ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

ACRL Constitution and Bylaws

CONSTITUTION

Article I. Name

Sec. 1. The name of this organization shall be the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

Article II. Object

Sec. 1. The Association of College and Research Libraries represents the libraries of higher education (of those institutions supporting formal education above the secondary-school level), independent research libraries, and specialized libraries.

Article III. Relationship to the American Library Association

Sec. 1. This body is a division of the American Library Association. The Constitution and Bylaws of that Association, to the extent that they are applicable, take precedence over the Constitution and Bylaws of this body.

Article IV. Membership

Sec. 1. Members. Any member of the American Library Association may designate the Association of College and Research Libraries as the type-of-library divisional membership or may become a member upon payment of the additional divisional membership fee as provided in the American Library Association Bylaws.

Article V. Officers

Sec. 1. Officers. The officers of the Association shall be a president and a vice-president, who is the president-elect.

Sec. 2. Terms. The president and the vice- president shall be elected from the membership of the Association and shall serve for one year or until their successors are elected and qualified.

Article VI. Board of Directors

Sec. 1. Duties and Authority. The Board of Directors shall have general oversight and direction of the affairs of the Association. It shall conduct all business pertaining to the Association, and shall have authority to make decisions for the Association during the periods between meetings.

Sec. 2. Members.

(a) Voting. The Board shall consist of the president, vice-president, retiring president, four directors-at-large, and the chair and vicechair of each section.

(b) Nonvoting. The executive secretary shall be an ex-officio member without vote.

Sec. 3. Terms. The directors-at-large shall be elected from the members of the Association for four-year terms, which terms shall overlap so as to insure continuity of policy.

Article VII. Chapters, Sections, and Committees

Sec. 1. Chapters and sections of the Association may be organized and committees authorized as provided in the Bylaws.

Article VIII. Meetings

Sec. 1. General Meetings. The Association shall hold an annual meeting at the time and place of the annual conference of the American Library Association. Other meetings may be called at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Sec. 2. Section Meetings. Meetings of the sections shall be held at the time and place of the annual conference of the American Library Association. Other meetings may be called by the chair or other controlling agency of the section. Sections may, with the approval of the Board of Directors, hold closed meetings or joint meetings with other sections.

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 the Association of the text of the proposed amendment before final consideration.

Sec. 2. Bylaws. Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the members of the Association attending a general meeting at an annual conference or casting ballots in a vote by mail, provided that notice of the proposed changes has been published not less than one month before final consideration.

BYLAWS

Article I. Dues

Sec. 1. General. Dues shall be those provided for in the American Library Association Bylaws.

Article II. Nominations and Election

Sec. 1. Committee. A committee to nominate candidates for elective positions to be filled for the Association as a whole shall be appointed by the vice-president (president-elect), with the approval of the president, at such times as to enable the committee to meet during the annual meeting preceding the one at which the results of the election are to be announced. In making its selection the committee shall keep in mind the following objectives: (a) the importance of developing leaders among the younger members of the Association; (b) the desirability of rotating important offices among the various sections composing the Association; (c) the necessity of securing a Board of Directors on which all sections will have as equal a number of representatives as is possible at any one time; (d) the representation of the various interests of the Association and the geographical distribution of its members; (e) that written consent must be secured from each candidate; (f) that candidates should be presented in blocks of two names each. Candidates for elective positions for sections shall be chosen as each section determines.

Sec. 2. Reporting of Nominees. Elective Officers of the Association as a Whole. The Nominating Committee shall report at such time and in such manner as is provided in the American Library Association Constitution and Bylaws, keeping in mind the fact that it is important for the names of the nominees to become known to the members of the Association as early as practicable.

Sec. 3. Nominations by Others for Elective Officers of the Association as a Whole. Nominations other than those of the Nominating Committee signed by no less than twenty members of the Association shall be accepted and placed on the ballot if they are filed with the executive secretary of the Association at least three months before the date on which ballots are to be mailed. Written consent of the nominees must accompany such nominations.

Sec. 4. Right to Vote. All members of the Association shall be eligible to vote on the elective positions of the Association. Only members affiliated with a section shall vote for its officers.

Sec. 5. Elections.

(a) Association. Elections to elective positions for the Association as a whole shall be by mail vote. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected. In case of a tie vote the successful candidate shall be determined by lot.

