AkLA Handbook Section III:1
Bylaws - REVISED November 2009

Updated: Wednesday, 14-Jul-2010 18:23:25 MDT

• Article I: Name
• Article II: Object
• Article III: Membership
• Article IV: Dues
• Article V: Officers
• Article VI: Organization
• Article VII: Directors
• Article VIII: Representatives & Affiliations
• Article IX: Meetings, Elections & Amendments
• Article X: Committees
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Revised November 2009

Article I: Name

The name of this organization shall be Alaska Library Association.

Article II: Object

Said organization is organized and operated exclusively for education purposes including for such purposes promoting library service and development within the state, raising the standards of library service, and fostering professional and fraternal relations among librarians and others interested in library service. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these articles, the corporation will not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation and the corporation shall not participate in or intervene in (including the publishing, or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.

Any assets that the Association shall have in the case of its dissolution shall be distributed to the Alaska State Library for exclusively educational purposes. If the Alaska State Library is not in existence, or is unwilling or unable to accept the assets, the remaining assets will be distributed to an organization or organizations exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Code at the time of dissolution.

Article III: Membership

Membership in this association shall be confined to those who have paid their dues in the following classes:

A. Individual: An individual member shall be entitled to a vote.

1. Library member: Any person directly engaged in library work in Alaska.
2. Associate member: Any Alaskan library trustee or friend, any unemployed or retired Alaskan librarian, or out of state librarian.

B. Institutional: Any institution shall be without vote

C. Commercial: Any commercial organization interested in library service and shall be without vote.

D. Honorary: Any persons who have made important contributions to library service in Alaska. Nominations will be submitted to the Executive Council. Honorary members will be elected at any meeting of the Executive Council and are exempt from dues and shall be entitled to vote.

Article IV: Dues

Dues shall be set by the membership and shall be payable annually by the time of the annual meeting.

Article V: Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Association shall be:

The President, who shall preside at all meetings, appoint all necessary committee chairs, and perform related duties customary to this office;

The President-Elect, who shall work with the Roundtable and Committee Chairs to develop programs for the annual conference, and perform the duties of the President in his or her absence;

The Conference Coordinator, who shall work with the President, President Elect, and the Local Arrangements Chair to produce the current year conference;

The Conference Coordinator-Elect, who shall work with the Conference Coordinator and begin planning the next year conference;

The Secretary, who shall record the minutes of all meetings, preserve the official records and reports of the Association, notify the members of meetings at least one month in advance, and conduct necessary correspondence including the distribution of the annual ballot;

The Treasurer, who shall collect dues, make authorized expenditures, coordinate the current membership list, and perform related duties customary to his or her office.

The Past President, who shall represent the Association on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Libraries and shall also serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee and as Awards Chair.

Section 2.The President-Elect will be elected by the membership for a three-year term and during the following years shall serve as President and the Past President. The Conference Coordinator-Elect shall be elected for a two-year term and during the following year shall serve as the Conference Coordinator. The Treasurer and the Secretary shall be elected for two years in alternate elections.

Section 3. The officers shall assume their duties at the end of the annual business meeting.

Article VI: Organization

Section 1. In addition to membership, the Association shall be composed of geographical district chapters. These chapters shall be established by vote of the Executive Council upon petition of at least ten (10) Association members residing in the geographical district.

Section 2. Each chapter will send its annual chapter financial report and its paid membership list to the Association Treasurer by the time of the annual conference.

Section 3. Each chapter shall form its own organization. It shall elect a chair and a secretary to take office by March. It shall elect a representative to serve a one-year term on the Executive Council.

Section 4. The Association may recognize roundtables, which shall be established by vote of the Executive Council upon petition of at least seven AkLA members sharing a common interest in a type of library or library service. At least 40% of the members of the roundtable must be members of AkLA.

Section 5. The Association may recognize minichapters, which shall be established by vote of the Executive Council upon petition of at least seven Association members residing in a geographical district who choose to affiliate without full chapter status

Section 6. Each minichapter will send its annual chapter financial report and its paid membership list to the Association Treasurer by the time of the annual conference.

