ARLD Procedures

Academic Research Libraries Division (ARLD) ByLaws

ARLD Bylaws...1980; April 17, 1986; October 31, 1991; November 21, 1997

Article I. Name And Affiliations

SECTION 1. The name of this organization shall be the Academic and Research Libraries Division of the Minnesota Library Association.

SECTION 2. This organization is also the Minnesota Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries of the American Library Association.

Article II. Purpose

The aim and purpose of this Division shall be to identify and seek solutions to mutual problems on the academic and research library level of librarianship, to improve services, and to encourage development of librarians, and to stimulate cooperation among libraries.

Article III. Membership

Anyone interested in the objectives of the Division is eligible for membership. Division members are those Active Members of the Minnesota Library Association who have chosen to belong to the Division. Members of the Association of College and Research Libraries who live in Minnesota and are thus members of the Minnesota Chapter are automatically members of the Division.

Article IV. Officers

SECTION 1. The officers of this Division shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect who shall serve as Vice-Chair, a Past Chair, a Secretary-Treasurer, an Information Coordinator, and two Members-at-Large, all of whom shall be Division members in good standing. The Chair, Past Chair, and Chair-Elect shall also be members in good standing of both the Minnesota Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries.

SECTION 2. The officers of the Division shall be selected according to the provisions of Article VII. Nominations and Elections.

SECTION 3. The officers shall take office at the beginning of the Minnesota Library Association's fiscal year following their election.

SECTION 4. The Chairperson shall hold office for one year without immediately succeeding her/himself. The Vice-Chairperson shall hold office for one year and shall succeed the Chairperson. The Secretary-Treasurer and Information Coordinator shall hold office for two years and may be re-elected. The Members-at-Large shall hold office for two years and may not immediately succeed themselves. One Member-at-Large shall be elected each year.

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Chairperson

SECTION 5. The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Division and of the Executive Committee, shall enforce all the laws and regulations relating to the administration of the Division, and shall be an ex-officio member of any Standing Committees with the exception of the Nominating Committee. She/he, or a designee, shall represent the Chapter at appropriate ACRL meetings and functions.

SECTION 6. She/he shall call meetings of the Executive Committee twice a year or oftener as deemed necessary. She/he shall call a meeting of the Board of Directors no later than thirty days after the "beginning of the fiscal year, or for the purpose of planning the activities of the Division.

Chairperson-Elect

SECTION 7. She/he shall serve the first year as Chairperson-Elect and as Chairperson of the Program Committee. The second year she/he shall serve as Chairperson and the third year as a member of the Executive Committee.

SECTION 8. In the temporary absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall assume all the powers, prerogatives, and obligations of the Chairperson for the period of such absence.

SECTION 9. In the event of the permanent loss of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall assume the office of the Chairperson for the remainder of the current year and shall succeed herself/himself as Chairperson for the following year.

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Temporary Chairperson

SECTION 10. In the event of the absence of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson from any meetings of the Division or the Executive Committee, one of the members present shall be elected to preside, but without the powers and prerogatives of the Chairperson.

Secretary-Treasurer

SECTION 11. The Secretary-Treasurer shall record the minutes of the meetings of the Division, shall distribute announcements of meetings, shall keep a file of the Division's records, and shall send a report of the Division's meetings to the Secretary of the Minnesota Library Association. She/he shall maintain a list of members and interested people. Being custodian of any and all funds of the Division, the Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare an annual financial statement and shall present it to the members of the Division at the time of the Fall meeting and to the Treasurer of the Minnesota Library Association. She/he shall present a financial statement to the Executive Committee whenever that body shall request it.

Information Coordinator

SECTION 12. The Information Coordinator shall be responsible for the placement of all Division announcements and reports on activities in the MLA Newsletter and in College and Research Libraries News.

Members-At-Large

SECTION 13. The Members-at-Large shall serve as full, voting members of the Executive Committee.

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Article V. Executive Committee

SECTION 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the present officers, the immediate Past Chairperson and the Chairpersons of any Standing Committee. The Chairpersons of ad hoc committees shall serve as ad hoc members at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

SECTION 2. The duties of the Executive Committee shall include the following:

(a) It shall authorize expenditures of all Division funds in accordance with the provisions of Article X. Finances.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, it shall appoint the Chairperson of standing and special committees.

