • To circulate the minutes of each Executive Committee meeting and the annual meeting of the full committee to the subscribers in not more than 60 days after said meeting.

• There shall be a standing committee named the South Asia Open Archives (SAOA). The standing committee shall have the mission of creating and maintaining, for non-commercial open access, a collection of materials in digital format related to the study of South Asia. There shall be a standing committee named the South Asia Open Archives (SAOA). The standing committee shall have the mission of creating and maintaining, for non-commercial open access, a collection of materials in digital format related to the study of South Asia.

1. Composition of SAOA
   The South Asia Open Archives shall consist of SAMP members contributing through cash or in-kind assistance to the South Asia Open Archives to work toward its mission. Simultaneous membership in SAMP is a prerequisite for membership in the South Asia Open Archives. South Asian institutions that become SAOA members through in-kind contributions (including digital volumes and staff time) may apply for a five-year SAMP fee waiver.
2. Governance of SAOA
   The South Asia Open Archives shall be governed by an Executive Board comprised of three South Asia Open Archives members, elected from the overall membership, each with a term of three years in staggered rotation, and two ex officio members, a designate from the SAMP Executive Committee and a representative from the Center for Research Libraries. A Chair or co-Chairs shall be determined by consensus of the South Asia Open Archives Committee Executive Board members, from among the South Asia Open Archives Committee Executive Board members, to serve a two-year term.
   
   Vacancies among the South Asia Open Archives Committee Executive Board members shall be filled through election by members of the South Asia Open Archives. Service as a member of the Executive Board of the South Asia Open Archives shall be limited to two consecutive terms. The South Asia Open Archives Executive Board members shall coordinate the activities of the institutions federated in support of a South Asia Open Archives initiative and report to SAMP annually on the activities of the South Asia Open Archives.

Rights and Obligations of Subscribing Members

• Subscribers outside North America may be subjected to such restrictions as are necessary for guaranteeing the rapid and safe movement of borrowed film.
• A subscriber will also have the privilege of purchasing for its own use, at the cost of printing, a positive microform copy from any negative acquired by the project, unless the negative is so restricted as to make duplication impossible.
• Subscribers will receive regularly issued lists of materials acquired by the project.
• The borrowing institution will pay transportation and insurance charges on materials borrowed and will reimburse the project for any damage or loss of film that occurs while the film is in the subscriber’s custody. Materials may be borrowed in accordance with CRL's lending policies.

Subscription Fees

• Annual subscription is due July 1 each year.
• Fee changes require majority vote of full-fee subscribers.
• Special fees or waivers may apply for foreign or smaller institutions.
• South Asian institutions have full voting rights regardless of fee level.

Access to Project Material by Nonmembers

• Positive microform copies not lent to nonsubscribers.
• Nonsubscribers may purchase positive copies under CRL policy.

Ownership and Project Termination

• Project assets belong to CRL; subscribers always have access rights.
• If project ends, subscribers retain the same access rights.

Amendment of Prospectus

• Members may propose amendments with 90-day notice before annual meeting.
• Members will be notified 60 days before the annual meeting.
• Amendments require 3/4 vote of respondents within 30 days post-meeting.