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Duties and Responsibilities of Divisional Officers

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Duties and Responsibilities of Divisional Officers

Elected officers are expected to carry out the following duties and
responsibilities. Should an elected officer be unable or unwilling
to carry out these resposibilities, the LAMA President may request
resignation or refer the issue to the LAMA Executive Committee for
resolution. [LAMA Board Document #96.38, approved 1/23/96]

President

1. Serves as a voting member of the LAMA Board and Board
Executive Committee.

2. Serves as ex-officio member of the Budget and Finance
Committee and the Program Committee.

3. Plans and directs the objectives and activities of the
Division.

4. Provides communication and coordination for the Division.

5. Attends or sends a delagate to the ALA Conference Program Committee meetings and ALA
BARC Planning and Budget Assembly during Midwinter Meeting
and Annual Conference. Votes as LAMA's representative when
appropriate.

6. Presides at all LAMA Board meetings and Board
Executive Committee meetings.

7. Keeps abreast of LAMA activities by attending as many meetings
as possible of the divisional committees, such as the LAMA
Budget and Finance Committee, and the sectional executive
committees during the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.

8. Plans agendas for Board meetings in coordination with the LAMA
Executive Director and the LAMA Executive Committee.

9. Keeps the Board Executive Committee informed of all actions
and activities.

10. Prepares and submits an Annual Report to ALA Council.

11. Insures that programs are responsive to LAMA membership needs.

12. Insures that the LAMA Bylaws are observed and that the
decisions of the Board of Directors and of the membership are
carried out.

13. Performs other duties as assigned by the Board of Directors.

14. Consults with LAMA Board of Directors and carries out LAMA
Executive Director's annual performance evaluation. Submits
a written recommendation to ALA Deputy Executive Director.

15. Plans annual President's program at ALA Annual Conference.

Vice-President/President-Elect

1. Serves as a voting member of the LAMA Board and the Executive
Committee.

2. Serves as ex officio member of the Budget and Finance
Committee, the Program Committee, and the Continuing Education Committee.

3. Plans agendas for Board meetings in coordination with the LAMA
Executive Director, and the Executive Committee.

4. Plans the activities and programs to be emphasized during
his/her term of office, in accordance with the needs of the
Division.

5. Presides at Board meetings and Executive Committee meetings in the absence of the President.

6. Attends or sends a delagate to ALA Conference Program Committee meetings and ALA
BARC Planning and Budget Assembly during Midwinter Meeting
and Annual Conference. Votes as LAMA's representative in the
absence of the President.

7. Keeps abreast of LAMA activities by attending as many meetings
as possible of the divisional committees, such as the LAMA
Budget and Finance Committee, and the sectional executive
committees during Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.

8. Attends all meetings of the LAMA Board and the Executive
Committee.

9. Appoints the chairs of divisional committees and the members,
coordinating this activity with the committee chairs whenever
possible.

10. Appoints the Nominating Committee for divisional offices.

11. Performs other duties as assigned by the Board of Directors or
the President.

Past-President

1. Serves as a voting member of the LAMA Board and the Executive
Committee.

2. Attends all meetings of the LAMA Board of Directors and the
Executive Committee.

3. Provides information to the Board related to activities and
experiences while serving as President and Vice-President.

4. Performs duties as assigned by the Board of Directors or the
President.

Duties and Responsibilities of the LAMA Councilor

Councilor

1. Serves as LAMA's representative to the ALA Council.

2. Serves as a voting member of the LAMA Board of Directors and
the Executive Committee.

3. Attends all meetings of the LAMA Board of Directors and the
Executive Committee.

4. Attends all meetings of the ALA Council. Represents LAMA's
viewpoint to Council; reports Council actions and activities
to the LAMA Board of Directors.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Officers of Sections

Section Chair

1. Coordinates the plans, activities and programs of the section,
assuring that they are responsive to the needs of members and
consistent with LAMA procedures.

2. Sits as a voting member of the LAMA Board. Must attend all
LAMA Board meetings.

3. Presents section action items to the Board for approval.

4. Plans and presides over the annual membership meeting of the
section, if one is held.

5. Verifies that annual budget requests and program budget
requests from all section committees have been planned and
submitted to the LAMA Budget and Finance Committee.

