CPR Bylaws
CONGRESSIONAL PAPERS ROUNDTABLE
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARCHIVISTS
* Approved August 2005 *
BYLAWS
FOR STRUCTURE
AND RESPONSIBILITIES
PURPOSE
The Congressional Papers Roundtable of the Society of American Archivists is composed of members of the Society and others who work with or have an interest in the papers of members of Congress and the records of Congress. The roundtable provides a forum for news, for discussion of issues and developments, and for setting standards and advocating action in the preservation and management of congressional papers and records.
STEERING COMMITTEE
The Steering Committee is composed of 10 members: the officers (chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair); four member representatives (two elected per year for two-year terms); and one representative each from the Office of History and Preservation of the House of Representatives, the Senate Historical Office, and the Center for Legislative Archives of the National Archives. The newsletter editor and the web editor serve as ex officio members (unless they also hold elected positions).
The Steering Committee directs and coordinates activities of the roundtable and approves appointments made by the chair if vacancies occur. Committee members help set agenda for the year, appoint a newsletter editor as necessary and contribute to the newsletter and to other activities, plan the annual program and SAA program sessions sponsored by the roundtable. Steering Committee members are expected to attend the annual meeting.
OFFICERS
The chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair serve as officers of the roundtable. Only individual members of SAA and the Congressional Papers Roundtable may hold these positions.
The chair directs and reports the activities of the roundtable, organizes and conducts the annual meeting of the roundtable, chairs the steering committee, acts as liaison for the roundtable to other bodies, appoints roundtable committees as needed, chairs the Program Committee, and handles administrative matters.
The vice-chair/chair-elect serves as acting chair in the absence of the chair and participates as a member of the steering committee in all its activities.
The immediate past chair serves as a member of the steering committee and as chair of the Nominating Committee.
The officers make a commitment for three years to serve one year each as vice-chair/chair-elect, chair, and immediate past chair. Each is expected to attend the annual meeting.
NEWSLETTER EDITOR(S)
One or two newsletter editors shall be appointed by the Steering Committee for a negotiated term. Terms are encouraged to range from not less than two years to not more than three years. The newsletter editors serve as ex officio members of the Steering Committee, unless they also hold elected membership. In the latter case, the newsletter editors shall have all decision privileges of committee members. Members serving as newsletter editors should not serve concurrently as chair of the roundtable.
The newsletter editors are responsible for editing, publishing, and distributing two newsletters per year and any other special issues or mailing as determined by the Steering Committee. They maintain the roundtable mailing list and negotiate all newsletter matters with the SAA office as appropriate. By agreement between them, one of the newsletter editors will serve as secretary at the annual roundtable meeting and take minutes that subsequently will be published in the newsletter.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
The Program Committee is composed of the chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and Steering Committee members who are not members of the Nominating Committee. The chair shall appoint certain Program Committee members to coordinate, write, and submit Steering Committee-approved session proposals on behalf of the roundtable to the SAA Program Committee.
The Program Committee develops proposals for both the roundtable program and SAA sessions for the following year's annual meeting. The Steering Committee reviews and selects proposals.
WEB EDITOR
The web editor shall be appointed by the Steering Committee for a negotiated term. Terms are encouraged to range from not less than two years to not more than three years. The web editor serves as an ex officio member of the Steering Committee, unless he or she also holds an elected position. In the latter case, he or she shall have all decision privileges of committee members. The web editor should not serve concurrently as chair of the roundtable.
The web editor is responsible for maintaining and updating the CPR website as needed and for negotiating all website matters with the SAA office as appropriate.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE AND ELECTION
The Nominating Committee is composed of the immediate past chair, who serves as chair of the committee, and two first year members of the Steering Committee. If any of these cannot serve, the roundtable chair shall appoint members from the Steering Committee as needed.
The Nominating Committee solicits candidates for the next year's leadership, using a notice in the newsletter and on the roundtable’s listserv (if any) and receiving the names of volunteers of persons recommended, and prepares an appropriate slate for the elected roundtable positions from those nominees agreeing to place their names in nomination. The committee ensures that there is at least one nominee and no more than two nominees for vice-chair/chair-elect and that the number of nominees for Steering Committee is not less than the number of positions to be filled. All candidates for election must be individual members of SAA and the roundtable. The committee submits the slate of candidates to the newsletter editor no later than June 1 for publication in the newsletter issued preceding the annual meeting. The committee also submits the ballot to the Society of American Archivists no later than six weeks prior to the SAA annual meeting. The Society of American Archivists conducts the election on-line through services available from its membership database. Only members of the roundtable may vote. Any member of the roundtable who is unable to vote using the on-line ballot may request an absentee ballot from the committee chair; absentee ballots must be returned to the committee chair prior to the annual meeting. Voting shall be by secret ballot if there are more candidates than can be elected for any position. Candidates with the highest number of votes shall be elected. New leadership assumes office at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the roundtable.
If for any reason the vice-chair is unable to succeed to the office of chair, a new chair shall be elected following the same procedures as election for a vice-chair. The Steering Committee shall appoint any other vacancies to fulfill unexpired terms of elected positions, after which a normal election shall occur.
ENACTMENT
These bylaws were first approved and enacted by a majority vote of the membership in August 1996.
Proposed amendments to the Bylaws must be published in the newsletter issued preceding the annual meeting. Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Steering Committee and must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the total votes cast by members present at the annual meeting of the roundtable and by members voting by absentee ballot. Any member of the roundtable who is unable to attend the annual meeting may request an absentee ballot from the Chair of the Nominating Committee. Absentee ballots must be returned to the Chair of the Nominating Committee prior to the annual meeting.
A copy of the Bylaws shall be available to any member through the Roundtable’s website and upon request to the chair.
Return to top
CPR pages maintained by Robin Reeder,
Last updated: 23 August 2005
|
