RBMS Manual / Organization / Standing Committees

  1. General Information
  2. Bibliographic Standards
  3. Budget and Development
  4. Conference Development
  5. Diversity Committee
  6. Exhibition Awards
  7. Membership and Professional Development
  8. Publications
  9. Security
  10. Seminars

1. General Information

Appointments to Standing Committees

The chair and members of each standing committee are appointed by the chair or vice chair/chair-elect for terms of two years. Interns are appointed for terms of one year and may then be appointed as regular committee members. (The chair and vice chair/chair-elect make appointments to committees serving during their respective years as chair.) Members may be appointed to a second, but not a third, consecutive term. An appointive year begins with the adjournment of the Annual Conference and ends the adjournment of the succeeding Annual Conference. Appointees must be members of ACRL and RBMS at the time of appointment. It is an ALA rule that no one can serve simultaneously on more than three committees unless committee membership is ex officio.

For more information see chapter 4.6 of the ACRL Policy manual, Section committee appointments.

The Number of Members of a Committee

There is no limit to the number of members of most committees. The number is determined by what is necessary to accomplish the work of the committee. The number of standing committee members is specified at the time the committee is authorized (RBMS By-laws, Article VII, Section; 1).

Responsibilities of Committee Chairs and Liaisons

  1. Sends agenda and time and place of Midwinter and Annual Conference committee meetings to committee members about a month in advance of the meetings. (The RBMS Executive Committee chair schedules meetings using the online committee appointment system).
  2. Keeps the RBMS Executive Committee informed of committee/liaison activities via the committee's Executive Committee liaison and/or directly at Executive Committee meetings.
  3. Reports on committee/liaison activities at the RBMS Information Exchange meetings.
  4. Sends copies of the committee minutes to the RBMS Secretary within one month of the committee's meetings.
  5. Committee chairs and members should not make expenditures with the expectation of reimbursement, unless the expenditure is approved in advance by the RBMS Executive Committee chair.

For further information, please refer to Information for Chairs of Committees, Task Forces, and Discussion Groups posted elsewhere on this Web site.

Obligations of Committee Members

Members of committees are expected to accept work and complete it. Committee members are expected to attend all meetings of the committee held at the ALA Midwinter meetings and Annual Conferences during their term of appointment.

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2. Bibliographic Standards Committee

Charge: To serve as the ALA representative of rare book, manuscript, and other special collections librarians and curators in all matters involving standards for providing intellectual access to and bibliographic description of those collections; to provide a centralized forum for discussion of issues relating to special collections technical processing, such as description, cataloging, and provision of intellectual access; to propose and/or develop necessary tools to support these activities; to develop ALA positions on, and provide a continuing review of, bibliographic standards for special collections; to serve as the formal liaison between the special collections community and appropriate units within ALA as well as organizations outside ALA, such as bibliographical networks, for the establishment of bibliographic standards whereby the unique requirements of special collections may be addressed; to disseminate information pertinent to librarians and others responsible for providing intellectual access to special collections. [Source: Executive Committee minutes, June 1989]

[As approved at 2001 Midwinter Exec.:] Thesaurus Editor: The RBMS/Bibliographic Standards Committee Thesaurus Editor will chair the thesaurus editorial team, a subcommittee of the Bibliographic Standards Committee charged with maintaining the RBMS thesauri and relator terms list. The editor, appointed by the vice chair/chair elect in consultation with the chair of the Bibliographic Standards Committee, will be a current or former member of the Bibliographic Standards Committee, having served at least one year on the Committee, preferably as a member of the thesaurus editorial team. The appointment will be a new two-year term appointment apart from his or her original appointment to the Bibliographic Standards Committee, and may be renewed once for an additional two years.

Comment: In order to work effectively, it is important that this committee maintain active liaison with the bibliographic utilities (OCLC and RLG), with comparable committees in other professional societies such as the Society of American Archivists and the Rare Books Group of the (British) Library Association, with other persons and groups who develop thesauri and other cataloging standards for special materials, and with various offices at the Library of Congress.

Coordination: With ACRL Headquarters about the publication of thesauri and other documents. With the editors of other special materials thesauri to ensure compatibility of terminology. With the Network Development Office of the Library of Congress about the assignment of USMARC codes to new thesauri and about other USMARC format matters. With the Cataloging Policy and Support Office of the Library of Congress about Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books.

