ACRL/NY Handbook

We recommend that every volunteer read the bylaws and handbook before they volunteer for a position.

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I. Introduction

  1. The function of this handbook is to give guidance for both incoming and ongoing members on the day to day functionality of ACRL/NY. The handbook is a growing and evolving document that should be read and altered as necessary.
  2. We recommend that every volunteer read the bylaws and handbook before they volunteer for a position.
  3. ACRL/NY is a completely volunteer run organization. Without the dedication of volunteers, ACRL/NY would not be able to function. Benefits of volunteering for ACRL/NY include:
    • Networking
      • ACRL/NY contains members and volunteers from organizations across the greater metro area. These members and volunteers have numerous opportunities to network with each other.
    • Leadership
      • The ACRL/NY executive board requires elected officials. In addition, the committees and discussion groups require chairs. These leaders are tasked with facilitating or managing various operations of ACRL/NY. This leadership experience is invaluable.
    • Service
      • Numerous institutions value service to the profession as part of their promotion or tenure requirements. By serving on a committee or as a discussion group co-chair, you may be fulfilling that service requirement.
  4. How to use this handbook:
    • This handbook is divided by position title based on the ACRL/NY organizational chart. Find pertinent information based on the title of the position you are referencing.
  5. Links in the Handbook may have restricted access; individuals who are appointed or elected to positions should request access.
  6. General information:
    • Accessibility Statement Suggestion (add this to your event/meeting announcement): ACRL/NY does its best to ensure that all events and meetings are as accessible as possible. Those seeking individualized requests for accommodations are encouraged to contact acrlnypresident@gmail.com or [email addresses for the event or meeting organizers] as soon as possible so that a good faith effort can be made to meet the identified needs.
    • Code of Conduct
  7. Handbook update and maintenance plan.
    • Reviewed once a year under coordination of Immediate Past President
  8. Sharing Documents:
    • Groups should make every effort to save documentation/files/links to google documents in the ACRL/NY wiki for archiving [specific date for files in wiki]
    • If your current working documents are organized on a platform such as Google Drive, make sure that there is a working shareable link to that file in the Wiki
    • Example Wiki Naming Structure
      • Possible naming structure for file: SPC_2023_Sponsors_EmailTemplate1
      • A possible best practice for ACRL/NY would be: Group_Year_Broad Topic_specific use with number if more than one.
  9. Key Resources

 
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II. Presidents’ Council

  1. The Presidents’ Council is made up of Vice President/President-Elect/Immediate Past President
  2. Terms:
    • The Vice President/President-Elect are elected from the membership of ACRL/NY and serve for a total of three years: one year as Vice President/President-Elect, one year as President, and one year as Immediate Past President.
  3. General Purpose:
    • The Presidents’ Council meets as needed to identify issues, prioritize activities, coordinate the work of the organization, and prepare matters to bring before the Executive Board.
  4. Roles and Responsibilities
    • President
      • Annual Review and Report
      • May initiate special projects
      • Leads EB meetings (Sept-June, the chapter takes a break from meetings in July and August)
      • Appoints members to particular EB positions and/or unfilled elected positions (see bylaws)
      • Monitors the acrlnypresident@gmail.com account and financial accounts
    • Vice President/President Elect
      • Programming Committee (to be piloted in 2025)
      • Serves as a member of the Nominations Committee
      • Serves as a member of the Symposium Planning Committee
      • Leads EB meetings if the President is not available
      • Monitors the acrlnypresident@gmail.com account
    • Immediate Past President
      • Provides continuity in personnel transitions
        • Access to email and other communications accounts
        • Access to Financial Accounts
          • Assures access for Treasurer, President, Vice-President, and Secretary
        • Interviewing stakeholders and updating the ACRL/NY Handbook
      • Monitors the acrlnypresident@gmail.com account
      • Members-at-Large Orientation and Support
    • Member-at-Large assigned to the Presidents’ Council (See Member-at-Large section of this Handbook)
  5. Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • Schedule in-person visit to Chase bank to change the officers with access to the financial account – requires presence of the President or Secretary who are already on file with the bank

 
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III. Treasurer and Treasurer-Elect

