Council of Chapter Presidents

• Roster
• Resources
  1. Why it Exists
  2. Bylaws of the Council
  3. Role of the Chair (revised July 2000)
  4. Planning Timeline for the Chair

1. All incumbent presidents of chapters of AALL are automatically members of the Council. Immediate past presidents, presidents-elect, or other designated chapter representatives may also attend Council meetings and participate in debate.
   
   
2. Rights and Privileges. The president of each chapter shall have one vote. The chapter president may designate another individual from the chapter to cast the vote.
   
   
3. Responsibilities. Each member is responsible for communicating with fellow chapter presidents both by contributing ideas, opinions, and information about chapter activities to the Council newsletter and by responding to requests for information or opinions from other Council members, the Council Chair, or the national leadership of AALL.

Article IV. Meetings

1. The Council shall meet during the annual meeting of AALL and in the same location.
2. Each member shall be notified of the annual meeting either by letter or by announcement at least 30 days in advance.
3. The quorum for conducting business shall be one-half of the members or their designated representatives present at a duly announced meeting.
4. Sturgis Standard code of parliamentary Procedure, in the latest edition, shall govern deliberations of the Council, when not in conflict with the bylaws.

Article V. Officer

1. There is only one officer, the Chair of the Council. The Chair shall be elected annually and serve a term of one year. The Chair shall be chosen from among the immediate past chapter presidents or incumbent presidents due to retire from office by October 31 following the annual meeting.
2. The Chair shall be elected prior to the annual meeting by a mail or electronic ballot conducted by the outgoing Chair. Nominations will be solicited by the outgoing Chair between January 15 and February 15 each year. Ballots shall be sent to Council members by March 15. (Revised July 2005)
3. The responsibilities of the Chair shall include, but are not limited to, maintaining channels of communication among the chapters and the national leadership, organizing and chairing the annual Council meeting one year following election, AALL, fulfilling the necessary administrative requirements and such other duties as the Council may direct.

Article VI. Committees

1. The Chair may appoint such special committees as are needed to carry out the functions of the Council.
2. Both incumbent chapter presidents, outgoing presidents leaving the Council and presidents-elect may be asked to serve on committees.

Article VII. Funding the Council

The Executive Board of AALL each year approves a specific amount for the Chair's use to assist with expenses at the annual meeting and with communication costs.

Article VIII. Amendment of Bylaws

Proposed amendments to the Bylaws may be submitted by any member to the Chair, who shall send notice of them to the members at least 30 days prior to the annual Council meeting. Such bylaws may be adopted, appealed or suspended by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting at the annual meeting. Any amendment shall take effect after it has been approved by the AALL Bylaws Committee.

Article IX. Antidiscrimination

Membership on the Council, as with membership in the American Association of Law Libraries, shall not be denied to any individual, or abridged on account of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation.

Role of the Chair (revised July 2000)

As defined in the Bylaws, the responsibilities of the Chair shall include, but are not limited to, maintaining channels of communication among the chapters and the national leadership, organizing and chairing the annual Council meeting one year following election, fulfilling the necessary administrative requirements, and such other duties as the Council may direct.

The following list of duties was approved by the Council during the 1997 annual meeting and updated with Council approval at the 2000 annual meeting. It includes those duties added as a result of the 1988-89 AALL Special Committee on Organizational Structure.

I. Maintaining channels of communication among the chapters and between the chapters and AALL

1. Attend AALL Executive Board meetings in a non-voting capacity to represent the Council's interests. Prepare a report for each meeting. Submit agenda item(s).
2. Correspond regularly with all chapter presidents to inform them of association matters affecting their chapters and to solicit their opinions or cooperation in carrying out association policy and programs.
3. Function as a hot-line for chapters to obtain information from AALL Headquarters or other sources, as needed. Keep the AALL Executive Board and Headquarters personnel aware of significant Chapter events or anniversaries.
4. Act as content provider for AALLNET, the Chapter Handbook, the Chapter Leadership Bulletin, the VIP Program Handbook, etc., in conjunction with AALL.
5. Act as listowner for the listserv. Subscribe and unsubscribe participants, as necessary.
6. Correspond regularly with all chapter presidents regarding policies, issues, activities and other concerns that might arise.
7. Act as a clearinghouse for the sharing of successes and problems.
8. Maintain a current membership list.