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3. Budget and Development Committee

Charge: Advise the RBMS Executive Committee and RBMS committees on the preparation and monitoring of section, preconference, and other budgets. Identify strategies for obtaining funding for approved section activities from appropriate ACRL and ALA units. Seek and obtain external funding to support approved RBMS activities if ACRL and ALA funding is not available.

On 7 February 1994, the Executive Committee adopted the following resolution: "An RBMS committee or other unit which is considering seeking external funds should inform the RBMS Executive Committee and consult with the Budget and Development Committee for advice." All donations to RBMS also must be formally reported to and acknowledged by ACRL.

The Committee began compiling a database of solicitations (both successful and unsuccessful) in 1994 for better tracking of all such requests for funds.

Comment: Committee established by the RBMS Executive Committee 25 January, 1993. Membership should include Vice Chair/Chair Elect, Chair, and Past Chair as ex-officio members.

Coordination: With the RBMS Executive Committee, the ACRL Budget and Finance Committee, and the ACRL Colleagues Committee.

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4. Conference Development Committee

Charge: To adopt a long-range view of conference planning activities, and applying that view,

  1. Identify potential preconference sites and work with RBMS members at those sites to develop and submit site proposals to the Executive Committee in a timely manner,
  2. Serve as an agent of continuity, by
  3. Initiate program proposals for the ACRL National Conference, and initiate or respond to program proposals shared with other sections or organizations.

The committee includes as ex officio:

Comment: The committee was established by the RBMS Executive Committee as the Program Planning Committee on 1 July 1991. The committee charge was approved by the RBMS Executive Committee on 29 June 1992, and amended 17 June, 2002. The committee name was changed from Program Planning Committee to Conference Development Committee by the RBMS Executive Committee on 25 January 1993. On 27 June 1994, the Executive Committee assumed formal responsibility for preconference site selection; selections are to be made based on recommendations of the Conference Development Committee.

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5. Diversity Committee

Charge: To encourage members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to join and participate in RBMS; to recruit members of these groups into the Special Collections profession; to partner with other groups in the library field that focus on diversity or diverse collections; to generate and facilitate seminars, workshops, and programs about collecting materials related to racial and ethnic groups and providing outreach to patrons from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Comment: The Committee was established by the RBMS Executive Committee in 2005, based on the recommendations of the Diversity Action Plan Implementation Task Force.

Coordination: The Diversity Committee will work in close collaboration with other RBMS committees and discussion groups to fulfill this charge.  A member of this committee serves on the Scholarship Subcommittee of the Membership and Professional Development Committee.

6. Exhibition Awards Committee

Charge: To promote exhibitions of library and archival materials that contribute to or disseminate knowledge on any topic. To recognize outstanding printed exhibition catalogs and guides, and electronic exhibitions, produced by United States and Canadian institutions. Although printed exhibition catalogs and guides must be associated with physical exhibitions, electronic exhibitions need not be. Submissions are chosen for awards based on their accuracy and consistency of presentation, clarity, originality, quality of design, and usefulness and relevance to the intended audience. The chair of the committee is to monitor the contractual conditions of the award agreement (See Agreement Endowing the Leab Awards).

Comment: The name of this committee was changed from Exhibition Catalogue Awards Committee in 1999, and the charge was altered to reflect inclusion of online exhibitions at that time. Submissions of printed exhibition catalogues and online exhibitions are received by the committee until September 15 and are previewed by committee members September through December. Selection meetings to determine the winners of first place and honorable mention in three divisions are held during the ALA Midwinter Meetings; these selection meetings of the committee are closed. An open meeting for the purpose of conducting general business is held during the ALA Annual Conference. Care is taken to assure that the membership of the committee reflects geographical diversity and a variety of institutions.

Deadlines:

  1. Preliminary judging completed by December.
  2. Final judging and selection completed by the conclusion of Midwinter Meetings.
  3. Committee chair notifies ACRL Headquarters of winners by February (sending descriptive text and photographs).
  4. Notification letters to winners of first place and honorable mention in March.
  5. Thank-you letter to all other entrants by April.
  6. Plans for exhibiting winning catalogues at the RBMS Preconference and for the annual awards ceremony during the ALA Annual Conference must dovetail with the deadlines of the RBMS Preconference Program Planning Committee and of the chair of the Annual Conference Program Planning Committee.

Coordination: With RBMS chair; RBMS vice chair/chair-elect; ACRL coordinator of awards programs, RBMS Executive Committee members.

