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Home  LAMA and its History

 

LAMA and its History


LAMA's primary responsibilities involve the study of general administrative theory, the application of these studies to enhance library administrative practice, and the development of programs and publications that will enable library administrators to improve their administrative skills and techniques.  The association covers all aspects of management and administration which are common to libraries of all types, sizes and missions.  LAMA accomplishes its program through a division/section/committee/discussion group structure which is also common to other ALA divisions.


The broad interests of members are expressed in the diversity of its seven sections:  Buildings and Equipment; Fund Raising and Financial Development; Human Resources; Library Organization and Management; Measurement, Assessment And Evaluation; Public Relations and Marketing; and Systems and Services.  Members include not only library directors, but also senior and middle managers, financial officers, and specialists in public services, public relations, library buildings and other disciplines.  Active discussion and interest groups provide a forum for informally exchanging information.

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT


Formerly the Library Administration Division (LAD), LAMA became an ALA division on January 1, 1957.  At that time nine ALA groups were transferred to it: Board on Personnel Administration, Buildings Committee, Equipment Committee, Federal Relations Committee, Friends of the Libraries Committee, Insurance for Libraries Committee, Library Legislation Committee, Public Relations Committee, and Statistics Committee.  In the Spring and Fall of 1957, an additional eighteen committees were transferred to LAD from other ALA divisions.  Most of these additional committees involved building construction and maintenance, recruitment of professional librarians, public relations and statistics.  By the end of the year, the LAD Board had developed the basis for the structure of sections and responsibilities that it has today.  In 1978, the LAD membership voted to change the division's name to the Library Administration and Management Association.


The division continued with relatively few organizational changes until the late 1970's.  Beginning in 1976, with the appointment of the Special Committee on Division Development, and continuing through today, with the LAMA Board's planning sessions at Midwinter Meetings, LAMA has undertaken an extensive analysis of its operations, strengths and weaknesses, programs and services. This analysis, carried out by the LAMA Board and each section, committee and discussion group, resulted in an improved administrative structure and procedures, and a strategic long-range plan.


During the past several years much of the emphasis by LAMA's Directors and staff has been In the early 1980's, the leadership emphasis has been on organizing the association's processes so that LAMA committees could function more efficiently and effectively in addressing the numerous and exciting developments in the field of library management.  The Board concentrated its energies on those areas which in the past presented difficulties in planning and allocating resources, especially annual conference and preconference programming, publishing, regional institutes, and budgeting.  In 1984, LAMA completed the organization of policies, guidelines, and instructions in these areas.  A thorough revision of the 1984 work was completed in 1989.


1983 was a particularly pivotal year because LAMA moved from these efforts to very significant new directions under the leadership of the President and the Board's Executive Committee.  The LAMA Board started planning for the future.  It started analyzing divisional goals and objectives in a manner very different from the sectional emphases of the past.  The Board asked the fundamental questions, what is the role of the association?  How will the association best serve its personal and institutional members?  How will the association best serve those who attend conference programs and those who do not?  These questions and others were the focuses of the first Board Planning Session held at the 1983 Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, and such sessions have been held every year since. This retreat has evolved into a skills building opportunity for all our volunteers.


The Library Administration and Management Association is one of eleven ALA divisions.  It speaks for the ALA in the areas encompassed by its scope of responsibility approved by the ALA Council in 1964.  Like LAMA which is governed by ALA and its own bylaws, each section is self-governing under section bylaws that do not conflict with LAMA or ALA bylaws.

THE LAMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS


The Board includes seven officers who have been elected by all the members of LAMA: the President, the Vice-President (who is also the President-Elect), and the Past President, each of whom serves on the Board for three years; the Division Councilor, who serves four years as LAMA's representative on the ALA Council; the Secretary and two at large directors who serve staggered two-year terms.  All those officers are voting members of the Board.  Other voting members are the chairs of the sections, who are elected by the members of their sections for one-year terms.


In addition, the Board has several non-voting directors: the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, the vice-chairs of the sections (each of whom may vote for the section in the absence of the chair), the chair of the Committee on Organization, and the editor and associate editor of the journal of the Association, Library Administration  & Management.   Non-voting members serve on the Board in an advisory capacity.  They cannot vote or second a motion, but they may participate in discussions, although the President may limit such involvement until after voting members have had an opportunity to address an issue.


The interaction between divisional and sectional officers on the Board is an important element in strengthening communication between all units of the division, helping to insure common goals and responsiveness by the division to the interests of members.

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE


The regular meetings of the Board of Directors are at the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.  At other times of the year issues that affect the division are addressed by the Executive Committee, consisting of the President, the President-Elect, the Past President, the Secretary, the Division Councilor, and the Executive Director of the Association.  The Executive Committee meets every spring and fall to carry out actions resulting from previous Board meetings, to plan strategy for future Board action, to make adjustments to the budget, and to consider emergency measures as needed.

