ALA Chapter Councilors
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Duties of an ALA Chapter Councilor
- Immediately After Your Election
- Specifically, as a Chapter Councilor
- Prior to the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference
- At the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference
First, please refer to your Welcome Letter (Word), sent by the ALA Council Secretariat on behalf of the ALA Council Orientation Committee. In it you will learn about the current conference schedule, record of actions taken by Council, what the Council suite is, and more. Next, please refer to the Duties of ALA Councilors (Word), which is an overview of your responsibilities as an ALA Councilor. In addition to the duties specified in the above documents, Chapter Councilors are asked to be the liaisons between their Chapters and the ALA Chapter Relations Office. As such, it is important that Chapter Councilors accept this responsibility. The following points [found in Duties of an ALA Chapter Councilor (Word)] describe what to expect and the primary duties you will be asked to perform. See also ALA and Chapter relationship.
Immediately After Your Election
- Make sure your election is reported to Lois Ann Gregory-Wood, ALA Council Secretariat (lgregory@ala.org) and to the Chapter Relations Office [Michael Dowling, director (mdowling@ala.org) and Don Wood, program officer (dwood@ala.org)]. Contact these staff members if you have any questions or comments.
- Expect to placed on four business e-lists: the ALA Council (ALACOUN), ALA Chapter Councilors (CHAPCOUN), Chapter Leaders (ALACRO-L), and ALA-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA). Most communication from CRO is by e-mail, either on the business lists or to your personal e-mail. If you are not subscribed to CHAPCOUN or ALACRO-L (or the other e-lists), please contact Don Wood, Chapter Relations Office.
- Visit the ALA Chapters website, particularly the page ALA Chapter Councilors, as well as the ALA Council page.
- Talk with your predecessor as soon as possible after his/her last Council session:
- Discuss important ongoing issues. You will find “Council Actions at the (Annual/Midwinter) Meeting,” sent to ALACOUN shortly after each conference, to be very helpful for this discussion.
- Discuss the kinds of meetings you are expected to attend in addition to Council meetings (e.g., Council and Chapter Councilor forums, membership meetings, Chapter Relations Committee meetings, etc.).
- Find out any tips, warnings, bits of helpful advice, or anecdotes that they wish to offer, including the method for submitting an expense form to your Chapter.
- Discuss functions and activities of the Chapter Relations Committee and Chapter Relations Office
- Learn how to set up an ALA booth/information table at your Chapter conference and how to receive promotional materials from ALA.
- Obtain a copy of “Duties of ALA Councilors” and a copy of Alice Sturgis’ The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure from the Council Secretariat.
- Review ALA’s Constitution and Bylaws and the ALA Policy Manual, which are found on the ALA website. These are the principles by which Council operates.
Specifically, as a Chapter Councilor
- Monitor and participate on all business e-lists.
- Participate in ALA Connect (the ALA Chapter Councilors have a committee), the Chapter Resources wiki (ALA Chapter Councilors on wiki), and other business and networking opportunities. Consider becoming a Mentor via ALA Connect.
- If you are a member of your Chapter’s Executive Board, attend all meetings faithfully. Report on ALA and Chapter relations issues at each meeting. Likewise, report Chapter concerns to ALA and the Chapter Relations Office as needed.
- Write articles and Councilor’s reports as needed and requested for Chapter publications. Your Chapter may also require a report for your Council, Membership Meeting, etc.
- Prepare, in a timely manner, your budget for Council related expenses and submit it at the proper time during your Chapter’s budgeting process. Be fair about the reimbursement that you request. In turn, require that your Chapter be fair with you. Being a good Chapter Councilor requires considerable sacrifice of time, money, and patience.
- Distribute CRC mailings you will receive from time to time between conferences. This will be true especially if there are special initiatives or surveys occurring. Please either forward them to the proper person in your Chapter for speedy response or to appropriate individuals and or/lists in your Chapter.
- Welcome any ALA staff members or officers when they visit your Chapter. If possible, contact them in advance of their visit and offer to assist them in any way you can.
- Arrange for an ALA booth or information table at your Chapter conference. The ALA Chapter Relations Office will make this very easy for you. [See, Promotion display and table skirt order form (aka ALA promotional materials at state conferences).]
