Library Instruction Round Table Manual

Committee Appointment Guidelines and Process

The process appointing committee members and chairs is a shared effort among the President, Vice-President, and committee chairs. Members are appointed to committee using two methods.

The Committee Questionnaire and Current Activities Report form, which is submitted by committee chairs after Midwinter conference, is used to apprise the LIRT leadership of the condition of existing committees, how many members are either leaving or staying on the committee, who may be a likely candidate for chair of the committee, etc.

The Committee Volunteer Form is used to appoint prospective members to committees and to appoint members whose terms of service on other committees is ending.

TIMELINE FOR COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT PROCESS

ONGOING

Committee Volunteer Forms are submitted to the Vice-President on an ongoing basis. She reviews the forms, comparing the volunteer's preferred committees to the current committee rosters. The Vice-President will usually try to appoint the volunteer to one of her top three committee choices. However, if the volunteer's preferred committees already have full rosters, the Vice-President may encourage the volunteer to join another committee that needs additional members.

The Vice-President will contact each prospective member by e-mail or telephone to answer any questions and to offer the volunteer a committee appointment, if applicable. Once a volunteer has agreed to serve on a committee the Vice-President mails a written confirmation of appointment using the Committee Appointment Invitation form and the LIRT Committee Appointment Acceptance Form. The volunteer is asked to complete and return the Committee Appointment Acceptance Form within a month. The Vice-President follows up the mailing to ensure the return of all forms.

LIRT expects committee members to attend both Midwinter and Annual Conferences. If a volunteer is not able to regularly attend conferences, she may be appointed as a virtual committee member. Virtual committee members participate in the work of the committee electronically or by telephone but are not expected to attend conferences. Not all committees accept virtual members--some committee's responsibilities require most of their members to be present at conference (for example, the Conference Program Planning committee). The Vice-President consults with committee chairs to determine whether or not their committees will accept virtual members before offering a virtual membership appointment to a volunteer. Once a volunteer has agreed to serve as a virtual member of acommittee the Vice-President mails a written confirmation of appointment using the Virtual Committee Member Appointment Invitation and the LIRT Virtual Committee Member Appointment Acceptance Form. The volunteer is asked to complete and return the Virtual Committee Member Appointment Acceptance Form within a month. The Vice-President follows up the mailing to ensure the return of all forms.

MIDWINTER CONFERENCE

Committee Chairs are asked to submit the Committee Questionnaire and Current Activities Report electronically following the Midwinter conference.

Completing and submitting the Committee Questionnaire and Current Activities Report allows committee chairs to make recommendations to the LIRT leadership for both the chair and membership of LIRT committees. This is a critical step in establishing strong committees with strong leadership and continuity.

Chairpersons are asked on the form to:

Recommend a committee chair for the following year;

Indicate those current members who should be continued or reappointed;

Indicate those current members who are interested in appointment to other LIRT committees.

MARCH -- MAY

The Vice-President appoints committee chairs for the following year after Midwinter conference. Ideally, the committee chair appointments will be completed by March 15, and committee member appointments will be finalized by late April. Additional members may be added to the committee as needed or as volunteers become available at the discretion of the Vice-President.

After Midwinter conference, the Vice-President will review the Committee Questionnaire and Current Activities Report forms submitted by the committee chairs to see who the current chair is recommending to serve as chair the following year. If necessary, the Vice-President will contact committee chairs individually to obtain their recommendations. The Vice-President wil contact each prospective chair by e-mail or telephone to secure agreement.

The Vice-President will compile a list of proposed committee chairs and send it to the LIRT-E listserv for discussion and approval. Once the roster of committee chairs has been approved by the Executive Board, the Vice-President will mail the committee chairs a written confirmation of appointment using the Committee Chair Appointment Invitation and the LIRT Committee Chair Appointment Acceptance Form. The chair is asked to complete and return the Committee Chair Appointment Acceptance Form within a month. The Vice-President follows up the mailing to ensure the return of all forms.

POST ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Committee appointments are for two years, overlapping so that no more than one-half of the members shall be retired in one year. Appointment to the same committee should not exceed two consecutive terms. Appointments begin AT THE CLOSE OF the Annual Conference and continue THROUGH THE CLOSE OF the Annual Conference in two years.

AT THE CLOSE OF

THROUGH THE CLOSE OF

Conference Meeting Schedule

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

Committee Composition
Every effort should be made to ensure that committees are composed of representatives from different types of libraries. Committee composition should reflect several types of libraries whenever possible.
ALA Policy Concerning Individual Appointment Limits
According to the ALA Member Service Policy (Section 4.4 of the ALA Policy Manual), no member of the Association may serve simultaneously in more than three positions. (Ex-officio participation, or participation on a governing board, committee, liaison, subcommittee which is required due to service in another position is not counted as part of the three positions).
Committee Rosters
The Vice-President maintains the current committee roster, which includes the following information:
- Names of committee members
- Institutional address and telephone number
- Fax number and e-mail address
- Home address and telephone number (optional)
- Term of service
The Vice-President will provide the committee chair and the Electronic Resources Manager with current commitee rosters.

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