  1. See Treasurers’ manual for detailed procedures.
  2. Overlapping Terms:
    • The treasurer term is split into two overlapping years: Treasurer and Treasurer Elect. The current treasurer will spend a year training the treasurer elect to take over all treasurer duties upon the conclusion of the treasurer’s term.
  3. Roles and Responsibilities
    • Track and categorize all financial transactions of the organization.
    • Ensure the maintenance of the yearly budget.
    • Reports to EC at monthly meetings on the financial state of the organization.
    • Work with an accountant to prepare and submit yearly taxes.
      • Current Accountant: PKF O’Connor; Sacha Richards <srichards@pkfod.com>
  4. Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • Regular checking of P.O. Box.
    • Reconcile monthly Chase statements with Quickbooks ledger.
    • Submit annual payments for P.O.Box, Web Hosting and Zoom accounts
    • Work with Symposium Planning Committee Chair & staff to submit Symposium-related payments (including venue, caterer, honoraria, scholarship prizes, cash tip for catering staff)
    • Reimburse Executive Board and Committee chairs for expenses related to their events
    • Reimburse Executive Board for conference-related travel expenses
  5. Working with a Member-at-Large
  6. Annual Review and Report
    • Creation of symposium treasurer report detailing the financial position of the organization to the membership.
    • Creation of yearly financial report and budget to be given at the first EC meeting of the new fiscal year.
  7. Archiving and Transition
    • Receipts should be kept for archiving and revisiting.
    • Financial documentations should be kept for a minimum of 7 years. Documents can be housed in the Treasurer folder of ACRL/NY Wiki.

 
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IV. Members-at-Large

  1. Staggered three year terms, rotating through these three assignments (in this order)
    • Symposium Planning Committee
    • President’s Council
    • Treasurer
  2. Roles and Responsibilities
    • Assignment of specific, defined tasks that are matched to the MaL’s expertise and professional development goals and that are mutually agreed upon
    • Asking for input on specific questions or issues that arise during the work
    • Regular, but limited, touch-base meetings
    • Occasional email inquiries as these come up
    • Members-at-Large are assigned to support each of the three positions above. The roles and responsibilities are flexible and may depend on the specific area being supported.
    • The Member-at-Large functions as a thoughtful representative of the membership, providing input in this capacity and as a member of the Executive Board.
    • MAL day-to-day activities or regular responsibilities should be outlined and clear. Regular engagement between the MAL and their chair.
  3. Support Roles. Examples of support can include:
    • Meet as needed with the Members-at-Large’s area designated committee or chair.
    • The Chairs should engage with the MAL to ensure that delegation is clear and follow-up is made.
    • Support a specific initiative related to the Members-at-Large’s designated area.
    • Alternatively, the Member-at-Large may be assigned specific tasks related to their designated area.
  4. Annual Review and Reports
  5. Archiving and Transition

 
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V. Recording Secretary

  1. Term:
    • Elected by, and from, the membership every two years
  2. Role and Responsibilities
    • Prepare and distribute minutes of the EB meetings, including posting them on the chapter wiki
      • Using agenda as guide, indicate attendees, summarize discussion and reports (linking where possible),
      • Upload any documents to appropriate area of Folder structure in the wiki; link DRAFT/final versions of Minutes to the “summary” page for ease of member access
    • Assist the President and other officers in carrying out their duties
    • Give continuity and coordination to the chapter’s efforts
      • Serve as named officer on the ACRL/NY Checking account
    • Undertake other duties customarily associated with the post
  3. Archiving and Transition
    • Work with the Immediate Past President to document the work of the Recording Secretary, archive documents properly, and provide support for the incoming Recording Secretary

 
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VI. Elections Secretary

  1. Term:
    • Appointed by the President and serves for one year with the option for continuous reappointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Executive Board.
  2. Role and Responsibilities
    • Keep track of terms of elected positions and who currently holds them
    • Knowledge of the annual election process as outlined in the bylaws (to be established by the Elections secretary with help from the Nomination committee)
    • Keep track of the annual election timeline and ensure the Nomination Committee is aware of that timeline
    • Member of the Nominations Committee
    • Convene meetings of the Nominations Committee as needed
  3. Nominations Committee
    • Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • Annual Review and Report
  4. Archiving and Transition
    • Meets with the incoming Elections Secretary to review the role and responsibilities and answer any questions.
    • Shares all necessary documents with the incoming Elections Secretary
    • Outgoing E.S. serves in a support role to the incoming/current E.S. to answer any questions that may arise in carrying out their responsibilities.

