Constitution
and Bylaws
Constitution
Article I: Name The name of the organization shall be
the Map
and Geography Round Table of the American Library Association.
Article II: Purpose: The purpose of this organization
shall be:
1. to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas by persons working with or interested in map and geography collections and information systems;
2. to provide a forum to increase the availability, use and bibliographic control of map and geography collections and information systems;
3. to increase communication and cooperation between map and geography’s librarians and other librarians and information specialists;
4. to contribute to the improvement of education and training of map and geography information specialists.
Article III: Membership
Any person, library, or other organization being a member of the American Library Association and interested in cartographic information may become a member upon payment of dues provided in the ALA Handbook of Organization.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1 - The officers of this organization shall be
a Chair, a Chair-elect who shall serve as Vice-Chair, a Secretary, a
Treasurer,
and the immediate Past-Chair, all of whom shall be personal members of
the Map and Geography Round Table.
Section 2 - The term of office for
Chair and
Vice-Chair shall be a total of three years; one year as
Vice-Chair/Chair-elect,
one year as Chair, and one year as Past-Chair. Persons shall be
eligible
for re-election only after a minimum of one year out of office.
Section 3 - The term for Secretary and Treasurer shall be two years.Persons shall serve no more than two terms consecutively in the same office, and shall be eligible for re-election only after a minimum of one two-year term out of office.
Article V: Executive Board
Section 1 - There shall be an Executive Board with
voting
members consisting of the elected officers and standing committee
chairs,
and non-voting members consisting of task force coordinators, the
American
Library Association staff liaison, and representatives from designated
organizations.
Section 2 - Invitations to name a
representative
to serve as non-voting members shall be extended to the following
agencies
at the discretion of the Executive Board. The following federal
agencies
shall be invited to do so; a current list of other bodies with
non-voting
status appears in the MAGERT Organization Manual:
A. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
B. Special Libraries Association. Geography and Map Division
C. U.S. Geological Survey
D. U. S. Government Printing Office
E. Western Association of Map Libraries
Section 3 - Non-voting memberships will be reviewed periodically in order to maintain the most productive and useful input from other organizations with similar or related interests. Persons representing, or MAGERT liaisons to other organizations may be invited to attend meetings at the discretion of the Executive Board.
Section 4 - The Executive Board shall have the responsibility of:
A.General supervision of the affairs of the organization
between membership
meetings.
B.Submitting projects or endorsing projects submitted by committees of
the Round Table.
C.Soliciting volunteers and appointing members to ALA unit positions
which
accrue to the Chair Ex-officio and to committees to assist the ALA
Council
in meeting its organizational responsibilities.
D.Reporting all actions of the Executive Board at the annual and
midwinter
meetings. Reporting on its activities to the membership.
E.Acting as the advisory group to the Chair.
Article VI: Meetings
Section 1 - The annual meeting of
the Map
and Geography Round Table shall take place during the Annual Conference
of the American Library Association and shall include a report of the
Executive
Board to the members on its activities during the interval between
membership
meetings.
Section 2 - The Executive Board shall
meet during
the Annual Conference and the Midwinter meeting of the American Library
Association and at other times deemed necessary by the Chair.
Section 3 - The Executive Board shall
report
to the members on its activities at the annual meeting. The Board shall
report to the members on its activities during the interval between
annual
meetings in base line, the newsletter of the Round Table.
Section 4 - At membership meetings a quorum shall consist of those personal members present.
Section 5 - A majority (i.e., three) of the elected officers of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum at their meetings.
Section 6 - Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, in the latest edition governs meetings of this organization.
Article VII: Committees and Task Forces
Section 1 - All committees shall be composed of personal
members
of the Map and Geography Round Table.
Section 2 - Standing committees may be
authorized
by the Executive Board for consideration of matters requiring
continuous
attention. Members of standing committees shall be appointed as
specified
in the Bylaws.
Section 3 - Task forces may be created
for the
performance of particular assignments and discontinued as specified in
the Bylaws.
Article VIII: Liaisons
Section 1 - All liaisons to other
organizations
shall be personal members of the Map and Geography Round Table.
Section 2 - Duties of liaisons to and
from other
organizations shall be mutually agreed upon by the organization and the
Map and Geography Round Table.
Section 3 - Liaisons may be appointed
to or accepted
from other organizations for the performance of specific duties and may
be discontinued as specified in the Bylaws.
