St. Louis Area Religious Archivist (SLARA) Guidelines/Procedures

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(SLARA Guidelines - Eighth Revision - approved by membership - 10/20/2009)
 

I. NAME 

The name of this organization shall be the St. Louis Area Religious Archivists, hereinafter referred to as SLARA. 


II. OBJECTIVES 

The objectives of coming together shall be for education, information sharing, mutual assistance, and camaraderie around archival concerns and developments. 


III. MEMBERSHIP 

The membership shall be open to any institution or person interested in religious archival activity. 

  1. Voting privileges shall be held by members of dues-paying archival institutions. Each member shall be entitled to one vote regardless of the number of persons represented by the institution.
  2. Membership dues shall be assessed by SLARA for participating Archives and payable at the fall business meeting. The membership year shall be from January to December of the following year. The membership dues shall be subject to approval by a majority vote of membership present.

IV. OFFICERS 

The officers of SLARA shall be a chairperson, vice-chairperson/chairperson-elect herein referred to as vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. 

  1. Terms: All elected officers of SLARA serve for a two-year commitment.
  2. The vice-chairperson assumes the office of chairperson after completion of a single-year term of office as vice-chairperson. He/she then serves a single-year term of office as chairperson. The two offices combined result in a total two-year commitment.
  3. No member may serve more than two full consecutive terms in the same office. No members may hold more than one office at a time.
  4. Vacancies: In case of a vacancy of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall hold that office for the remainder of the unexpired term.
  5. In case of a vacancy of the vice-chairperson, secretary, treasurer, or program co-chairpersons, volunteers to serve the unexpired term are solicited from the membership and one shall be chosen by the membership present at the following meeting.
  6. The officers of SLARA shall constitute the Executive Committee.
  7. Election: The election of officers and program committee co-chairpersons shall be elected by the membership from a slate of volunteers for a specific office. The election shall take place at the fall membership meeting and the elected take office directly following the meeting.
  8. The election of the vice-chairperson takes place every year.
  9. The election of the secretary, treasurer, and one program committee co-chairperson is conducted during the even-numbered years; and, the election of the second program committee chairperson is conducted during the odd-numbered years.
  10. Two tellers are appointed by the chairperson to tabulate votes and report results to the membership.
  11. An election is confirmed when a candidate receives a simple majority of votes for that position.
  12. All ties shall be resolved at this same meeting by a run-off election and the candidate with a simple majority of votes being elected.
  13. Duties The chairperson shall preside at all membership meetings, conduct correspondence, keep the vice-chairperson advised of matters concerning SLARA, and perform duties proper to this position.
  14. The vice-chairperson shall act as an assistant to the chairperson, and in the absence of the chairperson, be the presiding officer at membership meetings. The vice-chairperson shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the chairperson.
  15. The secretary is the recording officer of SLARA. This entails keeping the membership list current and distributing it to the membership. The secretary shall prepare, maintain, and distribute the minutes of membership meetings. The secretary shall mail minutes of the last meeting to the membership within four weeks after the meeting. Most communications will be sent by FAX or E-MAIL. Minutes will be mailed to member archives that do not have direct access to a FAX or the Internet. The secretary will send the agenda, location directions and pertinent information four weeks before the meeting.
  16. The treasurer shall handle SLARA funds, receive new and renewal memberships, perform the bookkeeping, pay bills, and prepare and provide a financial report at the meeting of the membership.
  17. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall meet to set the agenda before the meeting and will meet additionally as needed.
  18. The Host Archivist of the next scheduled membership meeting attends the Executive Committee meetings.
  19. The members of the Program Committee are ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.
  20. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall be composed of two persons elected by the membership. The task is to develop a program in conjunction with the host archivist.
  21. The vice-chairperson acts as a liaison and advisor to the Program Committee.
  22. The term of office for the program committee co-chairpersons is a period of two years with a right of election for one additional term.
  23. Special committee: A special committee shall be created when a need arises. Members of this committee shall serve until their business is completed.

V. MEETINGS 

The business meeting of SLARA shall be held in the fall (October) of each year. 

  1. Meetings: The meetings are hosted by member institutions on a rotating basis in March and October, ordinarily on the third Tuesday of the month, at 1:00 P.M.
  2. Membership is invited to present topics to the Program Committee for a panel discussion, open forum, or invited speaker.
  3. The spring (March) meeting shall provide membership with some topic of a problem-solving nature.
  4. Action Without a Meeting: Action without a meeting is done with the consent of the officers and is reported to the membership at the next meeting. The Communications Link, mail, facsimile (FAX) or e-mail address may also be used for pertinent communications.

VI. OTHER 

  1. SLARA Directory: A SLARA Directory will be maintained providing members with the names, addresses, telephone, FAX numbers and e-mail address of the membership.
  2. It is the responsibility of each member to inform the chairperson of any changes.
  3. The secretary will update the directory for membership annually.
  4. Interim updating is done by the secretary when individual members hear of necessary changes.
  5. Communications Link: Each member institution is part of a Communications Link for the purpose of linking information from one institution to another. Normally the information will be shared via email unless otherwise requested.
  6. Host List A schedule of membership meeting hosts is provided with a listing of future meetings to enable them to plan.
  7. Dues-Finances: Monies accrued from membership dues shall be used as determined by membership for honorariums, workshops, and mailings.

VII. AMENDMENTS 

One month’s notice is given before voting takes place. 

October 20, 2009