FMRT Rules

ARTICLE I

Name

The name of this organization shall be the Film and Media Round Table (FMRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). The Round Table is established as a sub-unit within ALA by ALA Council in accordance with ALA Bylaws Article VII, Section 1, which empowers ALA Council to both establish and discontinue round tables under conditions as outlined within the bylaws. In establishing FMRT as a round table within the ALA, the organization assigns a professional staff liaison to the Round Table whose role is to help officers and members carry out their work.

ARTICLE II

Purposes

The purposes of this organization shall be (1) to provide a forum for the discussion of film and media collections, creation, services, and technologies in libraries of all types; (2) to promote a greater opportunity for involvement among the members of ALA in matters pertaining to film and media; (3) to function as an advocate to the effective collection development and use of film and media in analog and digital formats in libraries and; (4) to provide a forum for communicating with authors, filmmakers, producers and distributors of film and media and with other film and media organizations within and external to ALA.

ARTICLE III

Membership and Dues

Section 1. Any personal member of the ALA who is interested in the purposes of this Round Table shall be eligible for personal membership upon payment of annual dues. A personal member shall have the right to vote and shall act in accordance with the stated purposes of the Round Table.

Section 2. Any institutional member of ALA may become an institutional member of the FMRT upon payment of annual dues. Institutional members shall be nonvoting members.

Section 3. The dues of the FMRT shall be payable annually with general ALA membership.

ARTICLE IV

Executive Committee

Section 1. The Executive Committee is the highest governing body within the Round Table and shall have general supervision of the affairs of the FMRT between its business meetings at ALA Annual and fix the hour and place of those meetings. It is subject to the rules and orders of the FMRT and none of its acts shall be in conflict with actions taken by the FMRT.

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall also meet at the discretion of the Chair to execute FMRT business between meetings at ALA Annual. Special meetings may also be called at the request of three (3) other members of the Executive Committee.

Section 3. A simple majority of the voting members of the FMRT Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum at any Executive Committee meeting.

Section 4. The Chair, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, Immediate Past Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, Round Table Councilor and the chairs of all standing committees shall constitute the Executive Committee and have voting privileges. Chairs of special or ad hoc committees and liaisons shall be non-voting members of the Executive Committee.

Section 5. All members of the Executive Committee shall be personal members in good standing of the FMRT and the ALA (meaning current active member status-paid dues, not holding more than three (3) concurrent ALA offices, and abiding by all other bylaws and rules of ALA and FMRT).

Section 6. As specified in the ALA Bylaws, round table chairs – like all other ALA committee chairs – are elected to one-year terms. The term of office for the Chair of FMRT shall therefore be one (1) year, from the end of one Annual Meeting to the end of the following Annual Meeting.

Section 7. The term of office for the Vice-Chair/Chair Elect shall be one (1) year, from the end of one Annual Meeting to the end of the following Annual Meeting, at which time incumbent would become Chair. A previous Chair shall be eligible for election to the office of Vice-Chair/Chair Elect after a minimum interval of two (2) years out of office of the Chair (or one year after serving on Executive Board as Past Chair).

Section 8. The terms of office for the Secretary and Treasurer shall be two (2) years; terms shall commence at the end of an Annual Meeting and continue through the end of the second successive Annual Meeting. Both the Secretary and Treasurer shall be eligible for re-election at the end of any term.

Section 9. The Chair shall serve as Immediate Past Chair for a one-year term after completing their term as Chair. The Immediate Past Chair additionally serves as Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Section 10. The Round Table councilor serves a three-year term and may be reelected to a second three-year term.

Section 11. Chairs of the Round Table’s standing committees shall serve one (1) year terms and may be appointed to a second one-year term at the pleasure of the FMRT Chair.

Section 12. Succession of officers in the case of a midterm vacancy shall occur as follows:

A. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair, the Vice Chair/Chair-Elect shall succeed the Chair and serve the remainder of the term. At the end of this term the Chair shall serve the full regular term.

B. If a vacancy occurs in any other elected office prior to April 1, and one (1) year or more remains in the term, the Nominating Committee shall propose candidates to fill the unexpired term of the vacant office(s), and preferably at least two (2) candidates per vacant position. Voting will be conducted at the next regular Round Table election.

C. If a vacancy occurs with less than one (1) year remaining in the term, or after April 1 with more than one year remaining in the term, the Chair will appoint a replacement to serve out the unexpired term, subject to confirmation by a majority of the Executive Committee. This vote may be cast in a method determined at the discretion of the Chair.

Section 13. If a member of the Executive Committee is unable to or does not fulfill the responsibilities of their office as defined in the Rules, or if a member of the Executive Committee is unable to serve their full term of office, that office may be declared vacant by majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 14. No member shall hold more than one office on the Executive Committee at any time except under extenuating circumstances.

Article V

Committees

Section 1. All other committees shall be composed of members in good standing of FMRT. There are two general types of Committees: Standing Committees and Special or Ad Hoc Committees, created, changed, and dissolved at the discretion of the Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee.

