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LAMA Appointments to Committees

Committee appointments are made by the Vice-President of LAMA and the Vice-Chairs of the sections. As incoming LAMA officers, they are responsible for selecting chairs for each committee and replacing committee members whose terms are expiring.

The appointment process begins in the fall and should be completed by May 1. It must be completed before the Annual Conference so that new chairs and new committee members can plan to attend appropriate meetings and programs during the Annual Conference, particularly the orientation session offered by the Leadership Development Committee.

The ALA Handbook of Organization, available at www.ala.org, lists all committees, gives the scope of their charge, and provides the names and addresses of the current members. The ALA Handbook of Organization can be helpful in identifying LAMA members who have been active in section activities.

The LAMA office will forward to the appropriate appointing officers expressions of interest in serving on committees that are received from LAMA members.

The Midwinter Meeting is a good time to seek input from current committee chairs and section chairs regarding members who have been enthusiastically involved in LAMA activities.

Committee appointments should go to members who will take their responsibilities seriously, who will attend both the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference, and who are interested in carrying out the programs and policies of the Association. Committee appointees must be personal members of ALA and LAMA. If their appointment is to a unit of a section, they must be members of that section, as well. They should be committed to the mission of the unit and be willing and able to work via correspondence between conference meetings. If they are to be appointed chairs, it is particularly desirable that they will have had some training or experience in the subject of the unit's mission.

Terms of Office

Chairs are appointed to a one-year term and may be reappointed to additional one-year terms by succeeding appointing officers; however, no chair may remain on a committee in any capacity for more than four years. All other appointments are normally for two years, although committee members may be appointed for a one year term at the discretion of the appointing officer. Committee members may be reappointed for one two-year term, but no committee member may serve for more than four consecutive years (LAMA Bylaws, Article VIII, Section 5). It is possible for a former committee member to be reappointed after a one-year hiatus, but it is usually preferable to appoint new people. According to the ALA Bylaws, committee terms should be staggered so that no more than one half of the members' terms expire in a given year. Appointments may be made for one year only in order to achieve the goal of staggering terms of office.

The ALA committee year is July 1 through June 30.

The Appointment Procedure

The appointing officer identifies persons to appoint and confirms interest. The LAMA office, working on the officer's behalf, sends each prospective appointee a letter of invitation that includes the name of the committee, the committee charge, the term of office, pertinent ALA policies. A copy of each letter is sent to the appointing officer. The appointee must return the LAMA Appointment Acceptance Form to the LAMA office by May 1. This is a critical deadline for preparing copy for the ALA Handbook of Organization. Members who have not returned completed forms by this deadline may not be listed in the ALA Handbook of Organization. Ad hoc committees automatically exist for two years unless they complete their charge in less time, in which case they disband. If they do not complete their charge within two years, the LAMA Board or the executive committee of the appropriate section may extend their term.

In the event that an ad hoc committee becomes a standing committee, service on the ad hoc committee shall be considered to be part of the committee member's term of office. If a member has served for four years on an ad hoc committee that becomes a standing committee, he may not be appointed to the standing committee.