Running/Attending MARS ExComm meetings

MARS ExComm meetings may seem intimidating. Many people need to report, and we have lots of discussion topics to cover. Keeping these meetings on track requires some skills we may not use routinely. The following are some tips that may assist MARS officers and attendees in understanding their roles and the roles of others in progressing through the action-packed agendas.

For the Chair:

1. Create an agenda. Feel free to ask the past chair for an e-copy of his/her agenda or to adapt a previous printed copy. Usually, one agenda will suffice for each conference. The agenda always includes options for reporting by each committee chair, RUSA representative, and liaison. These attendees are generally expected to report twice: once during the first ExComm meeting, and then again at one of the Monday or Tuesday meetings. The agenda is also likely to include "old business", "new business", and "late-breaking business requiring action during this conference". Itemize these categories on the agenda if they are known in advance of the conference. Try to e-mail the agendas approximately 2 weeks before the conference; also bring plenty of paper copies to each meeting.
2. At the beginning of each meeting, and at periodic intervals, ask which people need to report soon. Alter the agenda schedule to accommodate comings and goings.
3. Ask for corrections to the MARS Roster, and remind everyone that changes in information must be submitted both to ALA and to MARS. (Changes submitted to one do not get sent automatically to the other.)
4. Achieve a balance between letting each voice be heard and letting each report be aired. When a topic has been thoroughly addressed in another meeting or falls outside ExComm's scope, you may wish to control the amount of time spent again during ExComm. During the first meeting, you may wish to encourage all present to attend the meetings where topics of interest will be discussed or to contact the chair of that group to express concerns.
5. Schedule a break during the longer meetings, but note those items that need to be covered before a break, how long the break should last, and those items that will need to be covered post-break. Realize that a break primarily benefits the ExComm members who are expected to be present for the entire meeting; other attendees come and go (and break) throughout the meeting. You may need to balance the costs/benefits of taking a break vs. finishing the meeting.
6. Ask another ExComm member to help keep you and the meeting "on time" -- especially where you anticipate many reports in a brief time period.

For the Secretary or Minute-taker:

1. Create and pass around a sign-up sheet. Ask for people's MARS committee/assignment rather than their address. Send the sheet back around when it returns to you and when people enter the room. Ask if everyone has signed the sheet during lulls in the meeting.
2. Record decisions and key reasoning. Don't try to record an entire discussion. Do try, though, to capture enough of the discussion so that the decision can be intelligently articulated later.
3. Feel free to ask attendees to submit precise wording in writing for accurate recording in the minutes. (Options include handwritten submission during the meeting, email or snailmail submission to you within a week of the conference, assurance that you may lift the text from the MARS-L/Messages From MARS reports, or other negotiations.) Bring copies of the MARS ExComm Motion Form from the MARS Handbook and pass them out as needed.
4. Remind committee chairs to submit appropriate documents for you to bundle to RUSA Archives at the end of each Annual Conference. Refer them to the Archiving Guidelines in the MARS Handbook.
5. Draft and circulate the minutes as soon as possible after each conference. Attendees are more likely to offer helpful feedback if they still remember the conversations! You may ask MARS ExComm members to approve minutes via email in advance of the next conference. Please know that your minutes help to unify and carry forward the work of the Section, and, as such, are very important.
6. Submit minutes to the MARS Web Coordinator for posting. You may ask to have draft versions of minutes posted, especially if the minutes are not likely to be approved before the next conference.

For Committee Chairs:

1. Skim the MARS Handbook before each conference, paying special attention to the Responsibilities of MARS Committee Chairs section. Note your responsibilities and the forms you'll need to submit at the end of each conference.
2. Respond honestly when the Chair asks which attendees need to report in the next interval. Realize that you may have been skipped inadvertently as the Chair attempts to accommodate others, and assert your need to report if/when appropriate.
3. Use your reporting time to summarize current activities and to ask for feedback or direction from ExComm where appropriate. Prepare a "short form" of your report in case your time is limited.
4. Listen to the reports from other attendees so you can coordinate the activities of your committee.
5. Stay for as much of the ExComm meetings as your schedule permits -- it's the best way to understand MARS activities and procedures.

For Guests:

1. If you or your reporting area are not listed on the agenda: either introduce yourself to the Chair before the meeting is called to order, or speak up when the Chair asks which attendees need to report in the next interval.

For everyone -- How to make a motion:
Any member of MARS may bring a written motion (see the MARS Executive Committee Motion Form in the Handbook), so your motion is described efficiently and accurately to ExComm. A motion is a proposal made for the purpose of eliciting a decision by ExComm. However, only a member of ExComm may "second the motion" and hence require that all eligible ExComm members vote on it. (Committee chairs and ex-officio members are not eligible to vote.) All in favor will be asked to reply "aye" and all opposed to reply "no". A simple majority of ExComm carries the vote.

(from Denise Bennett and Amy Tracy Wells, 3/00)

Send your suggestions for this list to the current Chair of the MARS Planning Committee (below).

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