THE DIVISIONAL COMMITTEES


In addition to a Board of Directors, LAMA has several standing committees which serve broad coordinating, informational, and administrative functions for the division as a whole in areas such as budgeting, programming, and planning.  From time to time ad hoc committees are also created, to carry out specific tasks or investigate specific topics.  There are also division-wide task forces and discussion groups.


DISCUSSION AND INTEREREST GROUPS


Discussion and interest groups are encouraged because they can respond quickly to the interests of members and because they foster grassroots participation in the Association.


A discussion or interest group is an informal organization that allows discussion of topics of common interest during the Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting.  Results of discussion may be prepared by the group for distribution to the relevant parent body. A leader may be chosen by the group to coordinate discussion.
Procedures for establishment and discontinuance of discussion groups are given in the LAMA bylaws.


Discussion and interest groups do not have formal memberships.  The "members" are those who attend and participate in the discussions.  A sign-up sheet may be circulated in order to establish and maintain communication among participants.  These groups may form special ad hoc task forces, steering committees, etc. to plan and facilitate their discussions and other activities.

THE SECTIONS


Each of LAMA's seven sections has its own chair and vice-chair/chair-elect, its own executive committee, and committees to carry out its activities such as programs, publications, and nomination of officers.  In addition, each section may have task forces and discussion groups.  Each section operates under its own bylaws, provided that they do not conflict with the bylaws of ALA or of LAMA.


Although each section of LAMA is autonomous, the LAMA Board of Directors has approved the following policies:
The division, not the section, has authority to act for the American Library Association as a whole on matters determined by the ALA Council to be the responsibility of the division, and the section, in exercising its responsibility, is to submit statements of policy, etc. to the LAMA Board of Directors for approval prior to their release.


The policies, programs, and projects of the section, its committees and other subgroups (including discussion groups) are to be reported regularly, through the section chair, who serves on the Board, to the division's Board of Directors to insure that they are in keeping with the section's field of responsibility and that they provide suitable coverage of the various areas of responsibility assigned to it.


Any unit (including a section, a committee, a discussion group) may undertake any action which falls within its charge on its own initiative and authority so long as participation remains within its own membership.  If the activity's audience extends to other units of the section, the proposed activity should have the approval of the section executive committee.  If an activity extends to LAMA units outside the section, to ALA units or to the public, the proposed activity must be referred to the LAMA Board of Directors for approval.


The section provides within its framework, either by committees or other groups, the means for continuing the functions of the former ALA committees and committees of other divisions transferred to it.


The budgetary needs of the section, its committees and other subgroups are to be reported to the LAMA Board of Directors by November of each year for evaluation in relation to all needs of the division as a whole.


The ALA Handbook of Organization and the LAMA Roster of Officers and Committees, both published annually, provide comprehensive descriptions of the LAMA committees for both the division and the sections, as well as a full list of committee members.
 
COUNCIL OF LAMA AFFILIATES (COLA)


LAMA reaches out to librarians at the state and regional level through the Council of LAMA Affiliates.  Created in 1993, COLA's purpose is to provide a network for the exchange of information on activities and issues related to library administration and management; to promote leadership opportunities for LAMA members in addition to the existing track of committee appointments and elected positions within the LAMA divisional structure; and to facilitate two way communication between membership at the state/regional level and the Board of Directors of LAMA at the national level.


The Council serves as a communications link between the Affiliates and the LAMA Board of Directors. The Council is composed of one voting representative from each Affiliate and elects its own officers.  The LAMA Board Director-at-Large elected in odd-numbered years serves as the liaison to the Council and also functions as the Council's official representative to the Board.  The Council meets twice yearly, at the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.


Each Affiliate is an autonomous regional organization with its own structure and by-laws.  Any group of ten librarians, library staff, or others with an interest in library administration and management may request affiliate status via petition to the LAMA Board of Directors.  Membership in LAMA, while encouraged, is not a prerequisite for Affiliate members; however, the Chair of each Affiliate, who is a voting member of COLA, or the Chair's designated voting representative, must be LAMA member.  More than one Affiliate may be formed in any given state or region. Affiliates whose petitions were approved at the 1993 Annual Conference are known as Charter Affiliates.


LAMA is prepared to provide financial support to assist Affiliates with programming costs.  This assistance might be to underwrite the cost of a meeting place, speaker's honorarium for those who are not members of the affiliate, speaker's travel expenses, audiovisual equipment, mailing, or similar costs incurred as a direct result of the meeting.  An affiliate applying for a subsidy must submit a detailed description of the planned event with a full budget.  The request is evaluated by a COLA subcommittee and forwarded to the LAMA Budget & Finance Committee for budget approval.


COLA Affiliates and their designated voting representatives are listed in the ALA Handbook of Organization.