Revised July 28, 2020
Article I: NAME
The name of this special interest section of the American Association of Law Libraries (hereafter the Association) shall be the Library Systems & Resource Discovery SIS (hereafter the Section).
Article II: OBJECT
The object of the Section shall be:
- To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information on the use and capabilities of metadata, electronic resources, and library systems (defined to include library resource management systems, discovery systems, and bibliographic services and utilities); and
- To explore ways that emerging technologies can be integrated with library systems and how these changes affect libraries and librarians; and
- To communicate the concerns of its members to the governing bodies of those systems; and
- To foster communication between all types of law librarians to explore ways to improve access to information for users; and
- To represent its members’ interests and concerns within the Association.
The section shall conduct its affairs in conformity with the Bylaws of the Association.
Article III: MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open to any member of the Association requesting affiliation with the Section as provided in the Bylaws of the Association. Membership shall be renewable each year.
Article IV: OFFICERS
Section 1. Officers.
The officers shall consist of a chair, a vice-chair/chair-elect, a secretary/ treasurer, and two (2) members-at-large.
Section 2. Duties of Officers.
These officers shall perform the duties usually pertaining to their offices and such other duties as are specified in the current Procedures Manual for the Section.
Section 3. Terms of Office.
The vice chair/chair-elect shall serve a two-year term, the first year as vice chair, and the second year as chair. A new vice chair/chair-elect shall be elected each year. The secretary/treasurer shall serve a two-year term, and shall be elected every other year. The members-at-large shall serve two-year terms, with the terms staggered so that one new member-at-large assumes office each year. Officers shall serve until the adjournment of the annual business meeting.
Section 4. Nominating Committee
There shall be a nominating committee appointed by the chair which will consist of three (3) members of the Section, none of whom shall be a member of the executive committee, and none of whom shall be a candidate for office at the succeeding election. Each member of the committee shall serve for a term of one year. The chair shall be designated by the chair of the Section.
Section 5. Nominations and Elections
(a). The nominating committee shall nominate at least one candidate for each office.
(b). Only those members of the section holding individual or designated institutional membership in the Association are eligible to hold office.
(c). The names of candidates, together with their written acceptances, shall be presented by the nominating committee to the chair of the Section in sufficient time to enable the chair to inform members of the Section of the nominations.
(d). Further nominations may be made upon the written petition of five (5) members of the Section. Such petitions, with the written consent of the nominees, shall be filed with the secretary/treasurer, who prepares an official ballot, including nominations by petition.
(e). The secretary/treasurer shall provide a copy of the ballot to each member of the Section. Marked ballots shall be returned to the secretary/treasurer by a specified deadline. Provision of ballots, election and notification may all be done electronically.
The candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected and shall be so reported at the annual meeting of the Section, at which time any print ballots shall be destroyed. All candidates shall be notified of the results of the election at the earliest possible time.
(f). All of the above procedures must be scheduled and executed so that elections are completed at least two (2) months prior to the date of the Annual Meeting of the Association.
(g). In case of a tie vote, a run-off election shall be held at the annual meeting or by distributing ballots to the members of the section.
(h). All vacancies in offices shall be filled by the executive committee for an interim term until the next regular election of officers, at which time said vacancies shall be filled by election, except that the vice chair/chair-elect shall automatically become chair upon a vacancy in such office and shall continue in that office until the expiration of the term for which that person was originally elected to serve as chair.
Article V: MEETINGS
Section 1.
There shall be an annual meeting of the Section held in conjunction with, or during, the Annual Meeting of the Association. The scheduling of the annual meeting during the annual meeting of AALL shall be cleared with the annual meeting program chair, or as otherwise provided in the AALL Bylaws. Meetings shall be open to all members of the Association (AALL), but no person may vote in any meeting who is not a Section member in good standing.
Section 2.
A quorum shall consist of the members present at the meeting.
Article VI. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
There shall be an executive committee consisting of the officers named above and the immediate past-chair.
Article VII: COMMITTEES
There shall be such standing or special committees as the executive committee shall create, or shall be created by a majority vote of those present and voting at an annual meeting of the section. Unless otherwise provided, committee chairs shall be designated by the chair of the Section.
Article VIII: AMENDMENTS
Section 1.
These bylaws may be amended at the annual meeting of the Section by a majority of the members of the Section present and voting, or by majority of the votes cast by a mail or electronic ballot conducted by the secretary/treasurer.
Section 2.
30 days in advance of voting, notice of proposed amendments shall be provided to the members of the Section either electronically, by mail, or published in the newsletter of the Section.
Section 3.
If the bylaws will be amended at the annual meeting, members of the Section unable to attend may submit proxy votes to the secretary/treasurer prior to the meeting.
Article IX: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The Section shall conduct its affairs in conformity with the bylaws of the Association. The rules of order mandated by the bylaws of the Association shall govern all deliberations of the Section.