Governance

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON EAST GOVERNANCE – From 2015/16 through May of 2023 EAST was a fiscally sponsored program of the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) and received administrative support, financial services and technical infrastructure from the BLC. In December of 2022 EAST registered as a public charity in Massachusetts and was granted tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) by the IRS. As of June 1, 2023, EAST has transitioned from its fiscal sponsorship relationship with the BLC and has become an independent organization. Prior to this date, EAST’s primary governance was provided by an elected Executive Committee.

EAST Board of Directors

Primary governance of the Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust (EAST) is provided by the Board of Directors which, per the EAST bylaws, includes 8-11 directors representing the diverse perspectives of the EAST membership. Nominations for Board members are made by the Voting Members which represent the full EAST membership. The Board has fiduciary responsibility for EAST as well as oversight of the EAST strategic directions. The EAST Director reports to the Board and manages the Program Team.

The Board maintains two standing executive committees: the Finance Committee, charged with providing oversight of EAST in areas relating to budget, financial planning, internal accounting controls and general financial sustainability; and a Personnel Committee charged with providing oversight and recommendations relating to the staffing of the EAST Program Team. In addition to the EAST Operations Committee, described below, the Board may also appoint Working Groups to oversee initiatives in specific areas such as collection analysis and resource sharing.

Read more about the EAST Board of Directors.

EAST Operations Committee

The EAST Operations Committee (OC) is a non-executive standing committee which reports to the Board of Directors and is responsible for recommending policies and workflows around the operational use of EAST retention commitments within the member libraries. The OC works closely with the EAST Program Team to address operational issues that arise from the membership. Any policy or procedural recommendations from the OC require approval by the EAST Board prior to implementation.

In addition to this standing committee, each EAST member has appointed an Operational Contact to implement the policies and procedures developed by the Operations Committee.

EAST Working Groups

Occasionally, the EAST Board of Directors, Operations Committee, or Program Team will recommend the creation of a working group to address specific questions of interest to the EAST membership.

Resource Sharing Community of Interest

Beginning in 2025, EAST is forming a Resource Sharing Community of Interest.

Please join us for the first meeting January 22,11:00-11:45 am. (Register)

All are welcome. Questions? Contact us at info@eastlibraries.org.

 

Alma Community of Interest

Based on feedback from the 2024 Member Meeting, EAST will convene an Alma Community of Interest beginning in 2025. Interested parties should contact info@eastlibraries.org. 

Previous Working Groups

Over the years, EAST has also convened many working groups.

  • Resource Sharing Task Force (2024) (charge) –  final report. The EAST Board of Directors accepted the report at their May 2024 meeting, and implementation of recommendations is ongoing.
  • Collection Analysis Working Group for 2011-2021titles (2023/2024) (charge)  More information on the project can be found on the Collections Analysis 2011-2021 page
  • Interlibrary Loan / Resource Sharing Working Group (2022) (charge)
  • Collection Analysis Working Group (September 2021 – May 2022) (charge)
  • Access Working Group (September 2021 – May 2022) (charge)
  • Special Collections Working Group (Summer – December 2021) (charge)
  • Inter-Library Loan Working Group
  • 583 Working Group
  • Serials and Journals Working Group
  • Collection Analysis Working Group, Cohort 1
  • Collection Analysis Working Group, Cohort 2

Board of Directors

As of January 2024 the EAST Board of Directors includes:

President & Co-Chair:
Scott Warren, Syracuse University (2025)
Vice-President:
Matthew Sheehy, Brandeis University (2025)
Clerk & Co-Chair:
Anthony Fonseca, Elms College (2026)
Treasurer:
Boaz Nadav-Manes, Lehigh University (2026)
Directors:
Marta Brunner, Skidmore College (2025)
Vicki Coleman, North Carolina A&T State University (2027)
Jonathan Miller, Williams College (2027)
Katy O’Neill, Loyola Notre Dame Library (2027)
Sue Polanka, Appalachian State University (2026)

Non-Voting Board Member:
Tina Baich, EAST Director  

See also prior members of the Board and EAST’s original Executive Committee.