- Be positive about ALA in your Chapter and about your Chapter in ALA. Ensure that you, or your Chapter staff, report to ALA any pertinent dates, information and changes involving your Chapter.
- Promote ALA membership to Chapter members. (See “You are invited to join ALA as a Personal, Organizational, or Corporate Member.”) Urge Chapter members to become active members in ALA’s divisions and round tables. Send names of Chapter members who would like ALA Committee appointments to the Chapter Relations Committee chair in the early fall. Look for e-mails from ALA Council Secretariat and CRO about online volunteer forms.
- Publicize Chapter members who have received recognition/election to ALA units/Council. Find out about ALA awards that Chapters can be nominated for, such as the ProQuest/SIRS State and Regional Intellectual Freedom Achievement Award.
Prior to the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference
- Make your travel and lodging arrangements. Housing for Councilors is arranged by the Council Secretariat. If you can manage the rates at the Headquarters hotel, you will usually save yourself a lot of travel between meetings of the CRC and Council and be centrally located to most events. Book return flights knowing that Council meetings may be extended.
- Read all the information sent electronically and through the mail in preparation for Council meetings.
- Note the schedule of CRC meetings and plan to attend as many as you can.
- Develop a schedule of daily meetings before leaving home. Be generous with your time—your Chapter will benefit.
- Learn how to prepare a resolution for ALA Council. Instructions are found from Chapter Councilor Orientation and Guidelines for Preparation of Resolutions for Council.
At the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference
- At Midwinter: Attend the scheduled Orientation for Councilors. There will be a special part of this orientation for Chapter Councilors. If you have not served on Council previously, this will be very valuable for you. Try to attend even if you are a returning Councilor. You will probably learn something and your participation will greatly contribute to the value of the Orientation for the new Councilors. It is also important to meet new Chapter Councilors and welcome them. For some of your meetings to attend, see Upcoming events sponsored by the Chapter Relations Committee. For others, refer to the Welcome Letter (Word).
- At both meetings: Attend as many Chapter Relations Committee meetings and programs as you can. The committee meetings are typically scheduled on Saturday and Monday afternoons. These will provide an opportunity for you to interact with other Councilors, to hear reports from the ALA officers and Executive Director, and to participate in issue discussions with colleagues from other Chapters. There is always much helpful information that you can take back to your Chapter Board that is presented at the CRC meetings.
- At both meetings: Attend as many Council forums as you can. The pertinent general meetings are the Chapter Councilors’ forum and the Council forums. However, there may be other Council forums of interest. The schedule is sent via ALACOUN prior to Midwinter and Annual. Some meetings are held in the Council suite (a suite in the headquarters hotel) and the general Council forums are usually held in a meeting room in the headquarters hotel. Council forums will allow you to discuss the issues that will come before Council and give you an opportunity to ask questions about issues that you might not fully understand.
- At both meetings: Attend Chapter Councilors Forum, usually held on Monday. Talk with fellow Councilors about Council issues; use the opportunity to report ALA initiatives and information from CRC meetings.
- At both meetings: Attend all Council and Information Sessions and the scheduled ALA Membership Meetings. Listen to all sides of every issue, participate when you have something to contribute, and vote your mind, while taking into consideration the opinions of the majority of your Chapter members on an issue.
Specifically about Councilors and Council
ALA Chapter Councilors (wiki)
Guidelines for Preparation of Resolutions for Council
Chapter Councilors
List of ALA Chapter Councilors with contact information.
Chapter Councilors Guide to Membership Promotion
Promotion Display and Table Skirt Order Form (aka ALA promotional materials at state conferences), which is used to order ALA materials for Chapter conferences.
Specifically about Chapters
Chapter Documents and Resources
Information on leadership, ALA policies regarding Chapters, and more.
Chapter Policies and Procedures
Overview of How to Get Involved in ALA Chapters
Overview of ALA Resources for Chapters
ALA Chapter Partnership Fact Sheet
ALA and Chapter conferences calendar
A listing of upcoming ALA, Chapter and Affiliate Conferences.
Chapter Leaders Orientation (scheduled at MW and AC; includes links to documents distributed)