The name of this organization shall be the Medical Library Education Section (MLES), a Section of the Medical Library Association, Inc.

The purpose of this Section shall be to promote a dialogue on education for health sciences librarianship among practitioners, educators, and researchers.

A. Voting members of this Section shall consist of all members, except that only Voting Members of the Medical Library Association shall be qualified to move or to vote on recommendations to the Section Council regarding MLA policies or actions, to vote on the selection of a candidate for the MLA Nominating Committee, or to vote on the selection of the Section's Representative and Representative-Elect to the Section Council.

B. Officers of this Section shall be Voting Members of the Medical Library Association.

A. Dues shall be determined by a majority vote of those present and eligible to vote at the Annual Meeting of the Section. Dues shall be assessed on an annual basis for the period of the calendar year. Section dues shall not exceed MLA membership dues for Regular Members.

B. Section dues shall be payable on joining the Section and thereafter at the same time as are Medical Library Association dues.

C. If dues are unpaid by three months after the renewal date, the dues shall be considered in arrears and without further notice the member shall be suspended from all rights and privileges.

A. Elective officers of the Section shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect, an Immediate Past Chair, a Secretary-Treasurer, a Representative to the Section Council, and a Representative-Elect to the Section Council.

B. The term of office of the Chair shall be one year as Chair-Elect and one year as Chair, and one year as Immediate Past Chair. No one may serve successive terms as Chair-Elect/Chair.

C. The term of office of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be two years. An individual may not serve more than two successive terms as Secretary-Treasurer.

D. The term of office of the Representative to the Section Council shall be three years, a one-year term as Representative-Elect, and a two-year term as Representative, except that if the Representative's term be made shorter by action of the Council or the Bylaws of the Medical Library Association, the term will coincide with that action.

E. Elected officers shall take office at the close of the MLA Annual Meeting following their election and serve, unless they resign, die, become incapacitated, or are removed, until the close of the MLA Annual Meeting at the end of their terms of office or until their successors are elected and assume their duties.

A. The duties of the Chair shall be to preside over all meetings and to represent the Section at all times and on all occasions not in conflict with any other officer's defined duties and responsibilities, to preside as chair of the MLES Executive Board, to appoint all other committee members not otherwise prescribed by the bylaws from among eligible members of the section, to submit an Annual Report to MLA Headquarters by the date requested, and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section. A Parliamentarian may be appointed by the Chair to serve a term concurrent with that of the Chair. This person may be reappointed to serve additional terms.

B. The duties of the Chair-Elect shall be to serve as Chair whenever the Chair is not able to do so, to plan the program for the annual MLES annual meeting, and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section.

C. The duties of the Immediate Past-Chair shall be to serve as Chair of the Bylaws and Nominating Committees and as a member of the Executive Board.

D. The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be to be responsible for incoming and outgoing correspondence, to prepare minutes of all meetings, to receive and account for all monies due to the Section, to serve as Chair in the event that neither the Chair nor the Chair-Elect is able to do so, and to perform all other duties prescribed by these Bylaws and the parliamentary authority adopted by the Section.

E. The duties of the Representative to the Section Council shall be to represent the Section on the MLA Section Council by attending the meetings of the Council, to transmit to the Council recommendations that have been approved by the Section, and to communicate Council business to the officers and membership of the Section.

F. The duties of the Representative-Elect to the Section Council shall be to attend the meetings of the Section Council, to serve as Representative whenever the Representative is unable to do so, and to assume the office of Representative and serve out the unexpired term should the Representative become unable to complete the term of office.

A. The Nominating Committee shall prepare annually a slate of (at least one, but more are preferred) nominee(s) for Chair-Elect and for each elective officer whose term expires.

B. Ballots shall be distributed by, and returned to, the Secretary in time for the results to be declared on or before February 15. Candidates shall be declared elected upon receiving a majority of the votes cast. Where there are more than two candidates, a plurality shall elect.

C. If voting is to be conducted electronically, nominees will be required to sign an agreement that states that they will agree to the results of the electronic vote. This form must be faxed or mailed to the Secretary before the ballot is distributed to members.

A. A vacancy arising in the office of Chair shall be filled by the Chair-Elect, who shall cease to be Chair-Elect, shall serve out the unexpired term of the Chair, and shall continue as Chair for the full succeeding term to which he or she was elected.

B. A vacancy arising in the office of Representative to the Section Council shall be filled by the Representative-Elect, who shall cease to be Representative-Elect, and shall serve out the unexpired term of the Representative.

A. The name of one Voting Member of the Medical Library Association, chosen by the Executive Board, shall be submitted each year to the Section Council as a potential candidate for membership on the MLA Nominating Committee; this submission shall be made to the Council before its final assembly at the MLA Annual Meeting. The potential candidate shall prepare a biographical statement and a signed statement of willingness-to-serve if elected as a member of the MLA Nominating Committee. This statement shall accompany the name submitted.

B. No person shall consent to being a potential candidate or a candidate for membership on the MLA Nominating Committee who is already such a potential candidate or candidate from some other unit of the Medical Library Association; no candidate for membership on the MLA Nominating Committee shall also be a candidate for an elective office of the Medical Library Association, or vice versa.

C. No one shall serve on the MLA Nominating Committee as a voting member for more than one term during a period of five years.

At least one meeting shall be held in each fiscal year. Additional meetings may be held. At least one meeting of the Section should be called the "Annual Meeting." All meetings shall be held at a time and place convenient for members. Notice of all meetings shall be disseminated to the membership at least thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting date. The Section's Business Meeting shall be held during the same period at the same location as the Association's Annual Meeting. No Section meetings shall be held at the same time that General Sessions or Business Sessions of the Association's Annual Meeting are conducted.

The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of this Section between its Business Meetings, fix the time and place of meetings, make recommendations to the membership, and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the organization.

A. The Executive Board shall establish standing committees to consider matters of the Section that require continuity of attention by the members. The Executive Board shall recommend the name and size of each committee.

B. The Chair, in consultation with the Executive Board, shall designate and announce committee members and chairs in advance of the beginning of his or her term of office and when these appointments shall take effect. Unless otherwise approved by the Executive Board, members of standing committees shall be appointed for terms of two years, and may be reappointed for a second term. The Chair shall have the discretion to terminate appointments. Neither the Chair nor the Chair-Elect shall serve on or appoint members to the Nominating Committee.

The Section Chair may appoint such other special committees as are necessary with the advice and consent of the Executive Board.

Each committee shall submit an annual report of its activities to the Section Chair prior to the compilation of the Annual Section Report for submission to MLA Headquarters.

In the event of dissolution of this Section, all liabilities and obligations shall be paid or adequate provision made for payment. Remaining assets shall revert to the MLA General Fund.

The Rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Section in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Section may adopt.

These bylaws may be amended at any regular business meeting of the Section by a two-thirds vote of those attending, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to the membership at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which the vote shall be taken.

Approved by the MLA Bylaws Committee, February 16, 1995
Approved, as amended, at the MLES business meeting, May 9, 1995
Approved, as amended, by the MLA Bylaws Committee, June 26, 1995
Approved, as amended, at the MLES business meeting, May 21, 2002

Bylaws (Updated 2002)