ASERL Membership Criteria

	the development of research quality library resources and services
	inter-institutional sharing of resources and services for mutual benefit
	promotion of research on library subjects
	reduction of unnecessary and wasteful duplication of research materials
	sponsorship of educational opportunities for librarian and other library -related institutional officials
	dissemination of professional information among librarians and exchange of ideas, concepts, and programs
	establishment of an interface with professional, governmental, commercial, accrediting, and other agencies impacting on library development and operation
	continued improvement of graduate and professional education in southeastern institutions

provision of expanded information and research capability for governmental agencies.

Membership in ASERL is limited to libraries of educational institutions with doctoral degree programs or of governmental agencies in the southeastern region of the United States of America (i.e., Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia). 

All ASERL members must meet the membership criteria below and whose parent institution/agency qualifies under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, or as a governmental agency. Each member library is entitled to one representative to business meetings and one vote on Association business matters. The representative shall be the member library's Director (Chief Librarian, Dean) or his/her designee. The representative shall have full privileges of the floor. Member libraries may have as many observers present at meetings as desired and deemed necessary, but only one representative and one vote. Observers may be granted floor privileges at the discretion of the Chairman or the membership present. 

Consonant with the purposes of the Association and the requirements of research and graduate education, only those libraries holding and maintaining significant research collections and services will be considered for membership. Specific criteria designed to quantify, insofar as possible, qualitative measures will be applied both to members and prospective members to assess maintenance of effort and entry qualifications. The membership has approved the criteria, and authority to make changes in the criteria shall reside in the membership. A two thirds majority of the total membership is required to alter the criteria. Currently, the criteria include:

1. Location in the Southeastern region.

2. Adherence to purposes and goals of the Association.

3. Qualification of the parent institution under 501(c)(3)of the Internal Revenue Code, or as a governmental agency.

4. Educational institutions must confer the doctorate degree in one or more fields and spend on their libraries annually a minimum of one-half (½) the mean expenditure of member educational institution libraries for total library expenditures derived after eliminating the single highest and the single lowest value.  Applicants for new membership in the Association must meet this threshold for the three years prior to the date of application.  (Please contact ASERL' Executive Director for current expediture data.)
   
   

5. Because the programs and services of the State Library Agencies (SLAs) complement and support the mission and services of research libraries in the Southeast, all state library agencies of the states covered by ASERL shall be eligible for ASERL membership, contingent upon payment of annual dues. Federal libraries must support comprehensive collections or research materials on a permanent basis.