Committee Chair Orientation Memo

Basic Function:  Consistent with PLA policies and strategic plan, the committee chair guides the committee in its work as outlined in the committee charge.

Responsibilities:

• Plan the work of the committee in accordance with the PLA Goals and Strategic Plan, and more directly along your committee’s specific charge.  Committee work is not limited to program planning; committees might also develop best practices, Web page information, publications, articles for publication, surveys, position papers, etc.  Think about the best ways to carry out the work of the organization that would be most useful to our members and the profession.
• Work with the PLA staff to ensure that the work of the committee is being carried out and that you have the tools you need to be equipped to do the work of your committee.  Contact Julianna or Greta if you have questions.
• Coordinate any activity that has a potential budgetary impact with the PLA office. 
• Inform committee members of meeting times and deadlines.  Prepare agendas, outlines, and all other documents you will be using well in advance and distribute to members.  Always forward copies of official committee correspondence and documentation to the PLA Office.  The office retains committee files to inform future chairs about he work of the committee.  Plan formal committee meetings at Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.  Electronic documents are preferred.
• Each committee chair is required to complete a written Meeting Highlights report after the committees’ meetings at Midwinter and Annual Conference, which must be submitted to the PLA office within 2 weeks of the meeting. Electronic documents are preferred.  PLA staff will post these reports to the committee section of the PLA Web site.  These reports help communicate the work of your committee to the rest of the Association and help committee members stay on track of the work at hand.  In early June, the chair will also be asked to provide an overview of the work of the committee that will be shared with the Board at the ALA Annual Conference in June 2007.
• Communicate with the prior chair or the PLA Office if you need background information on the prior work of the committee. 
• Appear before the PLA Board of Directors as needed to request Board action on policy matters, or the issuance of public statements on behalf of the association.  The Board prefers to receive written reports on routine business matters.  Most information can be communicated via the Meeting Highlights form that the chair is responsible for submitting after committee meetings.  Contact PLA staff for guidance if you think you will need to speak to the PLA Board of Directors.  All issues must be submitted in writing for Board consideration.
• Where appropriate, make policy recommendations for consideration by the PLA Board of Directors.
• Inform the PLA President/Cluster Steering Committee Chair of any committee resignations and ask for reappointments if necessary.  Also inform the staff of any committee changes so that rosters may be updated.
• Supervise the work of the committee.  Notify the PLA President/Cluster Steering Committee Chairs of members who exhibit excellent leadership and collaboration skills, to be included in future committees or recommended for leadership positions in the Association.  Also make sure to identify any members who are not fulfilling their obligations and ask for them to be removed if necessary.

The PLA Guide is available on the PLA Web site www.pla.org in the Organization section.  The Guide is a reference tool that contains information on PLA’s organization and structure, governance documents, policies, procedures, program of work and services to members (e.g.  Awards, Publications Program, National Conference, etc.), and forms.  I’ll highlight some information from the Guide; however, I ask that you familiarize yourself with the Guide.  It will help you accomplish the work of your committee. 

PLA has standing business, special, project, task force, and joint committees appointed by the PLA President and committees that are appointed by the chairs of the Cluster Steering Committees.  PLA has three Clusters—we’ve grouped committees with similar focus into Clusters, they are: 

The six members of the Cluster Steering Committees also sit on the PLA Board of Directors. http://www.pla.org/ala/pla/plaorg/organization.cfm
The Cluster Steering Committees monitor the work of the committees within that Cluster.  Each committee within a Cluster is assigned a liaison from the Cluster Steering Committee.  Your liaison should contact you prior to MW and AC to discuss the committees’ progress on the work they are engaged in.  Most business committees have staff liaisons and they too will contact you prior to conferences.  Attached to this note is the PLA Committee Organization Chart, which explains the organizational hierarchy.

There are policies and definitions that guide the work of committee members and chairpersons that you should be aware of:

Member Service Policy
States that members may not serve on more than three committees. 

Requirements for Committee Service
This policy requires that members of committees be expected to attend all meetings.  Failure to attend two consecutive meetings (Midwinter & Annual Conference) without an acceptable explanation constitutes grounds for removal upon request by the chair and approval of the appropriate appointing official.

Policy on Working Papers and Final Products of Committees
States that all working papers and final products of any PLA committee belong to PLA and are not to be used for personal publications unless written permission has been obtained from the PLA Executive Director or Executive Committee.

