Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color - 58

when volunteers are selected to serve. The notice indicates that committees are developed to include members who represent diversity in terms of the appointee’s affiliation with ALA divisions or round tables and diversity in the type of libraries they work in terms of the size of these libraries, type (e.g., public, school or academic), and geographic location of these libraries. WHAT DO THESE COMMITTEES DO? Before you click on the link to the online volunteer form URL, gather some background information about the committees. All current ALA members receive a paper copy of the ALA Handbook of Organization. Here the difference between an ALA Council Committee and an ALA Committee is made slightly clearer: “Appointments to committees of Council are made by the Council Committee on Committees, in cooperation with the ALA president-elect who, as chair of the Committee on Committees, appoints the chairpersons of Council committees. Appointments to committees of the Association are made by the ALA presidentelect, who chairs and acts on the advice of the Committee on Appointments.”[1] More importantly, each ALA Committee and ALA Council Committee is given a separate entry listing its charge, current committee members, references to relevant Bylaws, and any relevant subcommittee structure. Committees have recurring charges and may also have new initiatives or tasks. Here are some examples of these responsibilities: The Nominating Committee prepares the slate for candidates running to serve as Councilors-at-Large, candidates for President-Elect, and candidates for Treasurer, if needed. The Committee on Accreditation oversees the review of existing accredited library and information science programs. The Committee on Organization can actually recommend to Council the name of a committee, how many members might serve, the make-up of the committee membership, and what each committee is charged to do. Under most circumstances, individuals serve a two-year term on a committee, and while they can be reappointed for a second two-year term they cannot serve more than four consecutive years on a committee. Next, check the Committee content on ALA’s website, www.ala.org. Both ALA and Council Committees must submit a report on their activities within a month of meeting at the ALA Midwinter Meeting and ALA Annual Conference. You will find, for example, that the Committee on Literacy recently voted to forge stronger relationships with the state library associations that serve as Chapters of ALA. The Scholarships and Study Grants Committee recently edited a new manual for ALA Scholarship Policies and Procedures, and the Website Advisory Committee reviewed the results of a commissioned ALA Website Usability Study. Serving on a committee provides opportunities to meet other information professionals. Past ALA Presidents, Council Members, and leaders within the profession often serve on ALA Council or Committees. Serving also affords opportunities to expand one’s skills – from recording and taking minutes to contributing content to websites, documents, and other publications. HOW COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS ARE MADE Two committees assist the ALA PresidentElect in making committee appointments. The Committee on Appointments is a twelve-member committee consisting of the President-Elects of the twelve Divisions of ALA. As such, that year’s PLA PresidentElect serves on the Committee on Appointments and makes suggestions to the ALA President-Elect of individuals who might serve on twenty-four committees. The Committee on Committees works with the ALA President-Elect to make appointments to the ALA Council Committees. Two weeks prior to the ALA conference, the ALA staff member who serves as the 58

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Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color