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Mid-America Association of Law Libraries Bylaws
(as amended through October 2006)
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be: MID-AMERICA ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES, a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries.
ARTICLE II: OBJECTS
The Association is established for educational and scientific purposes. It shall be conducted as a non-profit organization for:
Promoting law librarianship; and
Developing and increasing the usefulness of law libraries
The chapter shall not engage in any activity that is in conflict with the object of the American Association of Law Libraries.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: In General
Any person interested in or engaged in law library work is eligible for membership by complying with the relevant Bylaws provisions. Neither membership nor full participation in the activities of this chapter shall be denied to any person on account of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability.
Section 2: Individual members
Any person, currently, or within the last 7 years, officially connected with a law library, or with a separately maintained law section in any library, may become an active individual member upon determination of eligibility by the Secretary and payment of annual dues. An adverse determination may be appealed to the Executive Board.
Section 3: Institutional Members
Any law library may become an institutional member upon payment of annual dues. The Executive Board is empowered to determine whether the institution applying is a law library.
Section 4: Associate Members
Persons not connected with law libraries may be elected to associate membership by the Executive Board and shall pay annual dues.
Section 5: Rights and Privileges
The right to hold office shall be restricted to active individual and institutionally designated members. The right to hold the office of President or Vice President/President Elect is further restricted to individual or designated institutional members in good standing of AALL. Rights of voting shall be restricted to active individual and institutionally designated members.
Section 6: Dues
a. The annual dues for individual membership and associate membership shall be $20.00.
b. The institutional membership dues shall be at a minimum rate of $20.00, entitling one (l) member; additional designated members will be at a rate of $20.00, with no library to pay annual dues in excess of $160.00. Retired and student membership dues are $10.00. Honorary and Lifetime memberships are continuous and free, and can be awarded in special situations by unanimous approval of the MAALL Executive Board.
c. The year for dues shall begin January 1, and the fiscal year shall begin on October 1.
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
Section 1: Officers
a. The officers of the Association shall consist of: President; Vice President/President Elect; Secretary; and Treasurer. The President and Vice President/President Elect shall hold office for one year; and the Secretary and Treasurer for two years, in staggered terms; at which time their successors shall be elected.
b. In the event that the President resigns prior to the completion of his or her regular term, or is otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office in the judgment of the Executive Board, the Vice President/President Elect shall automatically assume the Presidency and shall serve therein until his or her original Presidential term would have expired
c. In the event of vacancy in the office of Vice President/President Elect due to the assumption of the Presidency as above, the President shall appoint, with ratification by the Executive Board, an Acting Vice President who shall serve until the next regular election of a Vice President/President Elect. An Acting Vice President shall not be precluded from being a candidate for election to the office of Vice President/President Elect. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice President/President Elect not due to the assumption of the office of President as above, if more than six months remain until the next regular election of officers, a special election will be held to fill the office of the Vice President/President Elect. If there are fewer than six months until the next regular election of officers, the President shall appoint, with ratification by the Executive Board, a successor to serve until the next regular election, at which time the individual will become the President of the Association
d. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Secretary, Treasurer, or the position of Executive Board Member at Large, the President shall appoint, with ratification by the Executive Board, a successor to serve until the next regular election for that office.
Section 2: Duties of Officers
a. The President, Vice President/President Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall perform the duties usually pertaining to their respective offices.
b. The Executive Board shall consist of the current officers, the immediate past President, and two members at large, who shall each serve two year, staggered terms and shall be responsible for executing the policies of the Association.
Section 3: Committees
a. There shall be such committees as the Association or the Executive Board may establish from time to time.
b. The President shall appoint all members of committees.
ARTICLE V: MEETINGS
Section 1: Annual Meetings
An annual meeting of the Association shall be held either in October or November at such time and place as the Executive Board shall determine.
Section 2: Other Meetings
The President shall call other meetings of the Association as deemed necessary, or when requested to do so by the Executive Board.
Section 3: Conduct of Meetings
Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the latest edition of the procedure manual used by the American Association of Law Libraries except as otherwise specified by the Bylaws.
Section 4: Quorum
A quorum for a business meeting of the Association shall consist of fifteen members.
ARTICLE VI: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
Section 1: Nominating Committee
The President shall appoint a nominating committee which shall submit the names of a candidate or candidates who have agreed to be nominated for each of the following offices to the President at least forty-five days prior to the election: Vice President/President Elect; Member at Large, and Secretary (in even-numbered years) or Treasurer (in odd-numbered years). The list of candidates shall be circulated to the membership at least thirty days prior to the election.
Section 2: Additional Nominations
Additional nominations of candidates who have agreed to be nominated may be made by any member by communicating in writing such nomination to the President.
Section 3: Method of Election
a. The regular election of officers of the Association shall be by secret electronic ballot and completed at least two months before the annual meeting. The election period shall be at least 21 days in length.
b. The special election of a Vice President/President Elect as noted in Article IV, Section 1C, shall be conducted by the Secretary by mailed ballot or electronic method. The Nominating Committee noted in Article VI, Section 1, above shall present candidates for the election, and the election shall be conducted as the Executive Board determines.
For the first election of Executive Board Members at Large the individual receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to a two year term, and the individual with the second most number of votes shall be elected to a one year term. If the election results in a tie vote, the method outlined in Section 4 below shall be used to determine the outcome of the election. After the first election of the Executive Board Members at Large, this portion of section 3 shall self-cancel and no longer be a part of the Bylaws.
Section 4: The Votes
The individual receiving the greatest number of votes for each office shall be elected to that office.
In the event of a tie vote, the chair of the nominations committee shall place the name of each candidate on one slip of paper per candidate and then draw one slip from those so marked. The individual so selected shall be elected to the office.
ARTICLE VII: BYLAWS
Section 1: Adoption
Any Bylaw may be adopted, repealed, amended or suspended by a majority of those present and voting at any business meeting of the Association.
Section 2: Consistency
The bylaws shall be consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of the American Association of Law Libraries. In case of any conflict, the AALL provisions shall control.
Section 3: Approval
All adopted amendments shall be submitted to the AALL Committee on Constitution and Bylaws for review, as required by its Bylaws Article 8, section (a).
Section 4: Effective Date
All adopted amendments shall take effect upon publication in the MAALL newsletter or on the MAALL website after they have been approved by AALL.
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