Medical Library Association Section Council -- Procedure Manual Part

3. OFFICERS

3.1 Election Criteria

The election of the Section Council Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair shall be from among those representatives who have previously agreed to be considered.

3.2 Election of Chair-Elect/Chair

Members of the Section Council elect one member to serve as Section Council Chair-Elect for one year and three years as Chair. All ongoing and outgoing representatives, but not incoming representatives, are eligible. During the Section Council meeting and before the election, candidates for Chair-Elect present brief oral summaries of their goals for the Section Council.

The Chair-Elect takes office at the close of the Association meeting at which s/he is elected and assumes the duties of Chair at the close of the following year's Association meeting.

The Chair does not represent any Section. If s/he has not completed his/her term upon taking office as Chair, the Representative-Elect for the Section then becomes Representative and a new Representative-Elect is chosen to complete the unexpired portion of the term.

The Chair may be removed from office for just cause after due process. The Council, by affirmative vote of two thirds of the members, recommends removal by the Board of Directors. The Board, by affirmative vote of two thirds of its members, approves the removal.

3.3 Duties of Chair

The Section Council Chair is the presiding member of the Section Council, which is defined in the MLA Bylaws, Article XII, Sections 1 and 3, and is responsible for organizing and directing the Council's work. The Chair serves as an ex-officio, voting member of the MLA Board of Directors and performs all duties expected of a Board member. In addition, the Chair performs all other duties described in the Bylaws.

Responsibilities to the Section Council:

To preside as Chair at all Section Council meetings.
To appoint standing and ad hoc committee chairs and members.
To establish all Council standing committees.
To determine long range goals of the Council based on MLA's Strategic Plan and Priorities, the decisions made at the Council meetings and recommendations made by Council committee chairs.
To establish the Council's annual objectives in collaboration with Council committee chairs.
To direct the Council in formulating policies and programs which will further the goals and objectives of the Council based on MLA's Strategic Plan and Priorities.
To prepare and submit midyear and annual reports to MLA Headquarters describing Council activities.
To forward Section recommendations approved by the Council to the MLA Board.
To develop the agenda for the Council meetings.
To serve as an ex-officio member of all Council committees.
To report relevant action taken by the Board to the Council as soon as possible.
To prepare an annual budget for Council activities.
To orient the Council Chair-Elect in the conduct of duties of the Council Chair.
To act as chief spokesperson for the Council.
To allocate one, two, or three-year terms for representatives from provisional sections to ensure proper annual membership turnover.

Responsibilities to the MLA Board of Directors:

To perform all duties expected of a member of the MLA Board of Directors.
To serve as a liaison to the Section Council.
To serve as a liaison to the individual sections through the Section representatives.
To perform other duties as assigned by the MLA President or prescribed by the Bylaws.

Responsibilities to the Sections:

To receive and review Section objectives.
To ensure that all Sections' midyear and annual reports are received by Headquarters.
To review annually the Section Chair's Manual and revise when necessary.
To serve as a resource and assist Sections as requested.

3.4 Duties of Chair-Elect

To perform the duties of Council Chair in the absence of the Chair.
To assist the Council Chair in conducting the business of the Council.
To update and distribute annually the Section Council's Procedure Manual.
To perform special assignments as requested.

3.5 Election of Vice-Chair

For the first two years of a Chair's term, s/he has a Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair may be elected via e-mail (see Appendix 25) prior to the meeting at which the Chair assumes office. The candidates are nominated from among representatives having at least one year left to serve, and election is by a majority vote. Should the Vice-Chair be performing the duties of Chair, that person will serve until the Chair resumes the duties or until a new Chair-Elect is elected, even if this period exceeds the Vice-Chair's term on the Council.

3.6 Duties of Vice-Chair

To perform the duties of Council Chair in the absence of the Chair.
To assist the Chair in conducting the business of the Council.
To update and distribute annually the Council procedure manual.
To perform special assignments as assigned by the Chair.

Procedure Manual Table of Contents

Send comments or questions to Webmaster Melissa De Santis at desantis@uthscsa.edu