VETERINARY MEDICAL LIBRARIES SECTION,

 A SECTION OF THE

 MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, INC.

  BYLAWS

 ARTICLE I.   Name

 The name of this organization shall be the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section, a Section of the Medical Library Association, Inc.

ARTICLE II.   Purpose  

The purpose of this Section shall be to stimulate and foster interest in veterinary medical libraries and librarianship; to acquaint persons interested in veterinary medical libraries and librarianship with the Medical Library Association (hereafter abbreviated as MLA); to encourage development of and cooperation among veterinary medical libraries; and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and the discussion of mutual problems and concerns.

ARTICLE III.   Members

 Section 1.  Members

All and only members of MLA may belong to this Section.

 Section 2.   Rights and Privileges

A.   Voting members of this Section shall consist of all members, except that only Voting Members of MLA shall be qualified to move or to vote on recommendations to the Section Council regarding MLA policies or actions, to vote on the selection of the candidate for the MLA Nominating Committee, or to vote on the selection of the Section's Representative to the Section Council.

B.   Officers of this Section shall be Voting Members of MLA.

 Section 3.   Dues

A.   Dues shall be determined by a majority of those members voting by mail. Dues shall be assessed on an annual basis for the period of the calendar year.   Section dues may not exceed MLA membership dues for Regular Voting Members.

B.   Section dues shall be payable on joining the Section and thereafter at the same time as are MLA dues.

C.   If dues are unpaid two months after the renewal date, the dues shall be considered in arrears and without further notice the member shall be suspended from all rights and privileges.

ARTICLE IV.   Officers

 Section 1.   Officers and Term of Office

A. Elective officers of the organization shall be the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Immediate Past-Chair, the Representative to the Section Council, and the Representative-Elect to the Section Council

B.   The term of office of the Chair shall be one (1) year as Chair-Elect, one (1) year as Chair, and one (1) as Immediate Past-Chair.   No one may serve more than two (2) successive terms as Chair-Elect/ Chair/ Immediate Past-Chair.

C.   The term of office of the Secretary shall be two (2) years.   An individual may not serve more than two (2) successive terms as Secretary.

D.   The term of office of the Treasurer shall be three (3) years.   An individual may not serve more than two (2) successive terms as Treasurer.

E.   The term of office of the Representative to the Section Council shall be three years, a one-year term as Representative-Elect, and a two-year term as Representative, except that if the Representative's term be made shorter by action of the Section Council or the Bylaws of MLA, the term will coincide with that action.  

F.   Elected officers shall take office at the close of the MLA Annual Meeting following their election and serve, unless they resign, die, become incapacitated, or are removed, until the close of the MLA Annual Meeting at the end of their terms of office or until their successors are elected and assume their duties.

Section 2.   Duties

A.   The duties of the Chair shall be to preside over all meetings and to represent the Section at all times and on all occasions not in conflict with any other officer's defined duties and responsibilities, to otherwise conduct the affairs of the Section, to serve as co-signatory on Section accounts with the Treasurer, to serve as an ex-officio member of all committees of the Section, to submit an Annual Report to MLA Headquarters by the date requested, and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section.   A Parliamentarian may be appointed by the Chair to serve a term concurrent with that of the Chair.   The Parliamentarian, if appointed, also shall serve as an ex-officio member of the Bylaws Committee.

B.   The duties of the Chair-Elect shall be to serve as Chair whenever the Chair is not able to do so, to assume or assign responsibility for planning the business and program meetings of the Section and other Section activities, such as tours, continuing education opportunities, etc., and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section.

C.   The duties of the Immediate Past-Chair shall be to serve in an advisory capacity to the Chair and other members of the Executive Board, and to serve as the ex-officio, non-voting Chair of the Nominating Committee.

D.   The duties of the Secretary shall be to prepare and distribute minutes of all Section Business and Executive Board meetings, to be responsible for incoming and outgoing correspondence, to maintain current lists of all officers, representatives, and committee members and their terms of office; to distribute the Section Bylaws, and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section.

E.   The duties of the Treasurer shall be to receive and account for all monies due to the organization; to sign all checks drawn upon Section as co-signatory with the Chair; to furnish such financial statements as may be required by the Executive Board, the Chair, and MLA; to maintain the membership records of the Section; and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section.

F.   The duties of the Representative to the Section Council shall be to represent the Section on MLA Section Council by attending meetings of the Council, to transmit to the Council recommendations that have been approved by the Section, and to communicate Council business to the officers and membership of the Section.

G.   The duties of the Representative-Elect to the Council shall be to attend the meetings of the MLA Section Council, to serve as Representative whenever the Representative is unable to do so, to assume the office of Representative and to serve out the unexpired term should the Representative become unable to complete the term of office.

Section 3.   Elections

A.   The Nominating Committee shall prepare annually a slate of at least one nominee for Chair-Elect and for each elective officer whose term expires.   The slate shall be presented in writing to the Section Chair and/or the Executive Board prior to the distribution of the ballot.   A written acceptance of nomination from each candidate must be presented at the time of nomination.   Any member of the Section may suggest a candidate for nomination or be nominated for any office unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws.   Write-in candidates are allowed providing, if they are elected, a written acceptance from them is received by the Chair prior to the MLA deadline for reporting new officers.