II. Organizing and leading Council activities at the Annual Meeting

1. Take the minutes of the Council's Annual Business meeting following their election and submit them to the AALL Executive Board at its meeting at the conclusion of the annual meeting.
2. Organize and arrange the Chapter Leadership Training for the annual meeting one year following election.
3. Organize, prepare the agenda and preside over the Business Meeting scheduled during the annual meeting one year following election.
4. Work cooperatively with the SIS Council Chair to plan the joint luncheon, if offered.
5. Organize and arrange the Chapter Leadership Roundtables, in conjunction with AALL.

III. Fulfilling the necessary requirements.

1. Submit any required budgets and/or expenditure reports to AALL.
2. Conduct the nominating process and election for his/her successor, as defined in the Bylaws.
3. Submit the annual report to AALL.
4. The Chair passes on to his/her successor any records and information related to the year's activities. After reviewing these records, the new chair forwards them to the AALL archives, retaining any documents which are still active.
5. Appoint Council members, immediate past presidents or the immediate past Council Chair, either in an individual capacity or as a committee, to assist the Chair with any of the responsibilities of this position.

Planning Timeline for the Chair of the Council of Chapter Presidents

All dates are approximate and subject to change. 

July:

• Attend and participate in Chapter Leadership Training activities at the Annual Meeting.
• Take minutes at Council's Annual Business Meeting.
• Following Annual Meeting, confirm that all current Presidents and Vice Presidents are subscribed to the listserv and remind the Chapter Presidents to send their current Chapter Rosters to the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director for posting on AALLNET.
• Contact AALL's Director of Information Technology to make sure you are authorized to be the listserv administrator.
• Familiarize yourself with the section on AALLNET pertaining to Chapters.
• Read Council Bylaws and Duties of Chair.
• Tabulate evaluations of Chapter Leadership Training. Share results with the immediate past Council Chair, Board Liaison, AALL President and the appropriate Headquarters Staff. You may want to include some of the findings in your Chapter Council Chapter Chair report at the fall Executive Board meeting.
• Conduct the Chapter Leadership Training and the COCP Annual Business Meeting.
• Chapter Annual Reports are due.
• Attend the July Executive Board Meeting.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.  

August: 

• Remind Chapter Presidents to submit their Chapter Biography.
• Verify that AALLNET lists the correct membership of the Council.
• Check that all Chapter profiles are updated and list the current president and vice president. This is important so that you are sure you have the correct people subscribed to the listerv.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

September:

• Submit any agenda items and your Chapter Council Chair report for the fall AALL Executive Board meeting. Agenda items are due approximately two months before the meeting. You will be notified of the specific due date by the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.
• Contact the Director of Meetings for your Leadership Training budget for food & beverages (covers break), AV, printing/duplicating and signage. If the budget does not include funds for the joint luncheon with the SIS Chairs, then either now or at the November meeting, approach the Executive Director to find out whether or not it will be funded. If it's not funded, you will have to decide with the SIS Council Chair, whether to offer this as a ticketed event with a separate charge.
• Remind Chapter Presidents that Chapter Liability insurance is due in October.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

October:

• AALL Annual Meeting Scheduling Form are sent out and are due by December 1. You'll need to:
  • Coordinate with the SIS Council Chair to schedule the joint luncheon and decide on room/AV set-up, e.g., whether you'll have (a) speaker(s). Menu planning will come later.
  • Schedule the times of the Leadership Training, Professional Development Workshop and the Council's Annual Business Meeting. Your decision on the content of both can wait.
  • Determine the topics of the Leadership Roundtables you'll offer, who will lead them and the dates and times they'll be offered. You'll need to work with each of the Moderators to determine this.
  • Specify the room set-ups and AV requirements for all of the above.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

November:

• Attend the fall Executive Board Meeting in Chicago.
• Send a confirming letter to your Leadership Roundtable moderators.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

December:

• December 1:  Annual Meeting Scheduling Forms are due.
• All information for the joint luncheon, leadership training, Council business meeting or Leadership Roundtables, needs to be confirmed in order for the correct information to appear on AALLNET. For example, if you'll be separately ticketing and charging for the joint luncheon with the SIS Chairs, that information (and the charge) needs to be confirmed.

