User Experience Section Standing Rules

I. Name.

The name of the section shall be the User Experience Section.

II. Mission.

The User Experience Section (UX Section) of the Society of American Archivists is dedicated to providing a professional space for a user experience community of practice within the archival profession. The Section ensures that user experience work in the field is supported by peer-to-peer and professional organizational conversations and resources, and informed by standards and guidelines.

III. Statement of Goals and Objectives

• Develop a set of values and principles to guide user experience research in archives, including description, interface design and functionality, and physical spaces, i.e., reading rooms.

• Create shared standards, guidelines, and best practices in conducting user experience work within archives. 

• Create a toolkit of scalable, customizable user and usability testing methodologies and templates, in accordance with the set of principles. The toolkit should include feedback from those who have used it, in order to inform future testing decisions by archivists at repositories of various sizes, budgets, and audiences. 

• Foster both formal, paid and informal, openly-available educational resources and opportunities pertaining to user experience work. 

• Promote awareness of user experience testing and its value for archival users within the profession at large and within archivists' own institutions.

• Foster and create opportunities for collaboration with user experience experts and others interested in doing user experience work in related fields.

IV. Governance: Bylaws and Standing Rules

1. These standing rules of the User Experience Section shall serve as a supplement to the SAA Section Bylaws, which govern all SAA sections. Please refer to Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual for information on membership, section election procedures, reporting requirements, and more.

2. Officers

   1. The UX Section will have two co-chairs, a Chair and Vice Chair, sharing the leadership of the section. They will be elected for staggered three-year terms. These individuals must be SAA members in good standing.

   2. The Vice Chair shall be elected annually for a three-year term, serving in year one as Vice Chair, year two as Chair, and year three as Immediate Past Chair, providing sustainability and institutional memory and participating as a voting member of the Steering Committee in all its activities. The Immediate Past Chair will coordinate the nomination and election process.

3. Nominations. The Immediate Past Chair shall issue a call for nominations for [any specific roles] and available steering committee positions every May to all section members via the section's official email discussion list and website. A slate of candidates shall be announced to section members no later than June 15. All nominees must be current Section members and SAA members in good standing. 

4. Elections. Elections shall be conducted online with the assistance of the SAA staff and in accordance with the guidelines for Section elections as specified in Section IX. of the SAA Governance Manual. Availability of the online ballot and the deadline for voting shall be announced to all section members via the section's official email discussion list and website.

   1. Should an officer be unable to complete their term, a special election will be held to elect a replacement.

5. Steering Committee

   1. The UX Section will be purposeful in its efforts to maintain an inclusive steering committee whose members reflect a wide range of institutions in terms of size and type, and whose members themselves are diverse, specifically individuals who identify as members of underrepresented and marginalized communities or those with  varied educational or employment experiences

   2. The Steering Committee consists of no fewer than five and no greater than eight elected members. The Steering Committee must include a Chair, Vice Chair, and Immediate Past Chair. 

   3. The UX Section will have at least two Members-at-Large who serve staggered two-year terms, providing support to the work of the Steering Committee.

6. Additional positions, subcommittees, and working groups

   1. Additional positions are appointed from among the Steering Committee or by volunteer section members.

   2. Subcommittees and working groups are appointed by the Steering Committee based on section needs and initiatives. These subcommittees and working groups should provide section members with meaningful opportunities to engage with the section and with UX work. Subcommittees and working groups may include one or more Steering Committee members and may also include volunteer section members. If no Steering Committee members serve directly on a specific subcommittee or working group, that subcommittee or working group will designate one of their members as a liaison to the Steering Committee in order to facilitate communication between their committee or working group and section leadership.

7. Steering Committee Leadership Decisions

   1. All Steering Committee members have voting powers on all leadership decisions and section elections.

   2. Decisions are made by consensus.

8. Liaisons and Collaborations

   1. The Steering Committee can create liaison relationships with other SAA committees and sections, as well as other groups. Members of the Steering Committee may serve as ex-officio members of these committees or groups, and liaisons from other groups can also be added as ex-officio members of the Steering Committee. Decisions around liaison positions will be determined based on current section needs. 

   2. The Steering Committee will prioritize collaborations with other SAA Sections that represent those who identify as members of underrepresented and marginalized communities to ensure multiple and diverse perspectives are taken into account in section planning and decision-making.

9. Membership

   1. Any SAA members in good standing may become members of the User Experience Section.

   2. As per SAA rules, non-members of SAA may participate by joining the User Experience Section’s electronic communications lists and engaging in discussions of and work on issues of interest to the sections’ membership. List participants may not vote in section elections/referendums nor hold elected office in the section.

V. Meetings.

1. User Experience Section will meet at least once during the Society of American Archivists' Annual Meeting or virtually and at other times as deemed appropriate by the Steering Committee.

2. The Steering Committee will convene remotely on a regular basis and as needed.

VI. Enactment and Amendments.

These standing rules were first approved and enacted by a majority vote of the membership in January 2024. These standing rules shall be reviewed at least every four years by the Steering Committee.

To ensure alignment with SAA’s governance documents, any amendments to the section’s standing rules should be reviewed by the Executive Director (or designee) and the section’s Council liaison by May 1, before they are put forward in a referendum for a vote by the section membership. Proposed amendments to the section’s standing rules will appear on the section’s annual election ballot for final approval by a simple majority of voters. Any adopted amendments should be posted promptly to the section’s official microsite and be noted in the section’s next annual report to the Council. Any revisions to the section’s name or mission/description must be submitted to the Council for final approval. For more information on amendment procedures, see Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual.