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PROPOSED BYLAWS

Bylaws Amendment for Ratification.  In accordance with Article XII, Section 2 of the PLA Bylaws, the following amendments to the Bylaws have been approved by the PLA Board of Directors for referral to the Membership for ratification as part of the March 17, 2008 ballot.

The new text is underscored, and deletions are in [brackets]

BYLAWS of the PUBLIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Article I. Name
The name of the organization will be the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association.

Article II. Mission
The Public Library Association enhances the development and effectiveness of public library staff and public library services.

This mission positions PLA to:
Focus its efforts on serving the needs of its members
Address issues which affect public libraries
Promote and protect the profession
Commit to quality public library services which benefit the general public

Article III. Membership
Sec. 1. 
The members of this Association will be those ALA members who designate this Association as specified in the ALA Bylaws upon payment of dues.

Sec. 2. Rights and Benefits of Membership
a. Members will receive the periodical publications of the Association.
b. Members will receive preferred rates on PLA continuing education events and [PLA] publications.
c. Only personal members of this Association have the right to vote, serve on committees, and hold office.

Sec. 3. Dues
a. A dues schedule will be established by the Board of Directors. Approval of the dues schedule or any change in this schedule must be approved by vote of the membership. Voting will be carried out as part of the annual election process. A simple majority of the votes cast will be sufficient to approve dues changes.
b. The dues schedule will be reviewed at least every three years at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Article IV. Officers and Duties

Sec. 1. 
The officers of this Association will be the immediate past president, the president, the vice president, who will be president elect, and the executive director. The executive director will be chosen by the executive director of the American Library Association with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Public Library Association. 

Sec. 2. Duties of the Officers

a. President. The president is the official representative of the Association and will preside at business meetings, board meetings, and at other required times. The president will serve as the ex officio member of all committees except the nominating committee without the right to vote except in a tie. As needed, the president is responsible for appointing liaisons and representatives to other entities.

b. [Vice President] President Elect. The [vice president] president elect will perform the duties of the president in his or her absence and appoint the chairs and members of the [business] standing committees which will assume office during his or her year as president and will serve as an ex-officio member of the Budget & Finance Committee.

c. Past President. The past president will serve as a member of the [Executive Committee and] Board of Directors and as an ex-officio member of the Budget & Finance Committee.

d. Executive Director. The executive director will carry out the policies and programs of the Association under the direction of the Board of Directors and will be responsible for the operation of the Association office.

[Sec. 3. The Executive Committee. ]
[The Executive Committee will consist of the president, vice-president, immediate past president, the chairs of the clusters, and the ALA division councilor of PLA. The Executive Director will serve as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will have the authority to act for the Board of Directors between Board meetings.]

Article V. Directors

Sec. 1.
The Board of Directors of the Association will consist of the following that have one vote: the Association's elected officers, [one representative from the American Library Trustee Association (ALTA)], the ALA division councilor of PLA, and [the steering committee of each cluster] six (6) members at large. The PLA Executive Director and one representative from the Association for Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) will be [a] non-voting members of the Board.

Sec. 2.
The Board of Directors will set direction, review annually the appointments, and manage the affairs of the Association under the policies adopted by the Association.

Article VI. Terms of Office

Sec. 1. 
The [vice president] president elect will be elected for a three-year term and serves one year of that term as [vice-] president elect, one year as president, and one year as immediate past president.  The ALA division councilor of the PLA will be elected for a term of three years. [Members of the cluster steering committees] Six (6) members at large will serve staggered terms of three years each; two members are elected each year.

Sec. 2. No member will hold more than one elected position on the Board of Directors at a time.  Election or appointment to a second position creates an immediate vacancy in the first.

Sec. 3. 
If a member of the Board of Directors (other than the ALTA representative) is unable to or does not fulfill the responsibilities of his or her office as defined in the Association bylaws, or if a member of the Board of Directors is unable to serve his or her full term of office, that director's office may be declared vacant by majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Sec. 4. 
If a member of the Board of Directors (other than the ALTA representative) fails to attend two consecutive conferences (e.g., an Annual Conference and the following Midwinter Meeting), that director's office may be declared vacant by majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Sec. 5. 
The PLA Board of Directors will elect a person from among the membership of the Association to fill and complete the terms of vacated offices of elected directors, except that the ALA division councilor of PLA must be replaced in accordance with ALA bylaws.

Article VII. Committees

Sec. 1. Authorization.
Standing, [ad hoc (special and project) and joint] committees, advisory groups and task forces are authorized by resolution of the Board of Directors and may be dissolved in the same manner. Special committees also may be authorized by the president to meet emergency needs.  New committees can be recommended by the PLA Board of Directors [, by clusters,] or any PLA member.

Sec. 2. Standing Committees.
Standing committees are established to carry on the continuing work of the Association, and [may be either designated as business committees or assigned to clusters] have specific outcomes.

[“Business committees” are defined as those committees charged with overseeing and maintaining the ongoing operations of the Association, such as awards, bylaws and organization and nominating. “Clusters” are defined as administrative units to bring together committees of similar focus.]

Members of [business] committees are appointed by the president or [vice-] president elect for staggered terms not to exceed two years and may be reappointed. [Members of standing committees assigned to clusters will be appointed by their steering committee chairs for staggered terms not to exceed two years and may be reappointed.]  In no instance will a person serve on the same committee for more than four consecutive years.

Chairs of standing committees are appointed by either the president or [vice-] president elect [or the steering committee chairs] to one-year terms, and may be reappointed.

Sec. 3. [Ad Hoc Committees] Task forces.
[There will be two types of ad hoc committees].

a. [Special Committees] Task forces. Chairs and members of [special committees] task forces as authorized in Section 1 will be appointed by the president [or vice-president, depending on which officer initiated the establishment of the committee,] to perform limited specific functions. The life of a [special committee] task force will be [one ] two years, unless the Board designates otherwise at the time the task force is established or in response to the task forces’ written petition for extension.  Task forces will be project driven and may also be known as work groups and will disband when the task is completed.  All task forces or work groups will have specific charges. [The Board of Directors may at its discretion extend the term of such a committee by one additional year if necessary to complete its assignment. Special committees assigned to clusters by the PLA Board will report directly to the appropriate steering committees.]

b. [Project Committees]. Advisory Groups. Chairs and members of [project committees] advisory groups as authorized in Section 1 will be appointed by the president [or vice-president, depending on which officer initiated] upon the establishment of the [committee] advisory group by the Board of Directors. [to accomplish limited specific tasks. The life of a project committee will not exceed four years. Project committees assigned to clusters by the PLA Board will report directly to the appropriate steering committees.]  The president is responsible for making two-year staggered appointments to the advisory group.  The purpose of an advisory group is to advise the Board of Directors on areas of expertise or practice.  Advisory groups will be reviewed annually by the Board of Directors for their ongoing continuance.

Sec. 4. [Assignment of Committees.]  Responsibilities and Duties.
[Committees are assigned to the clusters by resolution of the Board of Directors. As new committees are formed, they will be assigned to one of the clusters.  Business committees will report to the Board of Directors and not be assigned to clusters. Standing committees assigned to clusters by the PLA Board will report directly to the appropriate steering committees].  The responsibilities of each committee, task force, or work group shall be defined in written form (charge), approved by the PLA Board of Directors and recorded in the office of the PLA.

Sec. 5. Dissolution.
Standing committees, task forces and advisory groups may be dissolved with the approval of the Board of Directors.

[Article VIII. Clusters, Steering Committees
Sec. 1 Establishment.
The Board of Directors may establish clusters when the need for such groups arises.

Sec. 2. The initial clusters will be:

a. Library Services. Committees within this group will focus on how public libraries and librarians can improve their services for library users, such as services to children, the business community, literacy services, rural community, and homeschoolers.

b. Library Development. Committees within this group will focus on the working activities in which public librarians participate in their careers, such as those involving bibliography, collection development, continuing education, library collections, technology, and similar activities.

c. Issues and Concerns. Committees within this group will focus on activities that serve the library profession as a whole, such as those reviewing legislation, intellectual freedom, publications and research.]

Sec. 3. Steering Committees.
Each cluster will be managed by a steering committee consisting of six members. Two members of the steering committee will be elected each year for three-year terms.

The steering committees will be responsible for monitoring their committees to ensure that there is no redundancy in their work and that all appropriate and timely issues are being addressed. The steering committees may initiate and/or coordinate programming and publications across the lines of their committees.

a. Steering committee officers. Each steering committee will have a chair and a vice chair. Each officer will serve a one-year term, and no officer may succeed herself or himself. At its first meeting at the Midwinter Meeting, each steering committee will elect from its members a vice chair, who will assume the office of chair at the close of the following Annual Conference.

b. Steering committee chair. The steering committee chair will preside at steering committee meetings and will serve as the ex officio member of all committees within its venue without the right to vote except in a tie. The chair of the steering committee will serve on the Executive Committee.

c. Steering committee vice chair. The steering committee vice chair will preside over steering committee meetings in the absence of the chair and appoint committees to assume office during his or her year as chair. If the steering committee chair is unable to attend an Executive Committee meeting, the vice chair may serve in his or her place with full voting privileges.

Sec. 4. Board Representation.
Each steering committee member also will serve on the Association's Board of Directors.

Sec. 5. Non-Performance of a Steering Committee Member.
If a steering committee member is unable to or does not fulfill the responsibilities of the office to which that person is elected, as defined in the Association's bylaws, that member's office will be declared vacant and filled according to Article VI, Section 3 and Section 4.

Sec. 6. Dissolution.
A cluster may be dissolved and its committees distributed to the remaining clusters with the approval of the Board of Directors.]

Article [IX] VIII. Meetings

Sec. 1. General Meetings.
There will be an annual business meeting of the PLA membership in connection with the annual conference of the ALA. Other meetings may be called at the discretion of the Board of Directors. One hundred and fifty members will constitute a quorum.

