Call for Nominations for Membership on IFLA Section Committees for the term 2025-2029

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The International Relations Committee is seeking nominations to section committees of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) for 2025-2029. Interested ALA members are encouraged to contact the ALA unit aligned to an IFLA section (found on the website) as soon as possible about their nomination process. Nominees should be an expert in the field covered by the section standing committee. Nominations are due by October 30, 2024. If you have questions, please contact Delin Guerra at dguerra@ala.org.

-Timeline for Nominations

-Guidelines for Nominations

-ALA Units and IFLA Sections

-List of Current ALA Representatives

Timeline

March 2024 - IRC requests assistance in soliciting suggestions for nominations to IFLA section standing committees

March 2024 - October 2024 - Division, Round Tables, Committees solicit, review, and select nominees with resumes and rationale to IRO

November 2024 - IRO prepares list of section standing committee candidates for review by IRC

December 2024 - IRC forwards a list of all nominees with IRC recommendations to the Executive Board through the Board's Administrative Subcommittee

January 2025 - The ALA Executive Board decides slate of ALA-endorsed candidates for IFLA section standing committees

First week in February 2025 - Nominations due at IFLA Headquarters in Netherlands

March - April 2025 - Election by postal ballot for those committees that have more candidates than open committee positions open. For those IFLA section committees that have more openings than candidates, the candidates will be automatically added for 2025-2029.

Guidelines for nominations

Objective

An ALA member will be nominated and officially endorsed for a four-year term to every IFLA section standing committee at each IFLA election.

Eligibility

Any ALA member may be suggested for nomination to an IFLA standing committee. Individuals can only serve on one IFLA committee at a time. Candidates can serve on a committee for up to two consecutive terms. For a current list of representatives, please visit the IFLA standing committees and ALA representatives site.

Qualifications

A nominee should be an expert in the field covered by the section and have a working knowledge of at least one working language of IFLA (English is an IFLA working language), and should have reasonable expectation of attending meetings of the standing committee without cost to IFLA or to ALA. ALA divisions and other units may seek outside funding to support the attendance of their representatives.

The ALA Executive Board requires that the suggestions for nominations be accompanied by a resume and a rationale from the nominating body or individual. If nominated, IFLA requires that the following be provided:

(a) an indication of acceptance of the nomination by the individual;

(b) a short statement detailing the nominee's qualifications and indication of present position;

(c) affirmation that the person can fulfill the working language and travel requirements

Please forward nomination(s) to Delin Guerra (dguerra@ala.org) at the International Relations Office by October 30, 2024.

IFLA Election Process

IFLA elections are held biennially. In 2025, elections will be held for committees, divisions, sections, and round tables for the period 2025-2029. To obtain a current list of IFLA sections and ALA representatives with their terms of office please click here.

IFLA regulations state that each member (association or institution) registered for a section can nominate a single candidate for that section standing committee at each election. ALA is registered for all IFLA standing committees.

Nominees will be declared elected when the number is fewer than the number of vacancies on a particular standing committee. If the number of nominees exceeds the number of vacancies, a postal ballot will be taken by the IFLA Secretariat before the next IFLA conference. The vacancies will be declared filled by the candidates with the highest number of votes. If two or more candidates obtain an equal highest number of votes, another election will take place between those candidates at the next IFLA conference. At the meeting the members present or represented shall vote. In case of a tie, the chair will determine the successful candidate by drawing lot.

In the spring 2025, IFLA Headquarters will send orientation information to new standing committee members. Standing committee members assume their duties at the next IFLA conference. At this meeting, members elect the standing committee's chair and secretary.

Future IFLA conferences

2025 Astana, Kazakhstan

Responsibilities of ALA Representatives

The term of office on an IFLA standing committee is four years with the possibility of a second four-year term. Thus, the maximum term of service is eight years. No person shall be a member of more than one section standing committee at one time, unless he or she is a member of a regional section standing committee.

ALA representatives on IFLA section standing committees are required to:

1. report to their constituencies on appropriate developments and information originating from their respective committees; these communications may be published in ALA journals or newsletters, or as special reports to ALA members;
2. transmit a copy of the report(s) to the International Relations Committee.

The ALA International Relations Committee's charge is to:

1. Seek and/or encourage candidates from ALA divisions, committees, other groups, or the membership at large.
2. Formulate a list of names of all suggested candidates for nominations to IFLA standing committees according to the election cycle.
3. Indicate in the IRC's best judgment the most qualified candidate per standing committee.
4. Transmit the list to the ALA Executive Board's Administrative subcommittee, which will forward its recommendations to the Executive Board.

3)

To assure that highly qualified candidates represent ALA on IFLA section standing committees the following units are asked to bring forward nominations for ALA representatives. Once selected to serve on IFLA committees the representatives should report back to the units, with copies to the International Relations Office, on activities within the IFLA section.

*Denotes which unit with shared responsibility has the turn to nominate for the 2025-2029 term.

List of Current ALA Representatives to IFLA Standing Committees

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