January:

• Update the list of chapters celebrating anniversaries.
• Submit any agenda items and your Chapter Council Chair report for the spring Executive Board meeting. Agenda items are due approximately two months before the meeting.  You will be notified of the specific due date by the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.
• Solicit nominations for new Chair between January 15 & February 15, per the Council bylaws.
• Annual Meeting Registration Awards information is sent out.  Each year, 10 chapters receive one free full Annual Meeting registration.  The recipient information is due to the Program Manager at Headquarters by April 1.
• Publicize and promote the Chapter VIP Program.  Review VIP Program on AALLNET.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

February:

• Ask candidates for Council Chair to submit a biographical information and a statement for distribution to Council.
• Food & Beverage forms are sent out and are due by May 15. Use this form to select the menu for the luncheon (along with the SIS Council Chair) and break food and beverages for the Chapter Leadership Training and Professional Development Workshop.
• Annual Meeting Registration opens on AALLNET. 
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

March:

• Send biographical information and statements of the candidates along with the ballots for election of new Chair no later than March 15. (It can be done earlier, especially if you want to announce it at the March Board meeting and in case you need to hold a run-off election.)
• Attend the spring AALL Executive Board Meeting in Chicago.
• Send out Chapter Council Chat.

April:

• Plan the Chapter Leadership and Professional Development Training: Determine how you'll conduct the training, choose topics for the discussion groups, recruit discussion leaders (usually past chapter presidents, AALL committee chairs or Headquarters staff), decide on whether you'll have individual speakers address the whole group, recruit those speakers, determine times for all of the preceding, decide whether you'll invite your discussion leaders and speakers to the joint luncheon.
• Coordinate with SIS Council Chair on the joint luncheon so the two of you have a final count by the deadline.
• Announce the name of the new chair on the listserv.
• April 1:  Deadline for chapters to submit Chapter Registration Awards to the Program Manager at Headquarters.
• Send information to the listserv about the various Annual Meeting events for Chapter Leadership.

May:

• Submit any agenda items and your Chapter Council Chair report for the July Board meeting. Agenda items are due approximately two months before the meeting.  You will be notified of the specific due date by the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.
• Explain the Chapter Leadership Training to the new vice presidents and encourage them to participate.
• May 15: Completed Food & Beverage Order Forms are due.  Final Count due in June.
• Chapter Annual Report memo sent to Chapter Presidents.   
• Chapter Visit request forms are mailed to chapter vice presidents by HQ. Acquaint yourself with Chapter Visit Procedures so that you can respond to questions like "How much does the chapter have to pay?" and "When will our chapter get a presidential visit?"
• Read AALL Archives Policy and decide what, if anything, to submit to Archives on behalf of the Council.
• Contact HQ to determine whether there's a standard evaluation form for the Leadership Training or whether you have to create one.
• Send an announcement about the joint luncheon. Ask for RSVPs and special meal requests.

June:

• June 1: Final counts for food & beverage orders are due. The figure you report will be what you're charged for. This must be coordinated with the SIS Council Chair.
• Submit INFORMATION ONLY reports for the Board's July meeting "Board Book" no later than approximately one month ahead of the meeting. You should be notified of the specific due date by the Executive Director or his Assistant.
• Inventory of signs for Annual Meeting sent to you, along with request form for new signs. Review inventory and submit any request for new signs by the due date, later that month.
• Create agenda for Council's Annual Meeting.
• Revise Planning Timeline for Chapter Presidents.
• Revise Planning Timeline for the Chair of the Council of Chapter Presidents.