 
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VII. Membership Secretary

  1. Appointed by the President and serves for one year with the option for continuous reappointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Executive Board.
  2. Role and Responsibilities
    • Responsible for the registration and confirmation of all new and renewing members of the Chapter
    • Attends and participates in monthly EB meetings
    • Reports on membership information and initiatives to the EB.
    • Provides verification of membership to current and past members
    • Verifies dues payments and provides refunds when appropriate in consultation with the Treasurer
    • Posts chapter information and events to the membership
    • Posts news/events from non-ACRL/NY organizations to the membership
    • Maintains membership and other pertinent software.
    • Maintains the social media accounts
  3. Membership Recruitment
    • Conducts the annual membership drive early in the calendar year and its related promotion and publicity.
    • Provides Discussion Group Leaders, etc.with a membership roster to verify membership for events and help to recruit new members.
  4. Annual Review and Report
    • Yearly report of overall membership numbers and trends of fluctuation.
  5. Archiving and Transition
    • Wufoo contains exportable non-symposium membership report 2010 to date
    • Wufoo contains exportable symposium membership reports 2011 – 2020
    • Spreadsheets of membership available 2013 to date
    • If possible, meet with the incoming Membership Secretary as you transition out of the position.
    • Transfers passwords and secondary authorization information

 
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VIII. Professional Development Committee (PDC)

  1. Co-Chair Term:
    • PDC chair is appointed by the president with the consent of the executive board. There is currently no “term” but it is desirable that Chair be able to serve for at least 2 years for continuity.
    • Professional Development Committee shall consist of chair/s of the committee and up to six members, appointed by the Committee chair. There is no term for additional committee members, but it is desirable that committee members be able to serve for a complete calendar year.
  2. Co-Chair Responsibilities
    • The Professional Development Committee Chair or Co-Chairs shall coordinate the efforts of the Professional Development Committee in developing proposals for a range of programs and events that would be of interest to all constituencies of the ACRL/NY membership;
    • shall assist in promoting and implementing the Chapter’s goals;
    • shall assist the President and other officers in carrying out their duties;
    • shall undertake those other duties customarily associated with the post of Committee Chair..
  3. Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • Generate ideas for potential Professional Development programs as garnered from Committee members, previous program attendees and via survey of ACRLNY members.
    • Review ACRL National Webinars for potential co-sponsorship (as possible)
    • Create proposals for events, keeping historical Geographic Sections in mind. As local conditions permit, might plan for both in-person and virtual/hybrid events.
    • request approval from the Executive Board prior to announcing or holding any program or event under the sponsorship of ACRL/NY.
    • Move forward with approved plan events
      • Set up Registration using Wild Apricot
      • Marketing — send announcements with registration link to Membership coordinator, Web coordinator, ACRL/NY board, List-servs
      • Follow-up with registrants as needed, to ensure membership status
      • Communicate with presenters regarding
        •  content
        • logistics
        • permission to record (if appropriate),
        • permission to disseminate materials (if appropriate).
      • Provide a list of registrants to the Presidents’ Council if using the space that ACRL/NY has reserved.
      • Gathers feedback from attendees post-event.
      • Follow-up with presenter and attendees (if appropriate)
      • Report on its programs and activities either in writing to the Chapter President, or by in-person presentation at the Executive Board meetings within one month following the meetings program(s) or event(s)

 
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IX. Symposium Planning Committee (SPC)