(d) It shall act for the Division in the intervals between meetings.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, it shall fill vacancies in office until successors can be chosen through the normal procedure.

(f) It shall serve as the central management and coordinating body of the Division, keeping in close touch with committees to which it may recommended activities and from which it shall require written reports at least once a year and personal representation at the Board of Directors meetings as needed.

Article VI. Committees

Committee Membership

SECTION 1. Committees may be either ad hoc or standing. Except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, committee personnel shall be selected by the chairpersons, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee, from personal members in good standing with the Division.

SECTION 2. Appointment to standing committees shall not exceed two years and shall terminate with the appointment of their successors or their discharge. An individual may be reappointed for an additional one-year term.

Committee Meetings

SECTION 3. Chairpersons shall call regular meetings of their committees. In addition committees shall meet at the call of the Chairperson of the Division or of the Executive Committee.

SECTION 4. Every committee shall keep minutes of its meetings and furnish copies to the Secretary-Treasurer and to all the committee's members.

SECTION 5. At the close of its work, and at other times as the Executive Committee may direct, each committee shall make a report to the Division or the Executive Committee. Copies of final reports shall be filed with the Secretary-Treasurer of the Division.

SECTION 6. The Secretary-Treasurer shall make all past committee reports available to each new chairperson on request.

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Article VII. Nominations and Elections

Nominations

SECTION 1. The Executive Committee shall appoint, within 90 days of the beginning of the fiscal year, a Nominating Committee consisting of a chairperson and three members.

SECTION 2. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of one or more candidates for each elective office to be filled at the next annual election and shall secure written consent from each candidate to enter her/his name in nomination. The Committee shall report by a specified date to the Executive Committee.

Elections

SECTION 3. The election shall be held annually and shall be accomplished either at a meeting of the Division or through a mail ballot. The choice shall be determined annually by the Executive Committee. Officers shall be elected by a simple majority of votes cast.

Article VIII. Meetings

Division Meetings

SECTION 1. There shall be at least one annual conference of the Division separate from meetings of the Association. This shall be at a time and place determined by the Executive Committee.

SECTION 2. The Executive Committee shall set the fee of all individuals attending division meetings, in accordance with the Minnesota Library Association policy.

SECTION 3. Other meetings of the division may be called at any time with the approval of the Executive Committee.

SECTION 4. The call of any meeting of the Division shall be issued by the Executive Committee at least thirty days prior to the date of the meeting.

Executive Committee Meetings

SECTION 5. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be called by the Chairperson.

Quorum

SECTION 6. Ten percent of current membership shall constitute a quorum authorized to transact any business duly presented at any meeting of the Division.

SECTION 7. Four members shall constitute a quorum of the Executive Committee

SECTION 8. A majority of any committee shall constitute a quorum of that committee.

Parliamentary Authority

SECTION 9. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, in the latest edition shall govern the Division in all cases to which it can be applied and in which it is not inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation, the bylaws, or special rules of the Association or with the bylaws or special rules of the Divisions.

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Article IX. Amendments

SECTION 1. These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Division by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting or that notice of the amendment has been given in the call of the meeting.

SECTION 2. The Executive Committee shall include notice of a proposed amendment in the call of the meeting upon the fulfillment of any of the following conditions:

(a) Recommendation of the Executive Committee.

(b) Submission of an amendment in writing at the previous regular meeting.

(c) Presentation to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Division, at least six weeks prior to the meeting, of an amendment petition signed by no less than ten personal members in good standing.

Article X. Finances

SECTION 1. No committee, officer or member of the Division shall incur any expenses in its name unless properly authorized, nor shall the Secretary-Treasurer make any payment except for expenditures so authorized.

SECTION 2. Division funds shall be expended only upon authorization by the Executive Committee. At the beginning of each fiscal year the Executive Committee shall prepare and adopt a budget, assigning to each officer and committee the funds it may expend during the year. The budget, subject to later revision as conditions may require, constitutes Executive Committee authorization in the amounts and for the purposes specified.

SECTION 3. The Executive Committee shall establish procedures for the receipt and disbursal of Division funds and require an annual statement from the Secretary-Treasurer.

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