CLIR Guidelines & Operating Procedures

These guidelines are intended to systematize appointments to the Committee on Libraries & Information Resources and to CLIR subcommittees. The guidelines also cover certain other operating procedures. For further details, also consult the CLIR Executive Calendar. Established in 2007-2008, these guidelines were reaffirmed and updated by the CLIR Executive Committee at the 2012 annual conference.

Executive Council

Membership. Under the new structure adopted in 2010 by The CLIR Executive Council, committee size is limited to 8 consists of no more than eight members: (1) CLIR Chair; (2) CLIR Member-at-large, (3,4,5) Chairs of the Subcommittees on Collection Development, Copyright Issues, and Education & Access; (6) Chair of the Subcommittee on SEEMP; (6) Member-at-large, (7) Webmaster; and (8) Faculty Liaison.

Appointment terms. Appointment terms for all members, except the Chair of the SEEMP subcommittee, run for three years, from January 1 to December 31 of the year following the ASEEES Annual Convention during which their appointment was approved. SEEMP is a hybrid CLIR subcommittee administered by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL). According to CRL practice, appointment terms for SEEMP are set by CRL, and run for two years; elected members begin and end their term of office immediately following the SEEMP annual business meeting at the ASEEES Annual Convention.

Synchronization of appointments. The three-year term of the CLIR chair corresponds to the three-year terms of the subcommittee chairs and the faculty liaison, running from January 1 through December 31. This structure provides stable leadership and a clear flow of communication for a three-year period. Appointments of individual subcommittee chairs may be extended for an additional three years with the agreement of the outgoing and the incoming CLIR Chairs. The appointment of the current CLIR Chair cannot be renewed.

Election of the CLIR Chair and Member-at-large. The CLIR Executive Council shall seek nominations for appointment to the positions of CLIR Chair and Member-at-large. Self-nominations are welcome. Candidates must be active members of the Committee on Libraries and Information Resources (CLIR), who regularly attend the ASEEES Annual Convention, and must have previously served as a full member of a CLIR Subcommittee.

The CLIR Executive Council will designate one slate of candidates for the position of CLIR Chair and a separate slate of candidates for the position of Member-at-large. All members of the CLIR Executive Council and CLIR Subcommittees are eligible to vote on both slates of candidates. The candidate for CLIR Chair who receives the highest number of votes will be elected as the new CLIR Chair. The candidate for CLIR Member-at-large who receives the highest number of votes will be elected as the new CLIR Member-at-large.

The slate of candidates should normally be filled by August 1, and the election should be completed by mid-September. The election period should last approximately 3 weeks. The CLIR Chair is responsible for conducting the election in consultation with the Member-at-large. The CLIR Chair will report the results of the election to the CLIR Executive Council and subsequently to the ASEEES CLIR community via Slavlibs. The incoming CLIR Chair, in consultation with the incoming Member-at-large, recruits a new faculty liaison, whose appointment should be approved by the CLIR Executive Council by the end of September.

ASEEES Council Approval of CLIR Appointments. Appointments to the CLIR Executive Council must be approved by the ASEEES Council at the Association's Annual Convention. The CLIR Chair provides A revised a roster with suggested new CLIR appointments to the ASEEES President (with a copy to the Executive Director) by mid-September. The President reviews the appointments, and the Executive Director submits this information to the ASEEES Council by mid-October for consideration. Once appointments have been approved by the ASEEES Council (at the Annual Convention), the CLIR Chair writes letters of appointment to the individuals who will serve on the incoming CLIR Executive Council and as chairs of CLIR Subcommittees (but not the chair of SEEMP).

CLIR Chair Representative Duties. The CLIR chair serves as an ex officio member of the ASEEES Council of Directors and attends the Council meeting in the morning on the first day of the ASEEES Annual Convention.The CLIR chair serves as an ex-officio member of the SEEMP Executive Committee.

CLIR Meetings at the ASEEES Annual Convention. CLIR Executive Council members should attend and participate in the CLIR Executive Meeting and the CLIR Membership Meeting at the ASEEES Convention, in addition to leading their respective subcommittee meetings. The CLIR chair is responsible for preparing the agendas for and leading the CLIR Executive Meeting and the CLIR Membership Meeting at the annual convention.

CLIR subcommittee chairs and the chair of SEEMP should attend and participate in the CLIR Executive Meeting and the CLIR Membership Meeting at the ASEEES Convention. Subcommittee chairs also prepare agendas and lead their respective subcommittee meetings and prepare agendas for those meetings. Agendas should be submitted to the CLIR chair prior to the annual convention and posted on the each subcommittee’s web page on the CLIR website prior to the ASEEES Annual Convention..

Vendor representatives at CLIR meetings. The CLIR Membership Meeting is open to all, as it serves in large part as a forum for reporting the work of CLIR and its subcommittees. While the chair is given the discretion to ask vendor representatives to step out should s/he feel it is warranted (e.g. to discuss sensitive topics), the chair is strongly encouraged to use alternate fora for such discussions (e.g. Slavlibs) so that the meeting can remain open.

CLIR Executive Council meetings are intended primarily for CLIR Executive Council members and are closed to vendor representatives.

