Committees-General Information

From the ALSC Handbook of Organization: Committees of ALSC

91´«Ã½

General information and the function statements for division committees follow. This information may be supplemented by the annual committee roster.

Committees—General Information

  1. Committee Year and Term of Office

    1. The committee membership year shall be the same as the conference year. (91´«Ã½ Bylaws, Article IX, Section 6.) That is, it begins the day following the Annual Conference.*

    2. Members of Standing Committees shall be appointed by the President.** from the membership of the Division for the overlapping terms not to exceed two years, with the possibility of reappointment for only one more term immediately succeeding. The total shall not exceed four successive years.

    3. Special Committees. Committee membership shall be the same as for Standing Committees, and appointments are made in the same way.

    4. Consultants to committees are appointed by the President** for a term of one year, with the possibility of reappointment at the discretion of the incoming President. (Policy established by Board action, January 1970.)

    5. Interdivisional committees and other committees formed by two or more distinct units within the Association may be established as required by the groups concerned with notification to the Committee on Organization. (91´«Ã½ Bylaws, Article IX, Section 4.)

  2. General Directives for All Committees

    1. The duties of individual committees are stated in their function statements, found also in the ALSC Handbook of Organization and in the 91´«Ã½ Handbook of Organization.

    2. Standing, Special and Ad Hoc Committees may be authorized by the Board of Directors and may be discontinued by the Board.

    3. Special Committees for which the Board of Directors has designated no termination date automatically expire at the end of three years (at the time of the adjournment of the Annual 91´«Ã½ Conference), unless otherwise ordered by the Board of Directors.

    4. Committee management procedures are outlined in the ALSC Division Leadership Manual, given to each newly appointed committee chair.

      1. New projects undertaken by the committee should be cleared with the Division President and Executive Director before they are begun and may require Board approval. This avoids unnecessary duplication of efforts within both the Division and 91´«Ã½.

      2. All projects that require financial support must be approved by the Division Board before they may be undertaken. Budget requests for the next fiscal year are made before, during, or immediately following the preceding Midwinter Meeting.

      3. If a committee wishes to sponsor a program meeting at the Annual Conference, the program must have final approval at the preceding Midwinter Meeting, but the initial request must be made at the preceding Annual Conference.

      4. Committee members are encouraged to select local associates as ex-officio task forces to assist them in the performance of their committee work.

It has always been the Division’s goal to provide at the national level a forum in which the creativity and experience of the broadest possible segment of the profession is represented. These steps are undertaken to further that goal by providing an area of involvement for librarians who may themselves be unable to attend the national meetings.

No expense allowances for meetings, telephone calls, or postage can be provided for these task forces and advisors and whether to utilize such assistance is left solely to the discretion of the individual chairpersons and committee members. (Policy approved by Board action, January 1972.)


* ALSC exceptions (these are fall appointments that begin at the adjournment of the Midwinter Meeting): Batchelder Awards, Belpré Awards, Caldecott Awards, Carnegie/Notable Children’s Videos, Children and Libraries Editorial Advisory, Geisel Award, Nominating, Notable Children’s Books, Notable Children’s Recordings, Newbery Awards, Odyssey Award, Sibert Awards, and Wilder Award.

** Appointed while Vice-President/President-Elect