This message is being sent on behalf of the ALA Constitution and Bylaws Chair, Brian Schottlaender
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September 6, 2022
Dear ALA Colleague,
On behalf of the ALA Committee on Constitution and Bylaws (C&B), I am pleased to share with you DRAFT 1 of the General Revision of the ALA Bylaws currently being undertaken by C&B. You may access the revision here.
Annotations have been provided for substantive revisions, recommendations, and language that has been moved from the ALA Constitution into the ALA Bylaws. Revisions made for purposes of clarity and/or organization have not been annotated as the intent of the language has not been changed.
Also provided is a document (Appendix A) that lists Articles and Sections from the ALA Constitution and ALA Bylaws not included in DRAFT 1 of the General Revision of the ALA Bylaws because, either, they are considered no longer relevant, or, because they are being reviewed for inclusion in the ALA Policy Manual.
During the Annual Conference this past June in Washington DC, the ALA Council voted overwhelmingly in the affirmative to rescind the ALA Constitution and tasked C&B with creating instead a thoroughly revised set of ALA Bylaws that integrates content from the Constitution into a single updated Bylaws document that reflects a modern, forward-looking Association. Almost immediately, C&B set about doing so. Included in this General Revision are any TAG recommendations that have thus far been approved by Council.
On Friday, 26 August, ALA Council conducted the required second vote to rescind the Constitution-again voting overwhelmingly in the affirmative to do so.
The current ALA Constitution and Bylaws can be found via these highlighted weblinks.
As noted, this is DRAFT 1 of the General Revision-the first of four drafts that we plan to share with you for comment and feedback between now and the ALA Library Learning Experience (LLX) event in January 2023 in New Orleans. There, we plan to host a face-to-face Bylaws Convention in order to put the finishing touches on the General Revision for Council approval. Following that, the membership will be invited to vote on both the rescission of the Constitution and the new Bylaws on the April 2023 spring ballot.
A feedback form has been created for you to share your comments and suggestions with the committee prior to the Feedback Hearing scheduled for September 23 at 11am CT. To register for this feedback session, please click here.
We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your engagement!
With my best,
Brian S.
Brian E. C. Schottlaender, Chair
ALA Constitution and Bylaws Committee
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Deborah Caldwell-Stone
Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom
American Library Association
dstone@ala.org------------------------------