Article IX: Finances
Funds to support the Map and Geography Round Table will come from the dues of the general membership, publications, workshops and voluntary contributions. Dues for personal members, institutional members, and affiliate groups shall be determined by the Executive Board with the approval of the membership at the annual meeting.
Article X: Amendments
Section 1 - Amendments to the
Constitution shall
be proposed in writing and may be initiated by either the Executive
Board
or by any personal member.
Section 2 - Amendments may be voted
on
only after members have been informed by printed notice of such
proposed
amendments at least thirty and no longer than ninety days before
presentation
of the amendments for approval.
Section 3 - This constitution may be
amended
in either of two ways:
A.By a two-thirds vote of the members present and
voting
at the next annual meeting following proper notice of such an
amendment;
or,
B.By a majority vote of the entire membership
conducted
by mail ballot if such be requested by a majority of the members
present
at the annual meeting.
Article XI: Bylaws
The members of the Map and Geography Round Table shall adopt Bylaws, or
may amend or repeal existing Bylaws not inconsistent with this
Constitution,
by a majority vote of the members present and voting at any annual
meeting,
or by a majority vote of the entire membership conducted by mail
ballot,
provided that members have been informed by printed notice of such
proposed
amendments at least thirty, and not more than ninety, days before
presentation
of the amendments for approval.
Bylaws
Article I: Dues
Dues are established by the Executive Board of the Round Table and are listed in the ALA Handbook of Organization. Dues are collected by the American Library Association through its regular membership channels.
Article II: Committees and Task Forces
Section 1 - Members of standing committees and task forces shall be appointed by the Chair of the Round Table who will designate one member as Chair. Appointments for standing committees shall be for two years, these terms overlapping so that not all members shall retired in any one year.
Section 2 - The Executive Board shall create and discontinue standing committees, task forces, and liaison positions as required. All committees, task forces, and liaisons to other organizations will submit annual reports, and all committees and task forces will be evaluated annually or as needed.
Article III: Nominations and Elections
Section 1 - The Chair shall appoint a
special
Nomination Committee of not fewer than three persons, one of whom shall
be a member of the Executive Board.
Section 2 - The Nomination Committee
shall consult
prior to the midwinter meeting to nominate for the offices of Chair and
, in alternate years, shall nominate for the offices of Secretary and
Treasurer.
Section 3 - All nominees shall be
personal members
of the Round Table at the times of nomination.
Section 4 - The Nomination Committee shall obtain both the written consent of the nominees and biographical information forms in accordance with regular election procedures.
Section 5 - Elections for the Map and Geography Round Table will be held according to standard ALA procedures.
Section 6 - Officers-elect assume office at the end of the annual business meeting.
Article IV: Duties of Office
Section 1 - The Chair shall be chief executive officer
of the Map and Geography Round Table and Chair of the Executive Board.
The Chair shall appoint all committee chairs and their members,
delegate
duties as he/she deems appropriate and shall exercise general
supervision
over the affairs of the organization.
Section 2 - The Chair-elect shall
assume the
responsibilities and perform the duties of the Chair in the event of
absence,
death, disability, or resignation of the Chair and shall serve as Chair
in the year following the term as Chair-elect. The Chair-elect shall
plan
the Round Table’s programs and conference arrangements for the
following
annual conference (i.e., two years from the date the Chair-elect
assumes
office).
Section 3 - The Secretary and the Treasurer shall perform their duties as outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.
Section 4 - The immediate Past-Chair shall serve as a member of the Executive Board of the year following the term of office as Chair.
Section 5 - In the event of death, disability, or resignation of the Chair-elect, the Executive Board shall appoint an elections Committee whose task will be to seek nominations and hold a special election by mail ballot.
Section 6 - In the case of death,
disability,
or resignation of any other member of the Executive Board, the Board
may
appoint a successor, if succession is not otherwise provided for in
these
Bylaws, to serve until the next regular elections.
History
Constitution and Bylaws - printed in base line 10(2),
April 1989.
Approved by membership vote 27 June 1989 and recorded in base line,
10(5), October 1989. Amended - Constitution Article V - printed in base
line, 11(2), April 1990. Approved by membership vote 26 June 1990
and
recorded in base line 11(5), October 1990. Constitution Article
III - printed in base line, 12(2), April 1991. Approved by
membership
vote 2 July 1991 and recorded in base line, 12(5), October
1991.
Bylaws Article I - printed in base line, 12(2), April 1991.
Approved
by membership vote 2 July 1991 and recorded in base line,
12(5),
October 1991.