AASL 2012 Elections

AASL Bylaws Revisions

Bylaws Revision #1

Article V. Nominations and Elections

Section 2. [Nominating Committee] Leadership Development Committee

A committee of five (5) or more members shall be appointed by the AASL president-elect. No member of the AASL Board of Directors shall be a member of the [Nominating] Leadership Development Committee. No member shall serve on the Nominating Committee for more than two consecutive years.

Section 3. Nominations by Committee

The [Nominating] Leadership Development Committee shall prepare a slate that includes the names of two or more candidates for each vacant position. The [Nominating] Leadership Development Committee shall present the slate of candidates for approval by the AASL Executive Committee.

Pro: Changing Nominating Committee to Leadership Development Committee
Integral to the overall health of an organization is successful leadership.  Currently the Nominating Committee is charged with preparing the annual slate for the AASL ballot and recommending AASL members to run for ALA offices and Council to the ALA Nominating Committee.   A proposed Leadership Development Committee would take a larger view of leadership, assuming not only nomination responsibilities, but also recruiting, training, and recognizing leaders.  A committee that focuses on all aspects of leadership, from initial recruiting through recognition, ensures a strategic and ongoing effort that results in robust leadership and creates an environment where all members have the possibility of being assimilated into leadership opportunities.

Con: Changing Nominating Committee to Leadership Development Committee
The current process of an annual Nominating Committee selecting a slate of candidates has been successful for many years. Each nominating committee has always been able to find qualified candidates for the election. Furthermore, another benefit to keeping the Nominating Committee structure is that the annual change in committee membership provides a fresh perspective and potentially a broader selection of candidates.

Bylaws Revision #2

Article VII. Board of Directors

Section 4. Regional Directors

The membership of the AASL shall elect one director from each of the geographical regions which has been established by the AASL. A regional director shall be elected for each region every three years to serve a three year term. They shall serve as voting members of the AASL Board of Directors.

A regional director shall be elected for each region every two years to serve a four year term. During the first two years of the term, the director will be a voting member of the Affiliate Assembly Executive Committee and a designated observer to the AASL Board. During the second two years of the term, the director will be a designated observer to the Affiliate Assembly Executive Committee and a voting member of the AASL Board of Directors.

Pro: Elimination of AASL Director-Elect Position
The position of Director-Elect (D-E) is no longer effective and viable in today’s AASL as it does not accomplish what it was intended to do.  The observation period does not effectively serve as training and rather becomes a waste of valuable intellect and time.  Since Directors-Elect are not voting members of the AASL Board, they do not have the opportunity to establish a strong tie between the nine regions of the Affiliate Assembly and the AASL Board.  In addition, this change would allow the Regional Director position to be expanded to a three-year term in line with other positions on the AASL Board. This change would also eliminate some of the financial and time commitments of serving a four-year term, making the position more appealing to possible candidates.

Con: Elimination of AASL Director-Elect Position
The elimination of the Director-Elect position will reduce the organizational familiarity of the Regional Directors.  The new Regional Directors will have a much sharper learning curve when beginning their term of service. Currently, the Directors-Elect serve as a valuable conduit for communication between the Board and the Affiliate Assembly.  They also serve individually as conduits of information to their particular Regions.  This flow of communication will need to be re-routed or the connection to regional membership will be lost.

Bylaws Revision #3

Article V. Nominations and Elections

Section 5. Elections

Elections shall be conducted annually by mail which shall be deemed to be by postal services or electronic means as determined by the ALA executive director. Ballots shall be [mailed] placed before each AASL member with the official ALA ballot [to each AASL member]. A plurality of all legal votes cast shall be necessary to elect a candidate. Votes shall be counted and certified by the [ALA Committee on Election] ALA Election Committee. In the case of a tie vote, the successful candidate shall be determined by lot conducted by the [ALA Committee on Election] ALA Election Committee.

Article XIV. Amendments

Section 1. Notice

Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by the AASL Board of Directors, by the AASL Bylaws committee, by the governing bodies of the AASL Sections, or by petition signed by twenty-five AASL members. Proposed amendments shall be presented in writing to the AASL Executive Director. They shall then be referred to the Bylaws committee.

The text of any proposed amendment shall be published in an official AASL publication thirty (30) days or more prior to the date of the mailing of the ballot by postal services or electronic means or shall be mailed by postal services or electronic means to each AASL member forty five (45) days prior to the closing of the balloting.

Section 2. Adoption and Amendment

These Bylaws may be adopted or amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the AASL members voting by mail ballot by postal services or electronic means.  Amendments become effective immediately following a favorable ballot, unless otherwise specified.

Pro/Con statements were written by current members of the AASL Board of Directors.