Section 7. Each roundtable and minichapter may form its own organization, and shall elect officers to assume office by March. Each shall assume responsibility for handling its own funds. Roundtables and minichapters may have articles and/or items of interest printed in the publications of the Association.

Article VII: Directors

Section 1. The Executive Council shall consist of the officers, the Alaska representative on the American Library Association Council, the Alaska representative on the Pacific Northwest Library Association Board, and the elected representative of each chapter, minichapter, and roundtable, as voting members.

Section 2. The Executive Council shall sit for the Association between annual meetings and shall adopt the annual budget.

Section 3. There shall be an Executive Board composed of the President, the President-Elect, the Conference Coordinator, the Conference Coordinator-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Past President, ALA Councilor and PNLA Representative.

Section 4. The Executive Board shall sit for the Association between Executive Council meetings.

Section 5. The Executive Council shall meet at the call of the President or any seven (7) members of the board.

Section 6. The Executive Board shall meet at the call of the President or any three (3) board members.

Section 7. All members of the Executive Council must be personal members of the Association.

Section 8. All members of the Executive Council shall submit a written annual report of their activities to the membership at the annual business meeting.

Article VIII: Representatives and Affiliations

Section 1. A representative on the American Library Association Council shall be elected every three years at the time of the annual election to serve a three-year term. This representative must be a personal member of the American Library Association and shall be elected by the members of the Association.

Section 2. A representative to the Pacific Northwest Library Association Board shall be elected every two years at the time of the annual election to serve a two-year term beginning the following September. The representative must be a personal member of the Pacific Northwest Library Association.

Section 3. If an elected representative is unable to serve a full term, the President shall appoint a representative to serve until the next annual election and the person elected shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

Section 4. Application for affiliation with related organizations or associations shall be made when the Association members or the Executive Council, subject to the approval of the members at the next annual meeting, so votes.

Section 5. The President, or his designee, may represent the Association at meetings of these organizations if there is no other elected representative.

Article IX: Meetings, Elections and Amendments

Section 1. There shall be an annual business meeting.

Section 2. The Executive Board shall designate the time and place of all meetings.

Section 3. Twenty-five percent of the individual members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

[Annual Business Meeting held at conference in April or March]

Section 4. A majority of members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

[E-Board teleconferences held in May, July, and November. There is a quorum when five of the following members are present (see Matrix for E-Board and E-Council Vote and Reimbursement):

President
President Elect
Conference Coordinator
Conference Coordinator Elect
Past-President
Secretary
Treasurer
ALA Councilor
PNLA Representative
Chapter, mini-chapter, Committee, and RT Chairs

Section 5. A majority of members of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, provided a majority of the Executive Board members are among that number.

[E-Council teleconference held in January and Face-to-Face held in September. There is a quorum when 13 of the following members are present provided that 5 are from the E-Board (see Matrix for E-Board and E-Council Vote and Reimbursement):

Executive Board: (at least 5)

President
President Elect
Conference Coordinator
Conference Coordinator Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
ALA Councilor
PNLA Representative

AND

E-council: (at least 8)

Chapter and Mini-Chapter Chairs:

Anchorage
Juneau
Kenai
Ketchikan
Mat-su
Northern
Sitka

Roundtable Chairs:

Adult Readers
Academic
AkSL
Authors to Alaska
Cataloging
Collection Development
Documents
Alaska Native Issues
Public Libraries
Special Libraries

Section 6. Robert’s Rules of Order in the latest edition shall be the parliamentary authority for all meetings.

Section 7. The bylaws may be amended by mail or electronic ballot by a two-thirds vote or at the annual meeting by a two-thirds vote providing four weeks prior notice has been given the membership.

Section 8. There shall be an annual election by mail or electronic ballot.

Section 9. The Secretary shall mail the ballots by December 1.

Article X: Committees

Section 1. There shall be the following standing committees:

Nominating committee, appointed by the Executive Council, consisting of at least four members, including one representative from each geographical district. It shall prepare a slate of at least one nominee for each office.

Section 2. Additional committees shall be determined by the Executive Council.

Section 3. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 4. All committees shall submit a written annual report to the Executive Council prior to the annual business meeting.

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