The committee
selects a slate of two candidates for each of the following offices: Vice
President/President elect, three members of Council, and three Nominating
Committee members. Two candidates for the office of Treasurer are chosen every
third year.
Prior to the
annual meeting, the Chair obtains information from the SAA office and/or the
SAA Archives regarding the preferential ballot, previous candidate slates,
and election results. The Chair sends this information, along with copies
of the Nominating Committee Guidelines and Information Sheets for Nominees
to the other committee members. She/he also schedules committee meetings at
the annual meeting, develops meeting agendas, and assigns responsibilities
to committee members (e.g., to prepare lists of possible candidates or to
contact various groups for suggestions.)
The Committee
normally meets twice during the annual meeting. The first meeting, scheduled
early in the week, should result in a slate of candidates for each office,
a list of alternates, and a draft of the questions for the candidates statements.
(Because so much of the Committee's work is completed during the annual meeting,
if a Nominating Committee Open House is held, it should be scheduled early,
perhaps prior to the first committee meeting, so that it can serve as an effective
means for securing additional nominations). The period between the two meetings
of the Committee is used by Committee members to contact prospective candidates,
inform them of the duties/ obligations of running for office, provide them
with copies of the Information Sheet for Nominees, and secure commitments
from as many of them as possible. The second meeting includes preparation
of the final slate, the development of plans for contacting any candidates
not yet committed, and approval of questions for candidates. A list of suggestions
for nominations to be forwarded to the next year's Committee also may be prepared
at this meeting.
If alternate
candidates must be approached after the annual meeting, the committee may
reconvene by conference call. The final slate is circulated among the committee
members for review, and the Chair formally writes all candidates to confirm
nomination prior to submitting the slate and list of candidates questions
to the Executive Director. The final slate is to be published in the SAA Newsletter.
The SAA office handles the preparation and distribution of the mail ballot
and arranges for the tabulation of election results by the Ballot Committee.
The Executive Director informs each of the candidates of the results of the
election.
The chair of
the committee prepares a final report and submits it to Council.
The chair reports
the election results at the following annual business meeting.
All candidates
must be Individual members of SAA. Although no other formal criteria are listed
for candidates, most committees strive for a balanced slate in terms of gender,
geographical area, types and size of candidates repositories, and professional
interests. The committee may wish to use past service on Council as a requirement
for selection of vice presidential candidates, and active participation in
SAA as a requirement for candidates for Council.
