ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Proposed Amendments to the ACRL Constitution and Bylaws

The following changes have been presented to the ACRL Board of Directors by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Constitution and Bylaws. The proposed change which would liberalize procedures for amending the constitution was passed by the ACRL Membership for the first time on June 24, 1972, at the annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. It will be submitted for final approval, along with an amendment to the Bylaws concerning Mail Votes, at the meeting on June 26, 1972.

Note: New wording appears in boldface; deletions in brackets.

Constitution Article IX. Amendments

Sec. 1. Constitution. All proposals for amending the constitution shall be referred to the Board of Directors. A proposed amendment shall become effective when it shall have been approved by a majority of the members of the Board present and voting at two consecutive meetings held not less than two months apart, followed by ratification by the members of the Association either by a vote by mail of a majority of the members voting, or by a majority vote of the members present and voting at a meeting of the Association. At least two months written notice shall be given to the Association of the text of the proposed amendment before final consideration. [The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a general meeting of the Association at two successive annual meetings provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been published not less than one month before final consideration.]

Bylaws Article IX. Mail Votes

Sec. 1. Mail votes of the membership of the Association may be authorized between meetings by the Board of Directors, provided all members are canvassed simultaneously. Such mail votes shall be conducted under the same requirements as votes at meetings. If no time limit is set, no vote shall be counted unless received within 30 days from the day the text of the matter voted upon was mailed properly addressed to those entitled to vote upon it.

Sec. 2. Mail votes of the Board of Directors may be taken provided they are authorized by the President, President-Elect, and Past President, and all voting Board members are canvassed simultaneously. An affirmative vote of three-fourths of the voting Board members shall be required to pass a motion. On each mail vote, each voting Board member shall have the option of voting for or against the motion, to abstain, or to hold for discussion at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Time limits shall be the same as stated above in Sec. 1 of this Article.

Sec. 3. Mail votes of duly constituted committees may be taken by the chairmen of such committees. An affirmative vote of three-fourths of the committee members shall be required to pass the motion. Voting option and time limits shall be the same as stated above in Sec. 2 of this Article.

[Sec. 1. The Board of Directors and committees may take votes by mail provided all members are canvassed simultaneously. In case of dissent among the members, a second vote shall be taken after each member has been acquainted with the views of every other member. If on the second mail vote, more than one member disagrees with the views of the majority, the action shall fail. If no time limit is set, no vote shall be counted unless received within 30 days from the day the text of the matter voted upon was mailed properly addressed to those entitled to vote upon it.]