6. Verifies that a Nominating Committee has been selected.

7. Verifies that section and committee minutes and reports are
prepared and submitted.

8. Attends as many meetings as possible of the section's
committees during the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual
Conference.

9. Appoints committees as needed for section or joint programs.

10. Reports to the LAMA Board the activities, programs,
publications, workshops, institutes, etc. of the section, and
makes recommendations regarding them.

11. Schedules executive committee meetings, notifies committee members well in advance of
the time, date and place of meetings, prepares the agenda, and
presides over meetings.

12. Submits expenses and invoices to the LAMA Executive Director
by August 1 so that all expenses can be paid from the current
year's budget.

13. Keeps the vice-chair informed of all actions and activities.

Section Vice-chair

1. Appoints section committee members and chairs, coordinating
this activity with the current section and committee
chairpersons whenever possible.

2. Appoints a nominating committee for the section.

3. Sits as a non-voting member of the LAMA Board and votes in the
absence of the section chair. May attend all LAMA Board
meetings.

4. Attends as many meetings as possible of the section's
committees during the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference
to assist in planning activities and to become better
informed.

5. Assesses the needs of the section and plans the activities and
programs to be emphasized during his/her term of office.

6. Draws up the agenda for meetings of the section executive
committee in the absence of the chair.

7. Presides at meetings of the section executive committee in the absence of the chair.

8. Performs such other duties as the chair or the executive
committee may assign.

Section Secretary

1. Attends all meetings of the section executive committee.

2. Takes attendance and records minutes at section executive
meetings and submits the minutes to members of the executive
committee and the LAMA Executive Director.

3. Maintains records and makes them available to successor after leaving office.

4. Tallies votes as needed.

5. Performs such other duties as the section chair and the
section executive committee as a whole direct.

Reporting Responsibilities of Officers

Annual Reports

The president of LAMA is required to submit a written annual report
of the division's activities to the ALA Council. This report
should be forwarded to the Executive Director of LAMA by May 1, or
the deadline set by the ALA Executive Office.

At the 1996 Midwinter meeting the LAMA Board of Directors voted to
discontinue the requirement for written annual reports from section
and committee chairs. For reporting requirements, see "Reporting
Midwinter and Annual Conference Meetings" below.

Correspondence

The work of the Association progresses more smoothly when key
officers and staff are kept informed of ongoing activities. The
following guidelines should be observed:

The president sends copies of official correspondence to the
vice-president/ president-elect and the LAMA Executive Director.
Copies of correspondence relating to a committee or section are
sent to the chair involved.

The vice-president/president-elect sends copies of official
correspondence to the president and the LAMA Executive Director.
Copies of correspondence relating to a committee or section are
sent to the chair involved.

The chair of a section sends copies of official correspondence to
the vice-chair of the section and to the LAMA Executive Director.
Whenever policy matters are involved, copies are also sent to the
LAMA President and Vice-President/ President-Elect.

Committee, task force, and discussion group chairs send copies of
official correspondence to the president or section chair, as
appropriate, and to the LAMA Executive Director.

Reporting Midwinter and Annual Conference Meetings

All committees (including section executive committees), task
forces, and discussion groups must submit post-conference reports
of their meetings. These reports are the official record of the
meeting and should be submitted immediately following the Midwinter
Meeting and Annual Conference to the LAMA Executive Director and
the LAMA President (division committees, task forces and discussion
groups) or to the LAMA Executive Director and Section Chair
(section committees, task forces and discussion groups). The chair
is responsible for the reports, except that the secretary of each
section is responsible for the reports of meetings of the executive
committee of the section. Formal committee minutes may be filed
instead of the post-meeting reports, provided they are filed
promptly.

All reports may be submitted in writing or electronically. All reports should include these topics: Post Conference Reports -- Outstanding Happenings, Actions Taken, Decisions Made,
and Plans for Future Projects; Mid-Sream Reports -- Current
Objectives, Goals or Issues to be Discussed at Next Meeting (or
meeting agenda), and Recommendations or Issues for Action by the
Board of Directors.

Reporting to the magazine of the Association

All division and section chairs should report Midwinter Meeting and
Annual Conference announcements, news and any relevant
nonconference activities of that group to the associate editor of
LA&M for possible publication in the Association magazine. Note
that the LAMA Office will facilitate this news coverage by copying
post-conference updates and passing them along to the associate
editor. Deadlines for submission of news items are listed in the
Calendar.