Practices and procedures: Maintain a geographical and institutional balance among members of the committee; keep Mr. and Mrs. Leab, who endowed the RBMS exhibition awards program, informed of all general business; display the winning entries at the RBMS Preconference and at the awards ceremony during the RBMS program meeting at ALA Annual Conference; encourage committee members actively to solicit entries.

Experience recommends: Keep complete and accurate records; set up on a computer as many records and form letters as possible; solicit the assistance of one detail-oriented committee member who shows initiative and can follow through on routine matters without direct supervision.

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7. Membership and Professional Development Committee

Charge: To identify and analyze RBMS membership, education, and professional development issues, including recruitment of new members, increasing participation of members in section activities, retention of members, and coordinating and promoting educational and professional development opportunities for members at all levels. Among the specific, ongoing programs of the committee are maintaining the Educational Opportunities Directory, coordinating the Buddy Program for new members, and coordinating the preconference orientation session for new members. The Committee has direct relationships with the ACRL Professional Development and Membership committees.

Comment: On the recommendation of the Task Force on Section Restructuring, this committee was established by the RBMS Executive Committee on 10 July 2000, to replace two former RBMS committees, Membership, and Education and Professional Development.

Coordination: The chair of this committee serves as liason to the ACRL Membership and Professional Development Committees.

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8. Publications Committee

Charge: To investigate the avenues of print and electronic publishing open to the section; to implement and clarify the procedures required by ACRL and ALA for publishing within and outside their auspices; to assist the section and its committees with publishing projects that have been approved by the RBMS Executive Committee. In particular, to oversee the communication activities of the RBMS Newsletter, the RBMS electronic discussion list, and the RBMS Web site, as well as other forms of electronic communication; and to represent the section's viewpoints on publishing to ACRL and ALA.

Comment: The Publications Committee's primary purpose is to coordinate rather than to originate publications. However, it has assumed an active role in support of RBM both by suggesting topics and proposing authors for articles and by securing funding. The committee charge was revised by the RBMS Executive Committee on 8 July 1996.

Coordination: The RBMS section chair, the RBMS Member-At-Large liaison to the Publications Committee, and the following ex-officio Publications Committee members: the editor(s) of the RBMS Newsletter; the RBMS web editors; the RBMS electronic discussion list administrator; and the editor of RBM. The chair of the Publications Committee serves as liaison to the ACRL Publications Committee.

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9. Security Committee

Charge: To serve as a resource for RBMS members and other librarians, archivists, dealers, and collectors concerned with the safekeeping of books, manuscripts, archives, and other special collections materials. Its duties are:

  1. To provide information and education regarding trends in theft and security for the section and the profession
  2. To develop and revise guidelines as appropriate
  3. To disseminate information about incidents of theft and maintain a network of Library Security Officers in academic and research libraries
  4. To serve as a liaison between RBMS and other professional groups with security concerns, including:
    1. Units within ALA (e.g., LAMA);
    2. Professional trade organizations (e.g., ABAA);
    3. Other professional organizations (e.g., SAA);
    4. Law enforcement organizations (e.g., local police, FBI, Interpol)
  5. To undertake other duties and functions regarding security of special collections materials as directed by the RBMS Executive Committee.

Comment: The committee charge was revised by the RBMS Executive Committee on 15 January 2001.

Coordination: RBMS section chair; chairs of other appropriate committees; ACRL Headquarters.

Experience recommends: Knowledge of ACRL is useful as is knowledge of laws and law enforcement agencies dealing with library thefts.

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10. Seminars Committee

Charge: In coordination with Conference Program Planning, Preconference Program Planning, and Conference Development Committees to initiate and coordinate educational programs at section conferences and preconferences.

Comment: Established by the RBMS Executive Committee at the 1993 Midwinter Meeting 25 January 1993; seminar development previously fell within the charge of the Education and Professional Development Committee. All seminar organizers should receive from the committee chair a copy of the Procedures for Organizing and Selecting Preconference Seminars as soon as approval to plan a seminar is received. The Seminars Committee chair must work closely with the Preconference Program Planning Committee chair to make sure that seminar organizers adhere to the deadlines for preconference planning.

Deadlines: Preconference seminars with budget implications must be approved by the section chair and the Preconference Program Planning Committee chair no later than a year before the preconference, when final preconference budget revisions are made. A preliminary schedule of seminars is due at the ALA Annual Conference preceding the preconference. A final schedule of seminars with the names of the seminars and seminar participants is due by March 1 before the preconference when copy is due for the preconference publicity/registration brochure.

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