Chapter Presidents and Presidents-Elect: Select Information

91´«Ã½

Select Information for Chapter Leaders

Information on this page addresses the partnership between 91´«Ã½ and Chapters. See either or for links to resources for , activities related to , and more.

| What Is a Chapter? | Chapter Membership and 91´«Ã½ Membership | Chapters Are Special | 91´«Ã½ and Chapters Work Together to Strengthen Their Partnership | The Chapter's Role Within 91´«Ã½ | 91´«Ã½ Chapter Councilors | Chapters Social Networking | Chapter Leaders Forum | E-Lists for Chapter Leaders | Updates for State and Regional Chapters Directory | Summary | Comments/Questions |

What Is a Chapter?

A chapter is “any legally constituted state, provincial, regional or territorial library association” ( 91´«Ã½ Constitution; . Each state library association is a Chapter of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½). Chapters are established by 91´«Ã½’s governing body, the 91´«Ã½ Council. See also . There are , representing the following geographic areas, but only 53, the non-regional Chapters, are represented on the :

  • Fifty state library associations, councils, or federations
  • District of Columbia
  • The territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Four regional associations, including the Mountain Plains Library Association, New England Library Association, Pacific Northwest Library Association, and the Southeastern Library Association.



Contact information for Chapter leaders, including presidents, presidents-elect, councilors, and executive directors, and more.

has a president and president-elect. Only non-regional Chapters have a serving on the . Established by the 91´«Ã½ Council upon recommendation of the 91´«Ã½ Executive Board on January 11, 1967, the (CRC) develops and recognizes Chapters as integral components of 91´«Ã½. The 91´«Ã½ liaison to the Chapters is the (see also ).

The purpose of a chapters, as defined by the 91´«Ã½ Bylaws, is as follows:

  • to promote general library service and librarianship within its geographic area,
  • to provide geographic representation to the , and
  • to cooperate in the promotion of general and joint enterprises with the 91´«Ã½ and other library groups.

Chapter Membership and 91´«Ã½ Membership

It is estimated that 50 percent of 91´«Ã½ members also belong to their state chapters, and 50 percent of chapter members also belong to 91´«Ã½. No state chapter memberships automatically include 91´«Ã½ membership or vice versa.



Forty-four Chapters partner with 91´«Ã½ to allow students to join 91´«Ã½ and one Chapter for one membership fee.



MACS is committed to providing the highest and most efficient service to 91´«Ã½ members and customers.



Works to make the process of joining or renewing an 91´«Ã½ membership a simple experience.

Chapters Are Special

There are many other affiliates and networks that represent geographic entities within 91´«Ã½, such as:

  • state associations for school librarians and media specialists
  • state academic and research library associations
  • intellectual freedom network
  • legislative networks
  • other professional and interest groupings.

None of these groups are afforded the rank of “Chapter” within the 91´«Ã½ governance and organizational structure.

91´«Ã½ and Chapters Work Together to Strengthen Their Partnership



The 91´«Ã½ and Chapters Partnership explains how the 91´«Ã½ and 91´«Ã½ Chapters partnership works.

The Chapter's Role within 91´«Ã½

Voluntary Status

Chapter status is voluntary. It is requested by an eligible library association and established by 91´«Ã½ Council action. A chapter may vote to withdraw from the arrangement, or Council can dissolve a chapter for inactivity or failure to comply with 91´«Ã½ Bylaws. A chapter's degree of activity in 91´«Ã½ depends on how active a chapter wants to be. There are few requirements of chapters and only a few actions are prohibited. Basic requirements are limited to the following:

Dues and Constitution and Bylaws

  • , currently $150 annually, must be paid by March 1, which means renewal notices are sent in January.
  • Copies of chapter constitutions and bylaws, plus subsequent amendments, must be filed with 91´«Ã½ headquarters.

