Librarian

The 2011 librarian is Jacob Axelrod ’14.

Honor Council Librarian and the Constitution

The librarian of Honor Council is not a full member of Honor Council, but appointed by SC for a one-year term during the second semester of each academic year. The librarian will not be a current-serving member of Honor Council.

The librarian of Honor Council is responsible for maintaining an updated, documented record of all changes made to the Honor Code over the course of his or her term in the form of the Honor Council website. This record should also include all major publications (i.e., committee findings, letters of concern, abstracts, etc.) regarding the Honor Code. This record will remain accessible to all community members so that they can view the history and changes of the Honor Code.

The librarian is also responsible for analyzing and interpreting previous Honor Codes, trial abstracts and all other relevant documentation to distinguish and report trends and precedents to the Chair(s).

Powers and Responsibilities Granted by Honor Council

The powers and responsibilities of the position are open to revision by Honor Council.

  • The Librarian will attend all Honor Council meetings.
  • While it is not required, the Librarian is encouraged to attend Students Council meetings as well, as s/he is technically a member of that body and attending the meetings of both will grant a broader perspective.
  • The Librarian will attend the weekly meetings with Honor Council Executive Officers, Honor Council advisor, and Dean of the College to discuss past and current cases.
  • The Librarian will be a recipient of all emails sent to code@hc, and will therefore be aware of the otherwise confidential identities of all parties involved in a given case.
  • The Librarian will collect all requests from community members for confidential information and will present requests to Council.
  • The Librarian will maintain a confidential calendar for Honor Council, laying out current and pending cases and clearly outlining of future deadlines that canbe known.
  • The Librarian is responsible for tracking all incomplete trials or panels, including Resolutions, and ensuring that they reach completion status.
  • The Librarian will receive, index, and archive all Honor Council documents, and will maintain a public Council archive, hosted on the Honor Council website, that includes all non-confidential Council documents.
  • The Librarian is responsible for maintaining a history of the Honor Code and Student Governance at Haverford, also to be made available at the website.
  • In his/her capacity as Historian, the Librarian may be required to look up certain ideas or themes in past abstracts in order the gain a greater understanding of current cases.
  • The Librarian is responsible for general maintenance of the Honor Council website, including adding new abstracts as they come out, updating the Council member roster, potentially scanning and uploading abstracts that have not yet been digitized, and generally keeping the site updated with the appropriate information and documents.
  • Because of the duties associated with the website, the Librarian is expected to have or acquire a basic understanding of Word Press, the easy to use program used to create the website.
  • The Librarian will monitor the activities of Honor Council to ensure that it maintains its integrity, and will generally act as a check on its activities.
  • The Librarian is not a consenting member of Honor Council. However, this does not mean that he or she is necessarily a silent one. Each Council may decide on its own rules for contributions from the Librarian. For example, the Fall 2010 Council consented on the following guidelines:

    “We’re consenting to the following guidelines for Emma as librarian on Honor Council this semeseter: her role is to bring up points that have not yet been brought up during the discussion and to clarify as needed throughout the discussion. Her role is not to justify or lend support. She should also say anything that falls under her capacity as Honor Council Historian, including references to precedent or past cases.”

  • The Librarian, like all members of Council (excluding chairs) is required to be on a committee
  • The Librarian will complete a semesterly report (presented in March and October) that discusses trends in trials and reports any concerns in the implementation of the Honor Code. This report will be sent to the Head(s) of Students Council, and will not be made public.
  • The outgoing Librarian will orient the new Librarian to his/her responsibilities, including training him/her in how to use Dreamweaver, passing on the Honor Council office key, and familiarizing him/her with the various documents and technologies associated with the position.

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