Procedures Manual: President

Position Description

The President acts as the presiding officer of the Chapter, and as its Executive Officer. The President must be a member in good standing of the Association, preferably one who is familiar with the recent history and activities of the Chapter and the Association. The President must be able to attend the Winter Meeting and the Annual Conference.

Term

The office of President is the core, second-year fulfillment of a three-year commitment to the Chapter offices of President-Elect, President, and Past President.
The President assumes office at the close of the annual Association business meeting, or if no meeting is held, on January 1.

Important Dates

Timeline	Works With	Activities
January		Attend Chapter Cabinet and Board meeting at Leadership Summit
January 31	Past President	Roster of names for all Chapter officers and committee chairs
January 31	Treasurer	Submit one copy of audited financial statements to SLA office
January 31		Requests due for Chapter visit by Association president or president-elect
February 15	Elected officers	Elected chapter officers return signed copy of Leadership Code of Responsibility
May 1 (Approx)		Requests for action (if any) by SLA Board of Directors for Annual Conference Board meeting
June	President-Elect	Chapter Cabinet Meeting and Board Meeting (Annual Conference)
June 30	Treasurer	Mid-year financial statement (unaudited) (not in latest practices Feb 2007)
June		Contact Past Past President to strike nominating committee
June	President Elect	Discuss planning and scheduling August programming/budget meeting with program directors
Sept 15 (approx)		Requests for action (if any) by SLA Board of Directors for October meeting
September 15	Treasurer	Request for funds in addition to regular allotment
September		Encourage President-elect to begin selecting committee chairs for next term
October		Request annual reports from officers and committee chairs for annual business meeting
November		Ask board members if they would like letters of appreciation sent to their employers. Send letters as requested.
November		Conduct Chapter annual business meeting including coordinating AGM presentations, with officer elections
December 1		One copy of Chapter annual report
December 1		Requests for action (if any) by SLA Board of Directors for Leadership Summit Agenda items for Cabinet meeting at Leadership Summit. Send to Chapter Cabinet Chair, with copy to SLA Leadership Department.
December	Treasurer	Appoint Chapter auditor for review of annual financial report
December		Create Certificates of Appreciation for outgoing Board
Jan 1 (approx)		Nominations (if any) for SLA Awards. To Chair of the SLA Awards Committee.

Specific Association level deadlines are announced in the LEADERS.COMmunicate publication

Duties

Leadership

Appoint chairs for all committees and other positions as specified in the Chapter's Practices Manual. Appointments should be made before the President-Elect assumes the office of President. Appointments should be made for a specific term of office, and written acceptance should be obtained from each appointee. Chapter Committees and appointed positions are identified in Section III of the Practices Manual.
Serve as Chair of the Executive Board and Advisory Board.
Serve as ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.
Recommend to the Board any measures that will further the objectives and improve the effectiveness of the Chapter.
Coordinate the work of the officers and the committees. The President should become thoroughly familiar with the procedures for each officer, committee, or special appointee as set out in the Chapter Practices Manual.
Represent (or appoint a representative for) the Chapter at all extra-Chapter activities or functions appropriate to the interests of the Chapter.
Inform the Leadership Department at the Association Office at once if the Chapter appoints a representative to another professional society.
Be responsible for all official correspondence for the Chapter.

Communications/Knowledge Management

Chapter Presidents may be asked to speak or act officially on matters that are within their areas of official responsibility and on which they are fully informed. When the Association's official position is known, particularly when it has appeared in writing, it should be quoted to ensure consistency of response. Advice from Association leadership should be sought when the official position is not known. Without exception, new or controversial matters should be referred to the Association President and Executive Director. This is particularly important when drafting a statement that will reflect the Association's position.

Face-to-face interaction at the Leadership Summit and Annual Conference is the best means of establishing a productive rapport among Cabinet members. Between meetings, the telephone, fax, electronic mail, discussion lists and the post office assist the functioning of the informal communications network.

To assure that the Chapter President-Elect is fully informed on all business of the Chapter and the Chapter Cabinet, it is important for the Chapter President to share copies of all Chapter and Association-related correspondence with the President-Elect, even if the subject matter seems inconsequential. This keeps the President-Elect both informed and prepared to substitute for the President, in case of an emergency.

Upon taking office

Read the Chapter’s Governing Document and Practices Manual thoroughly to determine the responsibilities of each Chapter officer.
Acquire from the Past President all of the Chapter's current records. Forward those records you do not need to the Chapter Archivist. If you do not receive the current records within 20-25 days, contact the departing President to request them.
Submit a complete list of the Chapter Executive Board and of the incoming committee chairs to the Association Office as soon as possible after the Chapter’s annual meeting and before June 30. If the complete roster is not available at that time, send what is available and send an additional list later. Forms are supplied by the Association office.

During your term

Read all the information sent by the Association office and the Chapter Cabinet Chair via the Leadership Discussion List and Chapter Cabinet Community of Practice (both President and President-Elect should maintain current email listings in their SLA member records).
Inform the Leadership Department at the Association Office of appointment/changes throughout the year of elected and appointed offices.
Contribute president’s article(s) to each issue of the chapter bulletin, Wired West.
Work with the Bulletin Editor and Communications Director to bring all pertinent information before the Chapter membership.
Notify Association leaders of the publication of each issue of the chapter bulletin, Wired West, by forwarding the link to the Leadership discussion list.
Forward all copies of bulletins received from other chapters to the Bulletin Editor, or other chapter officers as appropriate.
Send copies of all reports, publicity, etc., to the Chapter Archivist and copies of current correspondence to the Chapter President-Elect.
Forward copies of all Chapter and association-related correspondence to the President-Elect, keeping her/him both informed and prepared to substitute for the President, in case of an emergency.

