Chair-Elect

See also SLA's Training Manual, Division Recommended Practices, and the Tax and Legal Handbook.

The Chair-Elect's duties are as follows:

1. General Duties
2. Fund-Raising Duties
3. Conference Planning Duties
4. Communications

1. General Duties

• Serves as a member of the Executive Board.
• Assists and substitutes for the Chair as necessary. In the event of disability or withdrawal of the Chair, the title and all duties and obligations shall be assumed by the Chair-Elect.
• Attends meetings. The Chair-Elect is required to attend the same meetings as the Chair.
• Learns during the year as Chair-Elect as much as possible about the operation of the Division so that when he/she assumes the chair the following year, a smooth transition will occur.
• Recruits members to serve as committee chairs and other appointed positions during his/her term as Chair (see Chair's appointment tips).
• Transfers records to the new Chair-Elect within 20 days of the annual conference.
• At the request of the Chair, performs any other duties as required for operation of the Division.

2. Fund-Raising Duties

See also SLA's Fund Raising Handbook.

• At the conference or soon after assuming office, obtain from previous Chair-Elect a supply of PAM stationery, PAM brochures (if any), the list of sponsor contacts, and a copy of previous solicitation letter. Send a sample of new solicitation letter to the Executive Board, which approves all official PAM correspondence.
• Not later than December (preferably earlier, to coincide with vendor budgeting cycles), send solicitation letters to past and potential sponsors. (Add names to the contact list as appropriate.) Coordinate levels of sponsorship for different events/activities with the Chair and the Treasurer. Note that, in order to be listed in the program as a sponsor of a conference program/event, donors MUST be exhibitors at the annual conference; a list of exhibitors is available on the conference website. Incoming funds are recorded and passed on to the Treasurer. The list of donors for the year should be submitted for the May issue of the PAM Bulletin, as well as to the Publications Committee chair (for conference signs) and to the webmaster (for the sponsor page) and to SLA headquarters if required.
• Bulletin sponsorship or other funds solicitation may be included in the same letter. A donor might also sponsor a PR brochure, the Division Business Meeting Breakfast or some other specific activity of the division. The AMS, for example, usually publishes the PAM Directory. When approaching a potential donor, it is very important to tell them exactly what they will get for their donation (including types of acknowledgment for sole or shared program sponsorship) and to thank them properly.
• The price level of a Bulletin sponsorship has been $500 since about 2001. A Bulletin sponsor may be a conference exhibitor or not, and may also support other activities as they choose. Letters soliciting Bulletin sponsorship may be written at any time. Issues should in general not be booked more than a year ahead. Once a sponsorship is arranged, give the sponsor details, including contact information, to the Bulletin Editor, who will contact them about the sponsorship notice. (See also Bulletin Sponsorship.)
• Promptly write letters of thanks to all donors.

3. Conference Planning

See also SLA's Program Planners Manual.

• The Chair-Elect attends the SLA winter meeting held in January following assumption of office; at this meeting, planning begins for the conference to be held 18 months hence, and the Chair-Elect should start soliciting ideas from members beforehand. SLA meeting staff will commmunicate subsequent deadlines and reports due via the planners' list.
• Mandatory considerations for conference scheduling include:
  • PAM Executive Board Meetings (1 for outgoing Board, 1 for incoming Board)
  • PAM Annual Business Meeting (must be scheduled after the first Executive Board meeting)
  • PAM Hospitality Suites/Open Houses (usually Sunday and Monday evenings)
  • Subject Roundtables (i.e., physics, astronomy, and mathematics every year and computer science every other year, alternating with the Sci-Tech Division)
  • Vendor Update
• Other recent activities have included:
  • Hot topics sessions (e.g., studies of e-journal use behavior)
  • International issues program (which the IRC helps plan)
  • A networking breakfast in the suite
  • Refreshments and Internet access in suite during the day ("Suite Daily Retreat")
  • Sponsored refreshments at a roundtable
  • CE course
  • Tour of JPL
• Programming is allowed on Sunday, and PAM traditionally uses it as a regular conference day. The PAM wide roundtable is usually held in the morning; it is a good opportunity for the membership to bring ideas and problems forward that can be discussed at the Executive Board Meeting and then brought back to the membership at the Business Meeting just a couple of days later. Note that this should be strictly informal - the Business Meeting should not be diminished in importance; nor should anyone not attending the PAMwide roundtable miss anything important - all such matters should be brought up at the Business Meeting.
• It has also become traditional to have an informal dutch treat dinner on Saturday evening ("early bird dinner"), organized by the Hospitality Committee and advertised only to PAM members (i.e., not part of the formal conference program). It has worked well the last few years to require payment sent to the Treasurer when making a reservation, to avoid the inconvenience of separate bills, etc.
• Programs should be planned so that sponsorships and/or registration fees (e.g., for CE course) cover their costs. Fund-raising and program-planning should be coordinated for this purpose. If possible, programs should provide a net gain to the Division's operating budget.

4. Communications

• All SLA unit officers (and committee chairs) must sign the SLA Leadership Code of Responsibility. The Chair distributes these forms at the beginning of each term of office.
• The Chair-Elect should take every opportunity to become acquainted with other members of the Division Cabinet, especially the Chairs-Elect of other Divisions. Division Chairs-Elect who are diligent in becoming acquainted with other Cabinet members will find that they are soon well established in the informal communications network that exists among Division officers.

PAM Practices Manual Editor: Kristine Fowler, fowler@math.umn.edu

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Page last updated: August 5, 2004