Policy on the Use of PLA’s Name
The authority for acting or speaking on behalf of PLA rests with the PLA Board of Directors.  This includes issuing statements on behalf of PLA or public libraries, entering into a commitment with financial liabilities and endorsing or supporting projects or policies of other institutions or organizations.  PLA’s name is one of its most valuable assets and we pay close attention to how our name is used.

Partnerships and Collaboration with the Public Library Association
This policy outlines specific protocols for initiating ‘partnerships’ and ‘collaborations’.  A partnership is defined as a long-term project---specific considerations are outlined in the Guide—and require Board approval.  Collaborations typically are short-term projects—specific criteria are outlined in the Guide—and may be arranged by the PLA staff.  Read the Guide for more detail or talk with the staff.

Policy on PLA Partners
The PLA Partners committee is charged with the fundraising activities of the Association.  All vendor solicitations go through this committee.  If you have an idea/project that would lend itself to vendor underwriting, please contact the chairperson of the PLA Partners Committee or the PLA Deputy Executive Director, Joseph Potaczek at jpotaczek@ala.org.

Please review these policies carefully.  If you have any questions about them please post them to the list or contact the Staff.  Don’t hesitate to ask for clarification on details of these policies and procedures.

Committee Meetings and Programs
All committees meet during the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference during the PLA All Committee Meeting. It is your responsibility to plan, conduct and report out regarding these meetings.  What this means is that all PLA committees meet at the same time or staggered times in one huge meeting room.  The purpose of the All Committee Meeting format is to facilitate communication and collaboration among committees.  If your committee needs additional meeting time outside of the PLA All Committee Meeting, you should contact Julianna Kloeppel at jkloeppel@ala.org by 9/28/07 to schedule that meeting time.

PLA staff schedules the meeting times eliminating the need for committee chairpersons to fill out meeting room-scheduling forms from ALA.  Award Jury deliberations and Nominating Committee meetings are closed meetings and not held in the All Committee Meeting room. Awards Juries and the Nominating Committee will tentatively be scheduled to meet on the same days and times as they met for Midwinter 2007.

All other committee meetings are open meetings.  Typically the Business Committees (e.g. Budget & Finance, Partners, Public Libraries, etc.) meet from 8:00-9:30 and the Cluster Committees meet from 9:30-11:00 and the Cluster Steering Committees meet from 11:00-12:00.  Generally, the liaisons, both staff and Cluster Steering committee members, stop in to attend as much of your committee meeting as they can. 

Remember that after each meeting, a “Committee Meeting Highlights Report Form” must be sent to the PLA office.  This form is available on the PLA Web site in the Committee Work section and will be sent to you electronically before each meeting.  Electronic submissions of the form are preferred so that they may be posted to the committees’ Web page on the PLA Web site.

Note that committees do not meet at the PLA 2008 National Conference or the 2009 Spring Symposium.  ALA policy prohibits formal committee meetings at Division conferences and seminars.

Some PLA committees decide to develop programs for the ALA Annual Conference.  The program submission timeline is approximately 12 months prior to an upcoming conference.  The PLA Conference Program Coordinating Committee approves the slate of conference programs to be submitted to the PLA Board for approval.  If your committee decides to develop a program, it is best that a committee member who will still be on the committee at the time the program is presented be identified as the program organizer.  See http://www.pla.org/ala/pla/plaevents/programproposal/programproposal.cfm
for more information.  Additional information regarding program planning will periodically be sent out over the Leader List to committee chairs.  Linda Bostrom, Manager Professional Development, is the staff person who works most closely with PLA continuing education programming.  Contact Linda if you have questions lbostrom@ala.org.

Committee Budgets
Each committee is allocated up to $50 per year, unless otherwise requested.  Each Cluster Steering Committee has an additional $500, which is allocated to its’ committees by request to the Cluster Steering Committee Chair.  If your committee requires additional funds for special projects, please consult with staff regarding the process.

The PLA Guide is a fairly exhaustive handbook of information about policies, processes and procedures; I’ve tried to hit some of the highlights.  Please print out and read a copy of the Guide, it will help reveal all of the mysteries of PLA!

Last but not least, another important document to be aware of is the PLA Strategic Plan, which is available at www.pla.org in the Organization section.  I’ll be specifically addressing the Strategic Plan in my Committee Orientation Memo #3.

That’s it for now.  I hope this memo has been helpful.  The series of Committee Chair Orientation Memos will be posted to the PLA Web site in the Committee section.  As you work through the Guide and the PLA Web site, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at jsanders@cityofpasadena.net or PLA Executive Director, Greta Southard at 800-545-2433 x5028 or gsouthard@ala.org.

Jan Sanders
PLA President