(b) Sections. Elections to elective positions for sections shall be made as each section determines. The election of officers shall be reported to the executive secretary.

Article III. Quorum

Sec. 1. Board of Directors. A majority of the voting members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum.

Sec. 2. Association. One hundred members shall constitute a quorum of the Association for the transaction of all business.

Article IV. Chapters

Sec. 1. Establishment. The Board of Directors may establish a chapter of the Association in any state, province, territory, or region on the petition of twenty-five members of the Association residing or employed within the area.

Sec. 2. Bylaws. A chapter may adopt its own bylaws provided there is no conflict between them and the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association.

Sec. 3. Members. A chapter may admit members who are not members of the Association.

Sec. 4. Meetings. Each chapter shall hold at least one meeting a year unless it is affiliated with an organization that normally meets biennially.

Sec. 5. Reporting. Each chapter shall send a report of its meetings to the executive secretary of the Association within one month following the meetings.

Sec. 6. Dissolution. A chapter may be dissolved at its request by the Board of Directors of the Association and shall be so dissolved if it becomes inactive or fails to comply with the provisions of this article.

Article V. Sections

Sec. 1. Establishment. Any group of twenty- five or more members of the Association, representing a field of activity in general distinct from those of the then existing sections, and within the scope of the Association’s field of interest, may organize a section upon receiving approval from the Board of Directors. Sections shall be composed only of Association members.

Article VI. Committees

Sec. 1. Authorization. Committees of the Association as a whole shall be authorized by action of the Association or the Board of Directors, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution and Bylaws.

Sec. 2. Standing Committees. Standing committees may be established to consider matters of the Association that require continuity of attention by the members. When such a committee is established, its function, name, and size shall be determined. Unless otherwise approved by the Board of Directors, members of standing committees shall be appointed for terms of two years, and may be reappointed for a second and third but not a fourth consecutive term; in no case shall a person serve on a committee for more than six consecutive years. Appointments shall be made in such manner as to provide continuity in membership.

Sec. 3. Appointment. The vice-president (president-elect) shall appoint committee members to fill the vacancies due to occur during his or her term as president; he or she may name the chair of each committee or request the committee to elect its own chair. Special appointments to fill vacancies on committees may be made by the president.

Sec. 4. Discontinuance. A committee may be discontinued only by the agency authorizing it.

Article VII. Publications Programs

Sec. 1. Authorization. The publications programs of the Association shall be authorized by action of the Association or the Board of Directors, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution and Bylaws, and subject to the policies and procedures of the American Library Association. The Board of Directors shall approve the policy and manner of distribution of publications, exercise financial control, and establish criteria and recruitment policies for selection and appointment of editors and editorial boards, as appropriate.

Article VIII. Vacancies

Sec. 1. Elective Positions. Appointments to fill vacancies in elective positions of the Association as a whole (except president and vice- president) shall be made by the Board of Directors until it is possible for the Association to fill the vacancy at the next regular annual election in accordance with the Bylaws.

(a) A vacancy in the office of president shall be filled, for the remainder of the term, by the vice-president. This succession shall not prevent a person who succeeds to the presidency because of a vacancy from serving his or her normal term as president the next year, as is provided in the Constitution.

(b) A vacancy in the office of vice-president can be filled only by election as provided in the Bylaws.

(c) If vacancies occur in the offices of president and vice-president within the same term, the Board of Directors shall elect as president one of the directors-at-large for the remainder of the term. When a regular election is next held, a president and a vice-president shall be elected.

(d) Vacancies on the Board of Directors shall be filled by election at the next regular election after the vacancy occurs.

(e) Appointments to fill vacancies on a committee of the Association as a whole shall be made by the president.

Article IX. Years

Sec. 1. Membership Year. The membership year of the Association shall be the calendar year.

Sec. 2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Association shall be the fiscal year of the American Library Association.

Sec. 3. Elective and Appointive Year. The term of office for elective and appointive positions of the Association filled annually shall be the period beginning with the adjournment of the annual conference and ending with the adjournment of the next succeeding annual conference. Terms of office for elective positions occupied longer than one year shall be calculated from the adjournment of the annual conference.

Article X. 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 thirty 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 Section 1 of this article.

Sec. 3. Mail votes of duly constituted committees may be taken by the chair 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 Section 2 of this article.

Article XI. Rules of Order

Sec. 1. The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and Bylaws. ■■