Bylaws of the Black Caucus of the American Association of Law Libraries

 

 

Article I - Name

This organization shall be known as the Black Caucus of the American Association of Law Libraries (BCAALL).

Article II - Purpose

The purpose of the Black Caucus of AALL is to further the professional development, recruitment and social interests of Black law librarians.

Article III – Antidiscrimination

Membership in the Black Caucus of AALL shall not be denied or abridged to any individual on account of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.

Article IIIV - Membership

Section 1 Membership shall be open to any law librarian who has an interest in issues concerning Black law librarians, and who is in good financial standing with the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).

Section 2 Membership in the Black Caucus of AALL shall not be denied or abridged to any individual on account of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.

Article IV - Officers and Duties Executive Board

Section 1 Officers

The officers shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and Secretary.

Section 2 Executive Board

There shall be an Executive Board consisting of five (5) members including the officers named above, the Immediate Past-Chair and a Member-at-Large elected by the membership.

Section 13 The BCALL shall elect a Chair, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, and Secretary and Member-at-Large.

Section 24 The Officers shall have the following Terms of Office

A. The Chair shall serve a one-year term.

BA. The Vice-Chair/Chair Elect shall serve two three years. The first year he/she shall serve as Vice-Chair. The second year he/she shall serve as Chair. The third year he/she shall serve as Immediate Past Chair.

CB. The Secretary shall serve a two-year term.

C. The Member-at-Large shall serve a two-year term.

Section 35 The Officers and Executive Board Members shall have the following Duties:

A. The Chair shall:

(i) provide leadership for the Caucus and serve as a liaison to AALL.

(ii) preside at the meetings.

(iii) prepare an agenda for the meetings.

(iv) reserve a date and time for the meeting to be held during the AALL Annual Meeting.

(v) provide a Chair’s report at the meeting.

(vi) transfer past records (print and electronic) to the succeeding Chair within 60 days after leaving office.

(vii) appoint any persons to perform duties for the Caucus as needed.

B. The Vice-Chair shall:

(i) perform duties of the Chair if she/he is unable.

(ii) assist the Chair in fulfilling his/her duties.

(iii) serve as Chairperson of the Program Committee.

(iv) provide a Vice-Chair’s report at the meeting.

(v) transfer past records (print and electronic) to the succeeding Vice-Chair within 60 days after leaving office.

The Secretary shall:

(i) record and report the minutes of all Caucus meetings.

(ii) provide a Secretary’s report at the business meeting.

(iii) keep a current roster of members.

(iv) disseminate notices of meetings to members.

(v) keep an official, current copy of the Bylaws and other records of the Caucus.

assist the Chair and Vice-Chair in the administration of their duties as requested.

transfer past records (print and electronic) to the succeeding Secretary within 60 days after leaving office.

D. The Immediate Past Chair shall:

(i) serve on the Executive Board.

(ii) serve as chair of the Bylaws Committee.

E. The Member-at-Large shall:

(i) coordinate the Annual Scholarship Dinner.

(ii) provide a report on the Scholarship Dinner at the business meeting.

(iii) assist the Chair and Vice-Chair in other duties as requested.

Article VI – Nominations and Elections

Section 1 Nominations Committee

The Chair shall appoint a Nominations Committee to be responsible for developing a slate of candidates.

All candidates must be members of BCAALL.

The committee shall be responsible for developing a slate of candidates for the offices of Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary and Member-at-Large.

The Secretary and Member-at-Large shall be elected in alternating years.

By March 15, the committee will notify the Chair of the names of the candidates and their acceptances.

Section 2 Ballot

Voting will be by secret ballot. The secretary and nominations committee will prepare the official ballot.

Ballots will be distributed to the members no later than March 30. Ballots must be returned by April 21 for tabulation.

Section 3 Election

The Secretary is charged with counting and tabulation of all votes cast.