B. Ballots shall be mailed to the voting membership by the Nominating Committee at least eight weeks prior to the Section's annual business meeting and shall be received by the Nominating Committee chair or designee by the date previously announced for counting ballots.   Candidates shall be declared elected upon receiving a majority of the votes cast.   Where there are more than two candidates, a plurality shall elect.

Section 4.   Vacancies

A.   A vacancy arising in the office of Chair shall be filled by the Chair-Elect, who shall cease to be Chair-Elect, shall serve out the unexpired term of the Chair, and shall continue as Chair for the full succeeding term to which he or she was elected.

B.   A vacancy arising in the office of Representative to the Section Council shall be filled by the Representative-Elect, who shall cease to be the Representative-Elect, and shall serve out the unexpired term of the Representative as well as his/her own elected term.

C.   A vacancy arising in any other elective office shall be filled by the Executive Board.

Section 5.   Candidate for the MLA Nominating Committee Membership

A.   The name of one Voting Member of MLA, chosen by ballot of the membership shall be submitted each year to the Section Council as a potential candidate for membership on the MLA Nominating Committee; this submission shall be made to the Council on or before the date it specifies.   The potential candidate shall prepare a biographical statement and a signed statement of willingness-to-serve if elected as a member of the MLA Nominating Committee.   This statement shall accompany the name submitted.

B.   No person shall consent to being a potential candidate or a candidate for membership on the MLA Nominating Committee who is already such a potential candidate or candidate from some other unit of MLA; no candidate for membership on the MLA Nominating Committee shall also be a candidate for an elective office of MLA, or vice versa.

C.   No one shall serve on the MLA Nominating Committee as a voting member for more than one term during a period of five years.

ARTICLE V.   Meetings

Section 1.   Meetings

At least one business meeting and one program meeting or activity related to the Section's purpose shall be held in each fiscal year.   Additional meetings may be held.   All meetings shall be held at a time and place convenient for members.   Notice of all meetings shall be disseminated to the membership at least thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting date.   The Section's Business Meeting(s) shall be held during the same period and at the same location as the Association's Annual Meeting.   No Section meetings shall be held at the same time that General Sessions or Business Sessions of the Association's Annual Meeting are conducted.

Section 2.   Quorum

A minimum of ten (10) members present at a duly called meeting of the Section shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business of this Section.

ARTICLE VI.   Executive Board

 Section 1.   Executive Board

The elected officers of this Section shall constitute the Executive Board.  

Section 2.   Duties

The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of this Section between business meetings, fix the time and place of meetings, make recommendations to the membership, and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the organization.

ARTICLE VII.   Committees

 Section 1.   Standing Committees

A.   Standing Committees of this Section shall include the Nominating Committee and the Bylaws Committee.   Other standing committees may be established by the Executive Board subject to approval by the membership at the annual business meeting.   The Executive Board shall recommend the name and size of each committee.   Only those standing committees essential to the operation of the Section are listed in these Bylaws.

B.   The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least three members with the Immediate Past-Chair of the Section acting as its ex-officio, non-voting chair. Since neither the Chair nor the Chair-Elect shall serve on or appoint members to the Nominating Committee, the remaining members of Executive Board, excluding the Chair and Chair-Elect, shall appoint members to this committee.  No Nominating Committee member may serve more than two successive years on the committee. This committee shall be responsible for preparing a slate of candidates for election, and for conducting the election as outlined elsewhere in these Bylaws.   

C.   The Bylaws Committee shall consist of at least three members, including the chair, appointed by the Section Chair.   This committee shall be responsible for monitoring Section Bylaws and recommending revisions to maintain consistency with MLA Bylaws and its Special Rules of Order.

Section 2.   Special Committees

The Section Chair may appoint such other special committees (formerly known as ad hoc committees) as necessary with the advice and consent of the Executive Board or as adopted by the membership at the annual business meeting.

Section 3.   Committee Chairs

Chairs of committees shall be Voting Members of MLA.

Section 4.   Committee Appointments, Terms and Vacancies

The Section Chair, in consultation with the Executive Board, shall appoint and announce standing and special committee members, chairs, and liaisons at the beginning of his or her term of office.   Unless otherwise approved by the Executive Board, members of standing committees shall be appointed for terms of one (1) year, and may be reappointed for successive one (1) year terms.   The Chair, in consultation with the Executive Board, shall have the discretion to terminate appointments and fill vacancies unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws.

Section 5.   Committee Reports

Each committee shall submit an annual report of its activities to the Section Chair prior to the compilation of the Annual Section Report for submission to MLA Headquarters.

ARTICLE VIII.   Dissolution

In the event of dissolution of this Section, all liabilities and obligations shall be paid or adequate provision made for payment.   Remaining assets shall revert to the MLA General Fund.

ARTICLE IX.   Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern this Section in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Section may adopt.

ARTICLE X.   Amendment to Bylaws

These bylaws may be amended or rescinded by two-thirds of those members voting by mail, provided that an opportunity to debate and amend any proposed amendments is provided and that the amendments have been submitted in writing to the membership at least thirty (30) days prior to the deadline set for returning ballots.

VMLS/MLA Bylaws first approved 6/18/80; Latest revision 5/29/01, approved by mail ballot completed 6/20/01.