Responsibilities of Committee Chairs, Members, and Secretaries

Committee Chairs

  • Recommend to Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect prospective committee appointments and/or re-appointments.
  • Contribute appropriate agenda items to Advisory Council or Executive Committee.
  • Confer with Executive Committee liaison on an on-going basis between conferences.
  • Create meeting agendas and conduct virtual committee meetings throughout the year, as needed.
  • Review minutes taken by committee secretary, and obtain committee approval. Once approved, minutes should be sent to the Section Secretary, as well as committee members and visitors to the meetings.
  • Communicate with all committee members, including committee secretary, regarding on-going committee business as necessary between conferences.
  • Prepare and submit budget requests to Section Chair; approve and submit reimbursement forms for all committee expenditures.
  • Attend Advisory Council meetings and orientation sessions and report as appropriate.
  • Attend Executive Committee meetings as appropriate.
  • Review ACRL Guide to Policies and Procedures.
  • Establish committee goals and objectives in keeping with ACRL and IS strategic plans.
  • Establish and maintain appropriate timetables for accomplishment of projects, tasks, etc.
  • Complete required planning documentation in a timely manner.
  • Maintain and update committee files according to the “Resource Checklist for IS Committee Chairs”.
  • Obtain from outgoing chair, maintain, and pass to incoming chair any committee documents and working papers.
  • Submit all relevant documents to IS Archive according to the Guidelines for Archival Record Retention.

Committee Vice-Chairs

In collaboration with Committee Chair:

  • Recommend to Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect prospective committee appointments and/or re-appointments.
  • Recommend appropriate committee meeting schedule for ALA Midwinter and Annual conferences.
  • Contribute appropriate agenda items to Advisory Council or Executive Committee.
  • Confer with Executive Committee liaison on an on-going basis between conferences.
  • Create meeting agendas and conduct virtual committee meetings throughout the year, as needed.
  • Review minutes taken by committee secretary, and obtain committee approval. Once approved, minutes should be sent to the Section Secretary, as well as committee members and visitors to the meetings.
  • Communicate with all committee members, including committee secretary, and Committee Chair regarding on-going committee business as necessary between conferences.
  • Prepare and submit budget requests to Section Chair; approve and submit reimbursement forms for all committee expenditures.
  • Attend Advisory Council meetings and orientation sessions and report as appropriate.
  • Attend Executive Committee meetings as appropriate.
  • Review ACRL Guide to Policies and Procedures.
  • Establish committee goals and objectives in keeping with ACRL and IS strategic plans.
  • Establish and maintain appropriate timetables for accomplishment of projects, tasks, etc.
  • Complete required planning documentation in a timely manner.
  • Maintain and update committee files according to the “Resource Checklist for IS Committee Chairs”.

Committee Members

  • Observe Section policies and procedures regarding committee attendance.
  • Monitor the IS web site for potential revisions and/or corrections to committee charges, committee rosters, committee web pages, etc.
  • Submit news or other items to the IS Newsletter.
  • Attend specific IS or other meetings at request of IS officers or chairs.
  • Submit agenda items to committee chair for meetings.
  • Review and approve minutes from committee meetings.
  • Assume responsibility for certain activities or projects as appropriate.
  • Communicate as needed with chair and other members between meetings regarding projects and concerns.

Committee Secretary

The committee secretaries are responsible for taking minutes at committee meetings and maintaining the committee web page to involve them more fully in the work of the committee. Contact the current Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect to volunteer to be a committee secretary for the next year.

  • Take minutes of committee meetings and submit to committee chair and other committee members for review and approval.
  • Submit final approved minutes to the IS Secretary.
  • Update the committee web page with content from the committee chair, consulting with Web Administrators if appropriate.
  • Participate in other assignments with the committee.
  • Attend committee meetings held either in person or virtually.

Prepared by the ACRL Instruction Section Executive Committee.  Revised June 2015.