  1. Chair or Co-Chair Term:
    • Co-chairs serve for the entire year of January-December during the planning and facilitation of the SPC.
    • SPC assigned MAL serves for one year
  2. Chair or Co-Chair Responsibilities
    • Create and disseminate monthly meeting agendas to the SPC members.
    • Conduct monthly SPC meetings to continue coordination of the Annual Symposium.
    • Coordinate the creation and distribution of SPC meeting minutes, which could mean designating this responsibility to an SPC member.
    • Manage, and keep up to date, SPC wiki pages/spaces
    • Delegate/distribute planning responsibilities and tasks to SPC members
      • Create subcommittees as needed to carry out specific task such as facilitating sponsorships, facilitating scholarships, etc.
      • Meet with SPC MAL to determine scope of nature of involvement
    • Articulate/manage expectations of SPC members and MAL in relation to the symposium planning process
    • Represent SPC at EB monthly meetings
      • Report the SPC activities to EB
      • Consult EB to coordinate planning, funding, and expenses.
    • Works with ACRL/NY Treasurer on symposium needs to cover expenses, reimbursements, and payments (registration and membership renewals); monitor the symposium budget closely with treasurer; ensure every expense is documented with receipts and paid in a timely manner.
    • Disseminates the post-symposium evaluation data and gives a report at the next EB meeting (normally January); ensure dates of when evaluation is due is published up front.
  3. Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • Create/schedule meetings; all agendas from previous year should be passed to the new SPC chair/co-chairs.
    • Along with SPC input and participation, determine the annual theme of the symposium and facilitate planning; priority given to the original theme posed by SPC chair/ co-chairs.
    • Maintain the responsibility planning task list
    • Facilitates the speaker selection process.
      • Along with SPC input and participation, conduct research on potential speakers and help with the vetting process of potential speakers.
      • Ensure the speakers aid in the mission of the organization to encourage individuality and inclusivity.
    • Coordinates the distribution of symposium announcements to the membership and beyond (advertising, CFPs for presenters and posters, registration) with various listserv, membership secretary, and communications committee.
    • Catering
      • Coordinate with catering for the meal plan for the symposium day; take care for dietary restrictions (vegan, kosher, gluten free, etc.)
    • Registration
      • Update Wufoo form with new messages and header for registration.
      • Registration should open 2 months prior to the symposium date.
    • Sponsors
      • Access and maintain Sponsor List (link to wiki–restricted access).
        • Update new/changed contact and donation information.
        • Consider if sponsors need to be vetted
      • Determine sponsor levels and benefits as aligned with previous years
      • Update Wufoo form with new text, header, and payment link.
      • Send out sponsor letters May/June; follow up August/September.
      • Prior to Symposium registration, provide Communications Committee with the list of sponsor and sponsor levels to be included on the symposium website.
      • In communication with the Membership Secretary, and according to registrant preference, provide sponsors with registrant data.
      • Send thank you letters to sponsors
    • Insurance
      • Insurance through the venue; make payment on time.
    • Venue
      • Review venue layout of the room, size of tables, tables around the side, fire codes, table cloths.
      • Poster tables (easels), electric, trifold for table, communication with facilities and presenters.
    • Giveaways/Raffle
      • Delegate subcommittee to decide on giveaways or raffle of the day
    • Scholarships
      • Delegate subcommittee to create, disseminate and evaluate scholarships to the event; scholarships fall under 3 categories:
        • Student Scholarship – For students currently enrolled in graduate degree programs in library/information science who are considering a career in academic librarianship.
        • Early Career Librarian Scholarship – For an academic librarian who has been practicing less than 5 years following receipt of a Master’s degree in library/information science.
        • The Dr. Barbara Bonous-Smit Scholarship – For an academic librarian who has been in practice at least 5 years following receipt of a Master’s degree in library/information science.
      • Development of the day of schedule
      • Website development and maintenance
        • Update website on a regular basis with CFP, list of presenters, list of sponsors, and day of schedule.
      • Photography
      • Post-symposium evaluation
        • Evaluations should be created and sent in a timely manner after the event; results should be reported at the first meeting of the new year. Evaluations should elicit feedback from participants, feedback from the presenters, feedback from the organizers.
  4.  Timeline
    • Be aware of the planning timeline and ensure the SPC stays on track; refer to timeline documentation
    • Annual Review and Report
    • Symposium report is expected at the beginning of the new year to evaluate the previous year’s symposium.
  5. Archiving and Transition
    • Maintain the spreadsheet of annual themes by year and a separate list of themes considered but not used
    • Organize and file any pictures/media from the event for archiving
    • Adhere to the file naming conventions as articulated in the handbook

 
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X. Discussion Groups

  1. Co-Chair Term:
    • Discussion Group Co-Chairs are appointed by the President and serve for one year with the option for continuous reappointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Executive Board.
  2. Co-Chair Responsibilities
    • Plans and produces events or initiatives related to the topic for members of ACRL/NY.
    • Attends and participates in monthly EB meetings.
    • Proposes events and initiatives to the EB for pre-approval.
    • Reports on events and initiatives to the EB.
  3. Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • As local conditions permit, schedules both in-person and virtual/hybrid events.
    • Solicits input on future programming from attendees.
    • Communicates with presenters about content, logistics, permission to record (if appropriate), permission to disseminate materials (if appropriate).
    • Develops marketing for these events, handles registration, and follow-up with attendees as needed.
      • Develop marketing materials and registration forms using Wild Apricot.
        • Resource: link to logos.
      • Send marketing materials to Membership Secretary for email and social media accounts distribution.
      • Send marketing materials to Web Advisor for posting.
      • Provide event materials to attendees after the fact, as appropriate.
      • Gathers feedback from attendees post-event.
    • Ensures accessibility best practices are followed at the events, such as ensuring captioning is available in Zoom and that materials provided have be vetted using accessibility checkers
    • Makes an effort to ensure that all attendees are current members.
      • Resource: contact Membership Secretary for link to list of current members.
    • Provides a list of registrants to the Presidents’ Council if using the space that ACRL/NY has reserved.
  4. Annual Review and Reports
    • Reflects on and reviews the DG activities for the year, considers alignment with the ACRL/NY Mission and Vision.
    • Completes an Annual Report based on review of yearly events and submits by the deadline.
  5. Archiving and Transition
    • Gathers key documents and correspondence for the year and archive these as directed by the EB. These may include any of the following (as appropriate):
      • Marketing materials/email boilerplates
      • Marketing distribution lists
      • Attendee lists
      • Presentation/facilitation materials
    • If possible, meets with incoming Co-Chairs as you transition out of the position.
  6. Communication processes to be coordinated with communications committee.