Sec. 2. Board of Directors Meetings.
Board of Directors meetings will be held in [connection with the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference of the ALA], the fall, at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, in the spring and at the ALA Annual Conference and at other times on call of the president. A majority of the total number of elected officers and voting members of the Board will constitute a quorum.

[Sec. 3. Executive Committee Meetings.
Executive Committee meetings will be held in connection with the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference of the ALA, and at other times on call of the president. The Executive Committee also meets twice each year, once during the spring and once during the fall. Two-thirds of the voting members of the Executive Committee will constitute a quorum.]

[Sec. 4. Steering Committee Meetings.
Steering Committee meetings will be held in connection with the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference of the ALA, and at other times on call of the president. Two-thirds of the members of a steering committee will constitute a quorum.]

Article [X] IX. [Discussion Groups] Communities of Practice.

Sec. 1. Establishment.
Any [group of 25 or more] member[s] of the Association interested in establishing communication or discussing common problems that fall within the mission of the Association may form a formal [discussion group upon written petition from the group to the Bylaws and Organization Committee and approval by the Board of Directors] community of practice upon submission of written request to create such group.

Sec. 2. Operation.
[A discussion group will elect a chair who will keep a roster of members, be responsible for all communications, preside at meetings and make reports to the Board of Directors.] A [discussion group] community of practice may incur no expenses except as authorized by the PLA Board of Directors and it may make no declaration of policy.

Sec. 3. Dissolution.
A [discussion group] community of practice will continue in existence until inactive (no [meetings] communications or activities [for two consecutive conferences, e.g., an Annual Conference and the following Midwinter Meeting]) or dissolved by action of the Board of Directors.

Article [XI] X Nominations, Elections, and Appointments

Sec. 1. The Nominating Committee.
The vice president will appoint a Nominating Committee that will include a diverse representation from the PLA membership to nominate candidates for the annual [mail] vote.  This representation shall include both diversity of size of library and geographic distribution.

Sec. 2. Nominations.
The Nominating Committee will present the names of at least two candidates for each vacancy on the Board of Directors. The nominating committee will, as far as possible, represent the various [groups and] interests of the Association in its slate of candidates as delineated by the PLA strategic plan. The Nominating Committee will file its report with the Association's executive director who will arrange for publication and distribution of the official ballot in cooperation with ALA. [All PLA members will have the opportunity to vote for all candidates running for offices on the Board of Directors.]

Sec. 3. Petition Nominations.
Additional nominations may be made by petitions signed by not fewer than twenty five members of the Association. These petitions must be filed with the executive director not less than four months before the annual conference of ALA. No person may be nominated by the committee or by petition who is not a member of the Association and whose written consent has not been filed with the Nominating Committee.

Sec. 4. Election.
The election will be held by [mail] vote in accordance with ALA procedure. A plurality of all votes cast will be necessary to constitute an election. In case of a tie vote, the successful candidate will be determined by lot. All elections will be certified by the ALA Elections Committee.

Sec. 5. Appointments.
No person will hold more than three concurrent positions (appointed or elected) within PLA.  The PLA office will be instructed to ensure compliance with this section.

Article [XII] XI. Amendments and Implementation

Sec. 1. Notice
[These Bylaws may be amended by a two thirds vote of the members participating in the voting to amend. The vote may be taken either at a business meeting of the Association, or by mail, and, if by mail, preferably as a part of the annual mail vote for election of vice-president, ALA councilor of PLA (when necessary), and two members of each cluster steering committee.]  Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by the PLA Board of Directors or by petition signed by 100 members of the Association and approved by the Board of Directors.  Proposed amendments shall be presented in writing to the PLA executive director.

The text of any proposed amendment shall be published in any official PLA publication thirty (30) days or more prior to the date of distribution of the ballot or shall be distributed to each PLA member forty five (45) days prior to the closing of the balloting.

Sec. 2. Adoption and Amendment
[Before any proposed amendment may be submitted for vote, it must first have the written recommendation of the Bylaws and Organization Committee and the approval of the Board of Directors, or it must have originated by written petition of not less than 100 members of the Association, and, in either instance, notice of the proposed amendment must have been given to the membership not less than one month before such vote. Said notice may be given by publication in the official organ of the Association, or may, if necessary, be given by direct mail].  The bylaws may be adopted or amended by two-thirds majority vote of the PLA members voting.  Amendments become effective immediately following a favorable ballot unless otherwise specified.

Sec. 3. Implementation.
[These bylaws will take full effect at the close of the 1998 American Library Association Annual Conference. In the interim,] [t] The President, in consultation with the Board of Directors, is empowered to appoint such committees and promulgate such rules as are necessary to effect [this] implementation of the bylaws.

Article [XIII] XII. Rules of Order

The rules contained in the latest edition of The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure by Alice Sturgis will govern this Association in all instances to which they are applicable in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of this Association or of the American Library Association.

Adopted June 1951; Amended June of 1962, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980; July 1981; June of 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 special ballot, 2003.

PLA is a division of the American Library Association. Copyright Statement.