WAML Code of Conduct

WAML Code of Conduct

Mission & Ethics statement

The Western Association of Map Libraries (WAML) is dedicated to providing harassment-free environments and interactions at our Annual Meetings, virtual events, and online spaces. WAML welcomes members, friends, and visitors regardless of: gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion (or lack thereof), immigration or work status. We do not tolerate harassment in any form in WAML events or forums. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks, workshops, parties, and other online media. Participants violating these rules may be subject to warnings, expulsion, or other consequences at the discretion of the event organizers or the WAML Executive Board. If you are the subject of, or witness to any violations of this Code of Conduct, please submit a Code of Conduct violation form online or send an email to the Executive Board at execboard@waml.org. The form can be submitted anonymously.

CoC content / Expectations – rules, when they apply

WAML wants to foster a community of care. As such, the organization has set the following expectations for conduct. Each individual is responsible for their own behavior and any associated consequences.

WAML Expectations for Conduct:

  • Be respectful of all WAML members and community participants
  • Respect how individuals prefer to be referred to in terms of name, pronouns, or professional status
  • Create a welcoming and inclusive environment for individuals of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities
  • Consume alcohol responsibly at WAML events 
  • Create an environment free from discrimination and harassment
  • Follow common courtesy in all interactions 
  • Maintain civil and respectful conversations 
  • Model constructive criticism
  • Present your work giving clear credit to others as warranted
  • Be mindful of others and your surroundings to help ensure a positive and safe environment
  • Obtain consent before any physical contact with a person or their property (e.g., laptop) and respect requests to stop
  • Follow the rules and policies of meeting venues, hotels, online platforms, or any other location where a WAML event occurs

Reporting / What to do

Anyone can report misconduct. You do not need to be a member of WAML. If you are in a life-threatening situation and need immediate help, contact local authorities or someone near your location. WAML’s ability to immediately respond to incidents is limited.

To report an incident anonymously during or after a conference, event, or meeting, submit an anonymous Code of Conduct violation form online. Note: the actions available to the Executive Board may be limited for anonymous reports. To submit a report directly to the Executive Board, send an email to execboard@waml.org.

During the WAML Annual Meeting:

During Other WAML Events/Meetings:

In WAML Online Spaces:

Content presented at WAML Annual or other meetings or online may at times deal with sensitive subject matter, for example, visually sensitive, offensive, and/or outdated, historical material (such as maps with racist imagery or contested administrative boundaries). This policy is not intended to constrain scholarly or professional presentation, discourse, or debate, as long as these exchanges are conducted in a respectful manner.

Being an active bystander

If you see someone acting in a way that goes against our values, please speak to them, redirect them, let them know their behaviour is in conflict with the code, and be an active bystander.  

A bystander is a person who observes a conflict or unacceptable behavior. The observed behavior may be serious or minor, one-time or repeated, but the bystander 

knows that the behavior is harmful or likely to make a situation worse. This person may be in a position to discourage, prevent or interrupt unacceptable behavior. The bystander has two options: to remain a passive bystander or become an active bystander. If you are unsure of what it means to be an active bystander, please review this helpful resource.

Consequences / What we will do 

Consequences for the actions deemed inappropriate will focus first on community-based accountability and harm reduction, and will depend on both the context and the event that occurred. Consequences will be deliberated and decided by the WAML Executive Board after listening sessions with the involved parties have been conducted and all sides have been heard.

Potential actions that leadership can take against those who violate the Code of Conduct, loosely ordered in terms of escalation:

  • Verbal warning
  • Require the person who committed the misconduct to (1) avoid any interaction with and (2) maintain physical distance from the victim for the remainder of the event
  • Terminate or cancel an in-progress or scheduled talk or workshop 
  • Expel from the current event (in person or virtual) with no refund 
  • Block access to WAML social media and virtual forums
  • Refuse to publish video and/or slides of a talk or workshop
  • Prohibit or limit participation in future WAML events or forums (in person or virtual), either indefinitely or for a specified duration
  • Ban or removed from participating in governance activities, awards, or other WAML programs
  • Withdraw WAML financial support (travel grants, awards, scholarships, honoraria etc.) 
  • Suspend WAML membership
  • Expel from WAML membership

WAML will prioritize harm reduction and community-based accountability. In extreme cases, WAML reserves the right to publish an account of the harassment and/or contact the appropriate authorities.

Update and Maintenance of the Code

This policy was drafted during the Summer of 2025. This policy was inspired by policies in place at similar organizations such as NACIS, SAA, ALA, Code4Lib, and others. 

Documents consulted to create our Code of Conduct

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