Tips for Making Appointments

Drafted by R. Hensley, Chair-Elect, 1997
Approved by IS Executive Committee, Annual Conference, 1997
Revised by M. J. Petrowski, Chair-Elect, 1998
Approved by IS Executive Committee, 1998
Revised by M. J. Petrowski, Chair, 1999
Approved by IS Executive Committee, 1999
Revised by J. S. Caspers, Chair, 2007
Approved by IS Executive Committee, 2007
Revised by S. Michel, Chair-Elect, 2011
Approved by IS Executive Committee, 2011

1. Section Web Site   
Immediately after Annual conference, the Section chair (a) requests that the ACRL staff liaison change the permissions for the administration of the online volunteer system for IS to that of the new Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, and (b) directs the IS web administrator(s) to make any necessary changes to the Committee Appointment Information. The Chair also solicits input from the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect with regard to changes on the Committee Appointment Information page.

2. Conference Program Planning Committee   
By October, the Vice-Chair/Chair Elect appoints a chair and core group. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect may solicit members in addition to selecting from the volunteer pool. This committee must begin meeting virtually by Midwinter to begin work on the program proposal that is due to ACRL by the end of May. (ACRL funds the program, hence the review process.) The proposal must be approved by IS Executive before submission to ACRL.

3. Nominating Committee   
By November, the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect appoints a Nominating Committee (a chair and usually two members). This committee must begin their deliberations at the time of the Midwinter conference to begin developing a slate which is due to ACRL by September 15. This committee is appointed for one year (Midwinter to Midwinter). It is customary to offer the Chair position of this committee to the past Past-Chair.

4. Midwinter Reminder   
Before and at the Midwinter conference, the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect announces to committee chairs that members whose appointments are ending (including themselves) need to submit a volunteer form to be considered for a new appointment or reappointment. Many members believe they will automatically be considered for appointment to a new committee or reappointment. This announcement may be made via the Advisory Council listserv and at the Midwinter Advisory Council meeting.

5. Term Lengths   
Appointments include: one-year appointments for chairs; one-year appointments for committee secretaries; one- or two-year appointments for committee members.

One-year member appointments are made for the following reasons: the need to complete a specific committee project, continuity on a committee/task force, or to achieve balance between continuing members and new members. In general, committees should be evenly balanced between continuing and new members.

6. Task Forces   
The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect may need to appoint a task force chair and members, to accomplish a specific task outside of a committee charge, for one or two years as determined by the IS Executive Committee. The Bylaws state that no task force may continue beyond two years without review and approval by the IS Executive Committee.

The task force charge includes a due date for the completion of the charge and members are appointed for that time frame.

 7. Resignations   
When a committee member, secretary or chair resigns, the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect notifies the ACRL staff liaison to remove the person’s name from the committee roster. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect also notifies the Committee List Administrator to remove the person from the committee listserv.

If the person resigning is a committee chair, then the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect also notifies the Committee List Administrator to remove the person from the Advisory Council list, and notifies the Web Site Administrators to remove the person from the Advisory Council roster and the Committee Charges, Rosters, and Web Pages page.

The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect appoints new members only as needed to complete projects or charges. Terms of appointment in this circumstance can be determined by the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect with the approval of the IS Executive Committee.

8. Committee Size   
Because larger committees are often more difficult to manage, committees generally have between 3 and 10 members. In special circumstances committee chairs may request additional members for a committee and the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect may grant that request after conferring with the IS Executive Committee.

9. Committee Chairs   
In general, appointments of committee chairs should be done on the basis of proven leadership ability and leadership potential as evidenced by previous performance on the committee, so that chairing a committee can be viewed by members as a promotion opportunity. However, the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect can consider chair appointments from outside the current committee roster when issues of leadership or fresh perspective on the committee charge make an outside appointment advantageous.

Committee chairs are appointed for a one year term of office. Current chairs should be consulted for their recommendations about committee members who show leadership abilities sufficient to be appointed committee chair. Committee chairs are required to attend the ALA Annual Conference.

Co-chairs are generally assigned only if the committee is working on a complex project which requires an experienced chair to lead and provide continuity in the committee, or when the committee is engaged in work that requires deep knowledge of ACRL policies and procedures, or for other compelling reasons which indicate that one chair will not be sufficient to manage that committee's work. Appointing a co-chair may often be a temporary measure to address a special circumstance and not necessarily a revision of a committee's continuing structure.