 
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XI. Mentoring Program Coordinators

  1. Term:
    • Appointed by the President and serve for one year with the option for continuous reappointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Executive Board.
  2.  Responsibilities
    • Recruits mentors and mentees for the program, communicates with applicants of what’s expected, emails monthly discussion prompts and other ACRL/NY member information, develops events/discussions/meetings (2-3 per year) in coordination with the NLDG, the PDC, and other groups.
  3. Timeline:
    • Mid to late summer
      • Recruit program participants (via email lists, membership, word-of-mouth)
    • September – October
      • If there are more mentees than mentors – try to recruit additional mentors, and/or ask existing mentors to take on another mentee
      • If there are more mentors than mentees, do another round of recruitment (just for mentees)
      • Email participants with “program rules,” what’s expected, and how the program is run
      • Meet with other coordinators to “pair-up” the participants, to the best of our ability, based on mentee needs/wants
      • Email each pair with introductions and first discussion prompt
    • Monthly
      • Send discussion prompts and other information about ACRL/NY events
    • May or June
      • Send final discussion prompt and evaluation survey (in Wufoo)
  4. Annual Review and Report
    • An end-of-program evaluation survey is sent out in May or June and discussed at the next board meeting. This evaluation is used for the next mentoring term.
  6. Archiving and Transition
    • All communication is done through the ACRL/NY Mentoring Program gmail (acrlnymentoring@gmail.com), and all documents are stored in Google Drive, and the surveys and participant information are stored in Wufoo.

 
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XII. Research/Writing Support Group Coordinators

  1. Term:
  2. Roles and Responsibilities
    • Primary organizer of programming events, offering writing support and professional development to members.
    • Request approval from the Executive Board prior to holding any event under the sponsorship of ACRL/NY.
    • Attends and participates in monthly EB meetings.
    • Marketing — send announcements of all writing support events.
    • Check membership status prior to events.
    • Report on programs and activities to the Chapter President, or an in-person presentation at the Executive Board meetings within one month following the meetings program(s) or event(s).
  3. Timeline
  4. Annual Review and Report
  5. Archiving and Transition

 
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XIII. Web Team

  1. Web Services Advisor Term:
    • Appointed by the President and serve for one year with the option for continuous reappointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Executive Board.
  2. Role and Responsibilities of Web Services Advisor
    • ACRL/NY’s website is available using the content management system WordPress and the Pair Networks Website Hosting service.
    • The Web Team is led by the Web Services Advisor. Members of the Web Team are also appointed in the same way. There is no select number of Team Members, but it is typically three to four in addition to the Web Services Advisor.
    • The Web Services Advisor is responsible for maintaining the security of the website.
    • The Web Services Advisor will also make sure that all plugins utilized in WordPress are up-to-date.
    • The Web Services Advisor maintains the user profiles of each of the team members and sets a calendar at the beginning of each as to which team member will create the website posts in any given month.
    • The Web Services Advisor will create any posts when asked by the Executive Board and update the website to reflect changes in content, e.g. new officers.
    • The Web Services Advisor assures that posts related to all ACRLNY events are correctly categorized.
    • The Web Services Advisor is also responsible for assuring that our domain does not expire and coordinates related payment with the Treasurer.
    • The Web Services Advisor participates as a member of the Communications Committee, taking on a leadership role in the Website subcommittee.
  3. Activities/Procedures/Resources
    • Each Web Team Member, when assigned to do the monthly posts, will log into the ACRL/NY Google account and see if email posts have been received. This should typically be done at least three times a week. They will then log into WordPress and post the job or news announcement in the appropriate post category. They also need to make sure that posts practice accessibility best practices.
  4. Timeline
  5. Annual Review and Reports
  6. Archiving and Transition
    • The ACRL/NY website should be archived by the Web Services Advisor using the archive option in WordPress. Files can be saved in the cloud or where designated by the Web Services Advisor.