Section 2. All Standing Committee members shall be appointed by the Chair of the FMRT for a specified term. A Standing Committee shall consist of at least two appointed
(2) members and may include other members as determined by FMRT Rules. Terms shall be staggered so vacancies do not result in an entire Standing Committee being replaced at one time. Standing Committee Members shall serve a two-year (2) term and may be re-appointed.

Section 3. Committee Chairs shall serve one (1) year terms as Chair and may be appointed to additional one-year terms at the pleasure of the FMRT Chair.

Section 4. Special or Ad Hoc Committees may be appointed by the Chair of the Round Table in order to execute occasional or short term FMRT business. All such Committees shall be appointed for a designated purpose and/or a specified period of time.

ARTICLE VI

Meetings

Section 1. The Annual Membership Meeting of the FMRT shall take place during the Annual ALA Conference and shall include a report of the Executive Committee to the members of its activities, in the interim between Membership Meetings. This meeting is open to all FMRT and interested ALA Members and guests attending the Annual Meeting.

Section 2. Special Membership meetings may be called by the Executive Committee and may also be called upon a written request of ten (10) members of the Round Table. One (1) month's notice shall be required for any special meeting.

Section 3. Ten (10) members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any Membership meeting of the Round Table.

Section 4. Executive committee meetings held in between annual membership meetings at each ALA conference are open to the general membership at the discretion of the FMRT Chair

Section 5. Regular meetings of all Standing FMRT Committees may take place at any time at the discretion of the Committee Chair. Special committees or special meetings of Standing Committees can also meet at the discretion of their FMRT Chair.

Article VII

Nominations and Elections

Section 1. FMRT elections will be held by vote in accordance with ALA procedure. All elections will be certified by the ALA Elections Committee.

Section 2. The Round Table will elect a Vice Chair/Chair Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Round Table Councilor. Elections will take place annually on the spring ballot. Elections for Chair-Elect occur every year, Secretary and Treasurer occur on alternating years, and Round Table Councilor occur every third year.

Section 3. The Immediate Past Chair, as Chair of a Nominating Committee or individually, shall recruit a slate of candidates to fill officer vacancies for the upcoming year prior to each annual ALA election which contains at least one nominee for every office to be filled.

Section 4. At the discretion of the FMRT Chair, A Nominating Committee may be formed consisting of at least two (2) members except under extenuating circumstances in which two additional FMRT members cannot be identified. The Immediate Past Chair will chair this committee, or an equivalent candidate nomination process. The term of service is one (1) year.

Section 4, Clause A:

Membership Committee: The Membership Committee shall consist of at least two (2) members, including the Chair. The term of service shall be two (2) years. It shall be responsible, in part for promoting membership in the Round Table and for outreach activities with other appropriate professional organizations.

Section 4, Clause B:

Communications Committee: The Communications Committee shall consist of at least two (2) members: one of whom will be the chair. The Chair is responsible for setting the priorities of the Committee, delegating the creation of content to Committee members, and serving as the primary contact person for the website.The Communications Committee maintains, updates, and initiates efforts to improve the website. The term of service for the Committee is two (2) years. The Committee shall promote communication about FMRT activities through appropriate online or print sources and support the Executive Board in sharing general information with the current and future FMRT.

Section 4, Clause C:

Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of at least four (4) members, including the Chair. The term of service is two (2) years. The Committee shall be charged with planning and executing the programs for the Annual Conference, as well as virtual programs throughout the year.

Section 4, Clause D:

Notable Films Committee: The Committee shall consist of at least nine (9) members, and is created and charged by FMRT according to the procedures of the FMRT Notable Films for Adults Award. The purpose of the Committee is to call attention to those documentary, educational or other film and video programs produced during a two year period that are significant contributions. Committee members are appointed at the discretion of the FMRT Chair in consultation with the current Notable Films Chair. Each member will serve a term of two years, with a maximum number of terms not to exceed two, for a maximum of four consecutive years of service. A Notable Films Committee member is free to serve the four year maximum in direct sequence or with a gap between two year terms. Additionally, appointments will be made to ensure continuity in membership and diversity in the type of libraries represented.

ARTICLE VIII

Finances

Section 1. The fiscal year of the FMRT shall conform to the fiscal year of the ALA.

Section 2. Funds of the FMRT shall be held and disbursed in accordance with Article XIII of the Bylaws of ALA (the overall governing document). The FMRT shall not incur expenses on behalf of the ALA without its prior written authorization.

Section 3. The Treasurer shall monitor all FMRT finances and report the status to the Executive Committee and membership on a semi-annual basis.

ARTICLE IX

Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in "Robert's Rules of Order Revised" shall govern the Round Table in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Rules or the Constitution and Bylaws of ALA.

ARTICLE X

Amendments and Review of Rules

Section 1. These Rules may be amended by a majority of members voting in the spring elections, provided the amendment has been proposed by the Executive Committee, a committee authorized by the Executive Committee, or a personal member of the Round Table, and has been sent in writing to the Secretary with online balloting available to each member at least thirty (30) days before the elections. Amendments to these Rules shall become effective immediately upon certification of the election results.

Section 2. These Rules shall be consistent with the Bylaws of the ALA and require amendments whenever the ALA Bylaws are changed.