Appendices: Duties and Responsibilities

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Committee Charges and Responsibilities

Budget & Finance Sub-Committee

Purpose and Charge

Advise the RUSA Board of Directors, RUSA Leadership Council, and RUSA Executive Director on all fiscal matters of the division or its publications, including endowment status, dues levels, program and conference costs, and fundraising, especially with regards to fiscal alignment with strategic objectives.

Specific Duties and Regular Operational Responsibilities

  • Submit annually a recommended budget for the RUSA division to the RUSA Board of Directors for action.
  • Regularly perform budget analysis and report findings and recommendations to RUSA Board of Directors and RUSA Leadership Council.
  • Maintain process for requesting RUSA funds.
  • Review all requests from units requesting RUSA funds.

Chair Responsibilities

  • Advise the RUSA Executive Director in preparation of an annual budget based on priorities established by the Board
  • Represent RUSA at the ALA Budget Assembly and the BARC/Division Meeting

Membership Composition

  • RUSA President
  • RUSA Vice President
  • RUSA Past President
  • RUSQ Editor
  • Section rep (multi-year term)
  • Section rep (multi-year term)
  • Section rep (multi-year term)
  • BARC liaison (ex-officio) (Sections will take turns serving on the B&F Subcommittee)

Member Engagement Committee

Purpose and Charge

Create and maintain services, programs, and communication channels that encourage individual members to engage with RUSA, recruit new members, and foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Specific Duties and Regular Operational Responsibilities

  • Annually report to the Board of Directors and RUSA Leadership Council on the state of RUSA membership levels, retention issues, the culture of diversity and inclusion within RUSA, and recruitment initiatives.
  • Develop activities and/or programming at conference or virtually that specifically addresses member engagement (examples: socials, informational sessions, feedback forums)
  • Assist the Professional Development Committee to identify and recruit RUSA members with skills and expertise to develop professional development opportunities or resources.
  • Coordinate communication and marketing campaigns with the RUSA Office.
  • Advise RUSA Office and assist with creating content for official RUSA communication channels including social media and RUSA Update.

Chair Responsibilities

  • Set meeting schedule and create meeting agendas.
  • Report regularly to the RUSA Board of Directors on committee activities and objectives.
  • Actively participate in the RUSA Leadership Council.
  • Establish communication with the RUSA office to align committee activities with staff resources.

Membership Composition

  • 8-12 Members
  • Members will be selected by the RUSA Vice President representative of the sections, the general membership, and RUSA members of less than 5 years.
  • Volunteer Development Chair, ex-officio

Professional Development Committee

Purpose and Charge

Provide leadership and coordination of professional development programming in the area of reference and user services.

Specific Duties and Regular Operational Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with the Conference Programming Coordinating Committee, the Professional Resources Committee, and Member Engagement Committee on identifying topics and trends where there is need for education and facilitate the creation of appropriate educational opportunities
  • Identify and recruit RUSA members with skills and expertise to develop professional development opportunities or resources with the assistance of the Member Engagement Committee.
  • Foster communication channels with Sections and Interest Groups in order to share information on professional development needs and activities and strengthen collaborations.
  • Coordinate with the RUSA Office the process and procedures for providing and assessing online professional development opportunities, including courses and webinars.
  • Annually report to the Board of Directors and RUSA Leadership Council on the state of RUSA professional development offerings.

Chair Responsibilities

  • Set meeting schedule and create meeting agendas.
  • Report regularly to the RUSA Board of Directors on committee activities and objectives.
  • Actively participate in the RUSA Leadership Council.
  • Establish communication with the RUSA office to align committee activities with staff resources.

Membership Composition

  • 9 members
    • 3 members will be selected by the RUSA Vice President
    • 6 members will be Section Representatives selected by each of the Section’s Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
  • Professional Resources Committee chair, ex-officio
  • Continuing Education Coordinator, ex-officio [pending Board approval of the position]

Professional Resources Committee

Purpose and Charge

Provide leadership and coordination of guidelines and other publications in the area of reference and user services.