10. Reappointments   
In general, committee members who have served a two-year term are not reappointed for another two-year term on the same committee in order to include new members. However, some reappointments can be made for an additional two-year term if it is deemed important to a particular activity of the committee or if the need to achieve continuity is facilitated by the reappointment. No member may serve on the same committee for more than four years. Although it is preferable that the chair position changes each year in order to provide leadership opportunities to more members, committee chairs may be appointed for an additional one-year term if it is warranted by the committee's current work or lack of experience among other committee members. Chairs should not be appointed for a third term.

11. Committee Secretaries   
Committee Secretaries are appointed for a one-year term and are usually members who are volunteering for committee service for the first time. Secretaries work closely with the committee chair. They take minutes for all committee meetings, maintain the committee’s Web presence on the IS Website, and participate fully in committee projects and activities. Secretaries are required to attend the ALA Annual Conference.

Committee secretaries who are completing their term are usually offered a full two-year appointment on the same committee. Committee secretaries must complete the volunteer form to indicate their interest in a committee appointment. Committee secretaries may wish to be appointed to some other committee and that appointment can be made if the Secretary is able to contribute to the new committee. Service as a committee secretary does not count as part of the four-year consecutive term limit for members.

12. Candidates for Section Office   
Candidates are selected to run for Section offices because of their demonstrated leadership in the Section. In order not to lose those leaders who are not elected, committee appointments (preferably leadership positions) should be made to candidates who are not elected. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect should consult with all candidates during the appointment process to determine their interests. Because election results are not known until after the appointments deadline, several appointments should be reserved. Once election results are known, these last appointments can be filled.

13. ALA Member Service Policy   
When identifying potential committee members, keep in mind the ALA Member Service Policy which states: “ No person shall concurrently serve in more than three separate positions.” For more information, see Chapter 7, Appointments and Nominations, of the ACRL Guide to Policies and Procedures.

14. Appointment Offers and Confirmations   
The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect begins making appointments for the coming year after the deadline for submitting the Committee Volunteer form (usually February 15) with the bulk of appointments being offered by late March.   In order to appear in the ALA Handbook of Organization appointments must be accepted by Annual (or shortly thereafter: ACRL will set a deadline each year). Appointments are also made throughout the year as members resign and new task forces are created.

The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect sends an email to ILI-L to alert Instruction Section members that the appointment process is underway; volunteers are advised to watch for automatic appointment invitations sent from noreply@ala.org, which include an option to accept or decline the appointment. The announcement also indicates that the appointment will begin after Annual conference.

Procedurally, confirmation of continuing appointments and initial appointment offers are made via the online Committee Appointment System. The volunteer receives an email inviting them to confirm or decline the appointment; the IS Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and an ACRL staff person receive a notice of the appointee’s decision. Accepting the appointment automatically adds the appointee’s name to the committee roster. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect responds to the acceptance notice by contacting the new volunteer with an acknowledgement message which includes a link to the committee roster, date of the first conference the volunteer is expected to attend (if not a virtual appointment), and expectations for committee members (i.e., a link to the  Responsibilities of Committee Chairs, Members and Secretaries page.)

When a new committee member is appointed mid-year, the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect sends the committee chair the new appointee’s name and email address. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect also notifies the Committee List Administrator to add the new member to the committee’s list.

If the new appointee is a committee chair, then the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect notifies the Committee List Administrator to add the new member to the Advisory Council list; the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect also notifies the Web Site Administrators to add the new committee chair to the Advisory Council roster, and the Committee Charges, Rosters, and Web Pages page.

15. Reporting Errors in Appointments and Rosters to ACRL   
The current ALA Handbook of Organization and the online IS Rosters should be reviewed for errors. A list of corrections should be submitted to ACRL in late May.

16. Rosters   
All the committee rosters are generated by ACRL via the Committee Appointment system and changes are reflected automatically on the IS Committees pages except for the IS versions of the rosters for Exec and Advisory. The Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect updates these pages and notifies both Exec and IS Advisory via their listservs when changes are made.

17. Review "Tips for Committee Appointments"   
By mid-May, review this document and send revisions to the Chair for review and approval by the IS Executive Committee.