What Chapters Can Do

However, there are a number of areas of 91´«Ã½ policy and practice where chapters are given a wide range of control. For example:

  • Chapters have the final authority within 91´«Ã½ for all programs and policies that concern only the area for which the chapter is responsible, provided no action or policy is inconsistent with programs and policies established by Council.
  • Chapters may establish committees or boards to maintain liaison with similar committees within the 91´«Ã½. This procedure has been particularly effective in the areas of legislation and intellectual freedom.
  • Chapters are to be consulted about any 91´«Ã½ divisional conferences to be held in the chapter's geographic region prior to the division presenting its request for a national conference to the 91´«Ã½ Executive Board.
  • Chapters can contribute to 91´«Ã½ dues income by encouraging 91´«Ã½ membership among the members of the state or regional association. Providing 91´«Ã½ membership information at the local level encourages membership in the national organization.
  • Financial assistance from the chapters also can be provided to the to aid in legislative activities. The chapter's role in the political arena involves both financial support and personal lobbying. A national organization is not as influential with individual lawmakers as a senator's or representative's own constituency. Presenting local library needs to elected officials is a vital chapter activity.

The reason a national organization has chapters is to provide a wide geographic viewpoint on library-related issues. To help ensure that such input is available, .



The 91´«Ã½ and Chapters Partnership explains how the 91´«Ã½ and 91´«Ã½ Chapters partnership works.

Helping 91´«Ã½ Help Chapters



Each year Chapters complete an online survey to provide an overview of their past year's activities.

91´«Ã½ Chapter Councilors



Provides resources for 91´«Ã½ Chapter Councilors to help them accomplish their duties.

The Council is the governing body of 91´«Ã½. It delegates to the divisions of the Association authority to plan and carry out programs and activities with policy established by Council. Only personal members of the Association may serve on Council. (See .)

Council meets at the 91´«Ã½ Midwinter Meeting and at the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference. Chapter Councilors are subscribed to two CRO business e-lists, alacro-l@ala.org and chapcoun@ala.org, and to one 91´«Ã½ business e-list, alacoun@ala.org. They have .

There are 53 Chapter Councilors, representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Regional associations are not allowed a designated representative to the 91´«Ã½ Council). make up approximately 29 percent of the 187-member Council.

The following rules govern the actions of the chapter councilor:

  • Chapter councilors serve a three-year term (same as all other councilors).
  • No person may serve simultaneously as a councilor elected at-large and elected by a chapter.
  • The person elected must be a personal 91´«Ã½ member.
  • All chapter members may vote in the election of a chapter councilor, even though chapters may admit members who are not 91´«Ã½ members.
  • An interim councilor may be appointed by a chapter to fill a vacancy; the appointment, however, lasts only until the next regular election or a maximum of one year.
  • All chapter councilors, whether elected or appointed, must be accredited by the chapter to the Secretary of the Council prior to the first 91´«Ã½ Council meeting following their selection.

Chapters Social Networking



Follow CRO on Facebook and Twitter.

Chapter Leaders Forum



Forum held at 91´«Ã½ Midwinter and Annual Conference provides a full agenda on a variety of topics to help prepare Chapter leaders to lead their association.

E-lists for Chapter Leaders

To subscribe to the Chapter Relations business e-list, 91´«Ã½CRO-L, please contact a staff member listed below. To subscribe to other 91´«Ã½ e-lists, or visit the e-list archives, visit the (SYMPA).

Chapter leaders are subscribed to these CRO business e-lists:

Updates for State and Regional Chapters Directory

Please send any updates to the to Don Wood, Chapter Relations Office.

Summary

  • A Chapter promotes general library service and librarianship within its geographic area, provides geographic representation to the 91´«Ã½ Council, and cooperates in the promotion of general and joint enterprises with 91´«Ã½ and other library groups.
  • have specific duties:
    • helping complete the ;
    • promoting 91´«Ã½ at their associations' annual conferences (e.g., (Word)).
    • For other duties, see (Word).
  • Perhaps the best way to find out what Chapters do is to , in particular their advocacy efforts on behalf of the libraries within their states and their annual conferences.
  • Another way to find out how Chapters function is by studying their self-reported activities, either in their newsletters, on their websites (including blogs), or in the annual survey they submit to 91´«Ã½. This survey is called the .
  • These snapshot reports () help Chapters and 91´«Ã½ assess the health and vitality of state and regional library associations. These reports help highlight notable activities and achievements that can be modeled, and identify challenges and needs that may be addressed collectively.

Comments/Questions

If you have comments and questions regarding the 91´«Ã½ Chapters website, please contact Don Wood, Chapter Relations Office.