Specific Duties and Regular Operational Responsibilities

  • Foster communication channels with the Professional Development Committee, Sections, and Interest Groups in order to identify topics and trends; share information on professional resource needs; strengthen collaborations; and provide support as needed for the creation and maintenance of guidelines or other publications.
  • Monitor existing RUSA guidelines and recommend revision or rescission when appropriate to the RUSA Board.
  • Maintain the information related to guidelines in the RUSA Guide to Policies and Procedures.
  • Maintain inventory and monitor age of all RUSA affiliated publications.
  • Work with RUSA Office to provide maximum availability and access to RUSA’s professional resources.
  • Annually report to the Board of Directors and RUSA Leadership Council on the state of RUSA professional resources.

Chair Responsibilities

  • Set meeting schedule and create meeting agendas.
  • Report regularly to the RUSA Board of Directors on committee activities and objectives.
  • Actively participate in the RUSA Leadership Council.
  • Establish communication with the RUSA office to align committee activities with staff resources.

Membership Composition

  • 9 members
    • 3 members will be selected by the RUSA Vice President
    • 6 members will be Section Representatives selected by each of the Section’s Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
  • Professional Development Committee chair, ex-officio

RUSA Leadership Council

Purpose and Charge

The Council will advise, in a non-voting capacity, the RUSA Board of Directors on RUSA goals, objectives, priorities, and policies.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

  • Advise and provide feedback to the RUSA Board on the activities, priorities, policies and budget of the association through meetings, ALA Connect and the RUSA Leadership listserv
  • Suggest the creation of task forces as needed to address division or professional needs
  • Communicate needs, concerns, solutions and ideas promptly and collegially

Facilitation Responsibilities

  RUSA President

  • Schedule and create agendas for RUSA Leadership Council meetings in consultation with the RUSA Board.
  • Solicit feedback from the RUSA Leadership Council on a regular basis
  • Communicate and share information with the Council on a timely basis to ensure RUSA leaders have up-to-date information about association activities and priorities.

  RUSA Past-President

  • Chairs meetings of the RUSA Leadership Council

Membership Composition

  • The Board of Directors
  • Division Committee Chairs
  • Section Chairs
  • Interest Group Chairs
  • Active Task Force Chairs
  • RUSQ and  Quarterly Update editors
  • Vendor Relations Liaison
  • RUSA Executive Director, ex-officio
  • Division representatives to ALA Committees

Volunteer Development Committee

Purpose and Charge

Coordinate volunteer development within RUSA and ensure that volunteer leaders have the resources and support needed for the yearly turnover of leadership.

Specific Duties and Regular Operational Responsibilities

  • Coordinate with the RUSA Office and RUSA Board on leadership training and documentation including volunteer onboarding, leadership orientation, and ongoing development opportunities.   
  • Develop and maintain training on RUSA specific practices such as scheduling virtual meetings, ALA open meeting requirements, semi-annual reports, posting to social media, and other operational activities.    
  • Develop best practices and materials on topics such as team development, succession planning, strategic planning, meeting management, and committee engagement.
  • Coordinate the maintenance of the RUSA Guide to Policy and Procedures.
  • Annually report to the Board of Directors and RUSA Leadership Council on the state of RUSA volunteers including turnover issues and barriers to volunteering and productivity.

Chair Responsibilities

  • Set meeting schedule and create meeting agendas, and ensure minutes are taken. All documents should be published in ALA Connect.
  • Report regularly to the RUSA Board of Directors on committee activities and objectives.
  • Actively participate in the RUSA Leadership Council and solicit the council for training priorities.
  • Establish communication with the RUSA office to align committee activities with staff resources.

Membership Composition

  • 8 Members
  • Members will be selected by the RUSA Vice President representative of the sections and the general membership.
  • Member Engagement Chair, ex officio

Last updated 4-07-2021.  To be updated by the RUSA Office.