CLIR subcommittee meetings are open to all but are intended primarily for subcommittee members. Each subcommittee chair is given the discretion to ask vendor representatives to step out should s/he feel it is warranted (e.g. to discuss a sensitive topics). Vendor representatives may attend with agreement of the subcommittee chair.

Distinguished Service Award. The CLIR Executive Council reviews nominations according to the established Guidelines, Criteria, and Timeline of the Award.

Subcommittees

Subcommittee appointments do not need to be approved by the ASEEES Council, but are reviewed by the CLIR Executive Council. Draft rosters should be established by subcommittee chairs in late October in advance of the annual convention and provided to the CLIR Chair. The rosters will be discussed and approved by the CLIR committee over email prior to the ASEEES Convention and subcommittee chairs will be notified.

Except as indicated, the following subcommittee guidelines do not apply to SEEMP. SEEMP is treated as a subcommittee for the purpose of holding the annual SEEMP meeting at the ASEEES convention, but SEEMP members are elected, and the group runs its own elections as required through CRL.

Subcommittee membership. To avoid scheduling problems at the ASEEES convention and to encourage broad participation among all members, service opportunities on the CLIR Executive Council and CLIR Subcommittees are limited. Subcommittee size is limited to six members.

Except under extraordinary circumstances, no person should hold more than one CLIR appointment simultaneously (including SEEMP). Serving in more than one capacity requires approval of the CLIR Executive Committee. Exceptions to this guideline include: 1) Subcommittee Chairs, who simultaneously serve on their respective subcommittees and on the CLIR Executive Council; and 2) CLIR Member-at-large, who may also serve on one of the four subcommittees, in addition to serving on the CLIR Executive Council.

In the Subcommittee on Collection Development, the ex officio representative from ABSEES is not counted among the six members of the Subcommittee but constitutes a seventh member.

If a faculty liaison is interested in serving on a subcommittee, the faculty liaison may constitute the seventh member of the subcommittee or may serve informally within the capacity of faculty liaison to the CLIR Executive Council.

Appointment terms. Appointment terms for subcommittee members, except the Subcommittee on SEEMP, run for three years, from January 1 of the year following the annual convention, to December 31. Appointment terms for SEEMP, a hybrid CLIR subcommittee based at CRL, are set by CRL, and run for two years, from November 1 in the same month as the annual convention, to October 31.

Appointments terms are normally limited to three years. However, extension is possible in the following circumstances with the agreement of the subcommittee chair, subject to review by the CLIR Executive Council:

• if the subcommittee will be left without 6 members;

• if the member is heavily engaged in a project sponsored by the subcommittee;

  • if an outgoing member is asked to take over as chair.

Expressions of interest. Prospective members may volunteer, or may be invited by committee members, including the chair. Annually, the CLIR chair sends out a call for expressions of interest for CLIR subcommittees in September. Volunteers may contact the CLIR chair or the subcommittee chair. In the event that there is no opening on a subcommittee in a given year, an expression of interest may roll over to be considered the following year.

Appointment Process for Subcommittee Chairs and Members. Volunteers may contact a current Subcommittee Chair at any time to express an interest in serving on that Subcommittee. Subcommittee Chairs are listed on the CLIR website.

Subcommittee meetings at the ASEEES Annual Convention are open meetings. It is recommended that volunteers who are interested in serving on a CLIR Subcommittee attend the meeting of the Subcommittee at the ASEEES Annual Convention.

Subcommittee Chairs should seek recommendations to fill upcoming vacancies on their respective subcommittees as soon as possible each year. By May 1, the CLIR Chair and/or Subcommittee chairs shall send out an open call to Slavlibs for volunteers to serve on CLIR subcommittees.

Subcommittee Chairs shall present to members of their respective Subcommittees a list of volunteers for discussion; and the Subcommittee will recommend individuals to fill vacant positions. The CLIR Executive Council will review new subcommittee appointments to ensure that members do not serve on more than one subcommittee.

During the year in which a Subcommittee Chair’s term of service is set to expire, members of the Subcommittee should select a new Chair. For the sake of continuity, it is recommended, but not required, that the new Subcommittee Chair be chosen from among the current members of the Subcommittee.

Subcommittee members should not serve two consecutive terms in the same capacity (either as member or chair) except under special circumstances.

By September 1, Subcommittee Chairs submit their respective rosters for the upcoming year to the CLIR Chair for consideration by the CLIR Executive Concil . By October 1, the CLIR Executive Council approves new Subcommittee rosters, and the CLIR Chair submits the CLIR Roster to the ASEEES President and the Executive Director.

Subcommittee Reports. Each subcommittee chair, except the Chair of SEEMP, submits an annual report of activities to the Chair of the CLIR Executive Council by October 15th for incorporation into the CLIR report for the ASEEES Council. Subcommittee chairs also present their reports verbally during the CLIR Membership Meeting at the ASEEES Annual Convention. The format of the reports follows a standard template that includes: purpose, charge(s), list of current members and terms of service, record of meetings, and description of activities.

Drafted by Miranda Remnek; revised by Michael Brewer (12/02/2010); revised by Janice Pilch (12/2/2013); revised by Jon Giullian (7/18/2019).