The candidate receiving the majority of the legally cast votes shall be declared as elected to the office. In the case of a tie vote, the winner shall be decided by a majority vote of members at the business meeting held at the AALL Annual meeting. The vote at the business meeting will be by secret ballot.

The Secretary shall notify all candidates of the results of the election. The results of the election will be made known to the members after all candidates have been informed of the results.

Section 4 Terms of Office

Terms of office shall begin at the end of the annual Caucus meeting.

If a position becomes vacant during the year, the Chair shall appoint a member to serve in the position until the next annual Caucus meeting.

Article VII - Meetings

 

Section 1 A business meeting shall be held during the Annual Meeting of AALL.

Section 2 At the discretion of the members Executive Board, other BCAALL meetings may be held during the Annual Meeting of AALL.

Section 3 The Secretary shall notify the members of the date and time of all meetings. He/she shall put an announcement in AALL Spectrum, June issue, and post to the BCAALL listserv indicating announcing the date and time of the BCAALL meeting(s).

Section 4 Quorum.

A quorum for the transaction of business shall be ten (10) members in good standing. If less than a quorum is present at a meeting, it is the duty of the presiding officer to adjourn the meeting without further notice.

Article VIII - Committees

Section 1 The charge for each committee shall be approved by the Executive Board and posted on the BCAALL website.

Section 12 The Program Committee shall be in charge of developing programs to be submitted to the AALL Annual Meeting Program Committee. In addition, the Program Committee shall keep in contact with the AALL Program Committee on Diversity Committee and offer assistance as needed for the Diversity Symposium, with approval of the BCAALL Chair. The Program Committee shall consist of the Vice-Chair, who serves as committee chair, and any other members appointed by the BCAALL Chair.

Section 2 The Current Awareness Committee shall keep abreast of activities of AALL, ALA and any other professional associations that affect Black law librarians. The Current Awareness Committee shall consist of a chair and members appointed by the BCAALL Chair .

Section 3 The Bylaws Committee shall be in charge of reviewing and updating the Bylaws. The Bylaws Committee has the authority to make technical corrections that do not make substantive changes to the Bylaws, without a vote of the membership. The Bylaws Committee will consist of the Immediate Past Chair Secretary, who will serve as the committee chair, and members to be appointed by the BCAALL Chair.

Section 34 The Community Service Committee identifies and promotes opportunities for BCAALL members to donate or volunteer services to the law, library and greater community, with a particular focus on organizations serving minority needs. The Community Service Committee shall consist of a chair and members appointed by the BCAALL Chair.

 

Section 45 Ad hoc and task force committees may be created to carry out functions or activities of short duration. Such committees shall cease upon completion of their specific assignments. The members of these committees will be appointed by the BCAALL Chair.

Section 56 The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for developing a slate of candidates for the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary and Member-at-Large. The committee shall consist of a Chair and members appointed by the BCAALL Chair.

Section 67 Each committee shall give an annual report at the business meeting. Copies of the reports shall be given to the Officers. All reports and other documents of value shall be submitted to the AALL Archives by the BCAALL Chair.

Article VIIIX - Archives

Section 1 At the end of his/her term, the Chair shall transfer a print and electronic copy of organization materials to the AALL archives. An accompanying cover letter shall indicate the organization’s name, Chair’s name and term of office, and a brief description of the documents submitted.

Article X - Amendments

Section 1

Members shall submit proposed Bylaws amendments to the Bylaws Committee before or at the business meeting.  If time permits, the Bylaws Committee shall notify the membership of proposed amendments prior to the business meeting.  Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds vote of members attending the business meeting.

Article XI - Procedural Matters

Section 1 Procedural matters not covered by these Bylaws shall be governed by the current edition of Sturgis’ Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure rules of parliamentary procedure currently in use by AALL.

 

 

Revised and adopted at the annual meeting of BCAALL, San Antonio, TX, July ? 2005

Revised and adopted at the annual meeting of BCAALL, St. Louis, MO, July 8, 2006.

Revised and adopted at the annual meeting of BCAALL, Portland, OR, July 13, 2008.