At conclusion of term

Review with the incoming President the responsibilities of the position and any ongoing projects.
Forward all current records to the incoming President within 20 days of stepping down from the office of President.

Chapter Meetings

Establish and communicate a schedule of board meetings for the term as soon as possible after taking office.
Prepare an agenda for all meetings.
Attend and preside at all Chapter board meetings. Board meetings can be very useful for problem solving and usually include the entire Advisory Board.
Issue all notices of Board meetings to chapter membership, plus any special notices as required.
Call for reports from each committee chair and executive board member prior to each board meeting.
With Secretary, review minutes of board meetings before distribution and posting.
Preside at the Chapter's annual business meeting.

SLA Association Meetings

Chapter Cabinet
Attend Chapter Cabinet meetings and any joint meetings of the Chapter and Division Cabinets at the Association's Annual Conference and Leadership Summit. If either the President or President-Elect is unable to attend a meeting, the Chapter President should appoint another Chapter member, preferably an officer, to represent the Chapter.

All Chapter Presidents and Presidents-Elect constitute the Association's Chapter Cabinet. Attendance at the meetings of the Cabinets is one of the most important responsibilities of Chapter officers. The Chapter Cabinet can be truly effective only if all representatives participate.

The Association Office issues a "Call to Meeting" approximately two months before each Board of Directors and Cabinet meeting. This document includes detailed instructions on the preparation of documents for information or action at the Board and Cabinet meetings. The deadline for receipt of documents for placement on the Cabinet's agenda is usually about one month before the meeting.

If the Chapter President has last-minute business to bring to a Chapter Cabinet meeting, the nature of the business should be brought to the attention of the Chapter Cabinet Chair a minimum of 24 hours before the start of the meeting. All motions, petitions, resolutions, etc., should be written (typed, if possible) in advance.

Leadership development
Attend the Association’s Leadership meetings and any orientation and meetings for Chapter officers moderated by the Chapter Cabinet Chair and Chair-Elect. Orientation documents to aid Chapter officers can be found on the Association’s web pages Leadership Training Center: http://www.sla.org/content/resources/leadcenter/leadtrain/index.cfm and the Leadership Training Manual at http://www.sla.org/content/resources/leadcenter/leadresour/traimanual/index.cfm

This information serves to expand the communications network and provides an opportunity for Chapter Presidents to get to know the Association's inner workings and concerns. It is also of real value for information on funding meetings, finances, bulletins, etc.

SLA Board of Directors Open Sessions
Attend the open sessions of the Board of Directors at the Leadership Summit and Annual Conference as an observer.

Reporting Duties

The Chapter President must submit several specific reports that are due at predetermined times during the Association's business year. You must submit these reports on or before the stated deadlines. Regardless of which Chapter officer or committee chair has the responsibility for preparation and distribution of a report, the Chapter President is responsible for meeting all deadlines. Refer to Section H. for the Association Action Deadline Chart. See also, Association Policy for Reporting Requirements for SLA Units. Timely submission of the chapter annual report is required in order to receive the dues allotment the following year.

Call for annual reports from officers, committee chairs and special appointees prior to the Annual Business Meeting of the Chapter.
Ensure Chapter financial reports are submitted to the Association: June 30th mid-year unaudited report; January 31st annual audited financial report.
Submit Chapter annual report to the Association by May 1st.
Submit Incoming Roster by June 30

Policies

Make decisions on Chapter policy; referring questions to the appropriate Chapter officer or the entire Executive and/or Advisory Boards.
Execute, together with the Secretary, all legal documents of the Chapter.

Finance

Have signature on file with the Chapter's bank account and sign cheques as necessary.
With the Treasurer: appoint an auditor (not an officer or incoming officer of the Chapter and not a current or incoming member of the SLA Board of Directors) by the end of December to audit the financial statement prepared by the Chapter Treasurer.
Prepare the Chapter's budget in consultation with the Treasurer and other Chapter leaders.
With the Treasurer: submit requests for Endowment Fund Grants and additional funding.

Association Liaison & Reporting

Serve as host for any Association officers.
Nominate Chapter member(s) for Association awards and honours.
Encourage Chapter members to vote in SLA election, held soon after Leadership Summit.
Promote International Special Librarians Day to Chapter members.
Take part in the interviewing process of the SLA Scholarship Program for applicants from the Chapter area. The task of interviewing may be delegated to other Chapter members.

Expenses

Requests for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenditures must be submitted to the Treasurer and should be accompanied by receipts and brief statements concerning the nature of the expenditures. Typical expenses of this office include hospitality, incidental and travel expenses.

Major expenses include travel to the SLA Leadership Summit where the employer does not cover those expenses. The Chapter budgets for travel costs up to $1500 for the President to attend either the January Leadership Summit or the June annual conference annually, and $1500 for the President-Elect.

Last updated July 9, 2007 16:16
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