NJSLA Seeking Nominees for President-Elect and Executive Board

Your New Jersey Chapter of the SLA is seeking candidates for President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and Director of Communications for next year.

This is a great opportunity to learn about SLA, network, develop leadership skills and serve your fellow information professionals. The election or affirmation of officers will be held at the chapter's annual meeting and holiday party, Tuesday, Dec. 15. (Information on that event will be posted soon.) If there is a contested election, then electronic ballots will be distributed on or about Oct. 31.

The offices of Secretary, Treasurer and Director of Communications are all two-year terms, for January 2010 through December 2011. SLA, like ALA and some other organizations, has a three-year term for chapter and unit leaders. So, whoever is elected President in December will serve 2010 as President-Elect, 2011 as President and 2012 as Past President.

The official descriptions of each office are in our Chapter Practices document at http://tinyurl.com/l4npyp. In addition to the officers’ roles as members of the chapter’s Executive Board, here are some of the most important roles for each officer:

President-Elect

• Chairs programming committee.
• Learns about chapter and SLA operations in anticipation of his or her year as president.
• Attends the SLA’s Leadership Summit (St. Louis in January 2010) and Annual Conference (New Orleans in June 2010). (The chapter provides financial support for most or all of these expenses if not reimbursed by the president-elect's employer.)
• Attends all chapter meetings and substitutes for the chapter president when necessary.

Secretary

• Records and distributes minutes of the chapter's business meetings.
• Conducts official correspondence and maintains a file of current records as requested by the chapter president.

Treasurer

• Maintains all financial records of the chapter and submits required reports to the association office.
• Collects, deposits and expends funds as requested and authorized by the president.
• Arranges for the president to have signing authority.
• Reports the fiscal condition of the chapter to the executive board.
• Helps prepare budget and monitors chapter fund-raising activities.
  

Director of Communications

• Responsible for content review, fiscal accountability, and responsiveness to the Chapter membership of Chapter electronic and written communications.
• Advises president and board on communications efforts, including listserv, bulletin and Web sites including chapter blog.

 
If you’re interested in serving in any of these offices, if you would like to nominate a fellow member, or if you have any questions about the chapter or these positions, please email the Nominations Committee at njslaelect09 AT optimum.net or email me directly at eric AT ericthelibrarian.com. Please indicate your interest by Sept. 30, so we have a chance to discuss the positions and post biographical information and photos of each candidate.

 

Eric Schwarz
NJSLA 2009 President