ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Bylaws of the College Libraries Section

The latest revision, approved by the ACRL Board at the Midwinter Meeting.

Article I. Name

The name of this organization is the College Libraries Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

Article II. Object

The object of the Section shall be to advance college librarianship and encourage the development of library services in baccalaureate degreegranting institutions.

Article III. Membership

Any member of the Association of College and Research Libraries may elect membership in this Section.

Article IV. Officers

Sec. 1. Officers. The officers of the Section shall be a chair, a vice-chair/chair-elect, and a secretary.

Sec. 2. Terms. The chair shall serve as such for one year. The chair-elect shall serve for one year as vice-chair. At the expiration of that term, or upon the occurrence of an earlier vacancy, the vice- chair/chair-elect shall succeed to the office of chair. The secretary serves for one year. All officers and members of the Executive Committee begin their terms with the adjournment of the annual conference.

Article V. Executive Committee

Sec. 1. Composition. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers, the immediate past chair, the past secretary, and two members-at- large. The members-at-large shall serve overlapping two-year terms, with one member elected each year. The Executive Director of the Association of College and Research Libraries shall be an ex-officio member, without vote.

Sec. 2. Meetings. Regular meetings of the Executive Committee are to be held at times and places of the annual and mid-winter meetings of the American Library Association. Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the chair. All regular meetings of the Committee shall be open to all members of the Section.

Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The main function of the Executive Committee shall be to provide direction for the Section. The Committee has authoritv over the affairs of the Section during the period between meetings of the Section, subject to review by the members of the section.

Sec. 4. Quorum. A majority of members constitutes a quorum at any meeting of the Executive Committee.

Article VI. Committees

Sec. 1. Authorization. Committees of the Section shall be established by action of the chair after consultation with the Executive Committee.

Sec. 2. Standing Committees. Standing committees may be established to consider matters of the

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Section 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 Executive Committee, members of standing committees shall be appointed for terms of two years and may be reappointed for a second but not a third consecutive term; in no case shall a person serve on a committee for more than four consecutive years. Appointments shall be made in such a manner as to provide continuity in membership.

Sec. 3. Special Committee. Special committees (ad hoc) may be established at any time by the chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, for the performance of a particular assignment. No such committee may be continued beyond two years without review and reapproval by the Executive Committee.

Sec. 4. Appointment. The vice-chair/chair-elect of the section shall appoint committee members from the membership of the section to fill the vacancies due to occur during his/her term as chair; he/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 chair of the committee.

Sec. 5. Discontinuance. A committee may be dissolved by the chair of the Section with the approval of the Executive Committee.

Article VII. Discussion Groups

Sec. 1. Establishment. Any group of ten or more members of the Section interested in discussing common concerns which fall within the objectives of the Section may form a discussion group upon written petition from the group and approval by the Executive Committee.

Sec. 2. Members. Membership in a discussion group shall be open to all members of the Section who are interested in the purpose of the group.

Sec. 3. Officers. When a discussion group is formed, the group chair shall be appointed by the vice-chair/chair-elect of the Section. In succeeding years each group shall elect a chair and other officers as appropriate.

Sec. 4. Dissolution. A discussion group may be dissolved at its request by the Executive Committee of the Section and shall be so dissolved if it becomes inactive or fails to comply with the provisions of this article.

Article VIII. Nominations and elections

Sec. 1. Nominating Committee. The vice- chair/chair-elect of the Section shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three members, designating one of the members as committee chair. The committee shall choose, in accordance with the time schedule set by the Executive Director of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a slate of two nominees for each of the offices of vice-chair/chair-elect, secretary, and member-at-large. All nominees must be members of the Section and written consent must be obtained from each nominee. In addition, this committee shall be responsible for the quadrennial selection of nominees for ACRL Director-at-Large.

Sec. 2. Statement of objectives. To permit the membership of the Section to have an informational basis for voting, each candidate for the office of chair-elect shall be asked to provide a brief statement of objectives for the Section in time for the statement to be published prior to balloting.

Sec. 3. Additional nominees. Additional nominations for inclusion on the ballot may be made by petitions signed by no fewer than twenty members of the Section and filed with the Executive Director of the Association of College and Research Libraries at least three months prior to the annual conference of the American Library Association. No person may be nominated who is not a member of the Section, and the petition must be accompanied by the written consent of the nominee to stand for election. If the nomination is for the office of vice-chair/chair-elect, a statement of objectives should be submitted.

Sec. 4. Election. Elections shall be conducted by mail ballot, and the candidate receiving the largest number of votes shall be deemed elected. In case of a tie vote, the successful candidate shall be determined by lot. Results of the election shall be made public at the annual conference of the American Library Association.

Article IX. Vacancies

Sec. 1. When the office of chair is vacated, it shall be filled by the vice-chair/chair-elect who shall continue in office through the original elected term. Should both the chair and vice-chair/chair- elect vacate their offices in the same year, the Executive Committee shall choose a member of the Committee to serve as acting chair until the next regular election for the office is held. At such an election, a chair and vice-chair/chair-elect shall be elected.

Sec. 2. When the office of secretary is vacated, the Executive Committee shall choose a member of the Committee to serve as acting secretary until the next regular election for the office is held.

Sec. 3. Vacated member-at-large positions shall be filled at the next regular election.

Article X. Meetings

The regular meeting of the Section shall be held at the time and place of the annual conference of the American Library Association. Special meetings may be called by the chair with the approval of the Executive Committee. The Section may with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries hold closed meetings, or joint meetings with other sections. Members of the Section present at an annual meeting shall constitute a quorum.

Article XL Amendments

Sec. 1. Proposals. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by majority vote of the Executive Committee, by action of any committee of the Section, or by a signed petition from any twenty members of the Section. Proposed amendments must be presented in writing, with the appropriate signatures attached, to the secretary at least two months before said amendments are to be voted upon by the membership.

Sec. 2. Voting. The bylaws may be amended either by a mail vote approved by two-thirds of the members voting or by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at any given meeting of the Section, provided that notice of the proposed changes has been published not less than one month before final consideration.

Article XII. Parliamentary authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the business of the Section in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitutions or Bylaws of the Section or its parent associations. ■■

ACRL staff profile

Dawn Jacobson

Dawn Jacobson came to work in ACRL in May- 1986 as part-time administrative assistant to pro- gram officer Mary Ellen Davis. Her responsibilities include distribution of

ACRL non-serial publi- cations, review copies, and ACRL standards and guidelines. Jacob- son also oversees the reg- ular updating of the ACRL publications bro- chure and coordinates registration for the RBMS and BIS precon- ferences.

A full-time student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jacobson is majoring in mass communications with a minor in women’s studies and is active in theatrical productions and the Collegiate Marketing Club. From 1981 to 1985 she served in the U.S. Air Force as an administrative assistant in Okinawa, Japan, and later in Kaiserslautern, West Germany. There she was honored as Airman of the Year for 1984.

Originally from Rockford, Illinois, Jacobson has lived in Chicago for the past two years and is active in the Presbyterian Church. She is a member of the National Organization for Women. ■ ■