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Call for Nominations for Section Standing Committees

Deadline: 7 February 2007

Please note:
This call for nominations with the nominations forms has already been sent by mail to all members concerned.



IFLA's professional programme is divided into Sections. Each Section is governed by a democratically elected Standing Committee consisting of professionals with expertise and an interest in the field of the Section. Serving on a Standing Committee offers an exciting opportunity to make a contribution at the international level. We are now calling for nominations for candidates to serve on the Standing Committees for the period from August 2007 to August 2011. Please take a few minutes to read this letter, and then nominate promising candidates.

Who may nominate?

To nominate a candidate for election to the Standing Committee of a Section:

  • you must be the authorised representative of an Association Member or an Institutional Member. This is the individual who is listed in IFLA's records as the highest official and whose name appears on the attached nomination form.
  • your organisation has to be registered as a member of the Section for which you want to put forward a nomination
  • your organisation must have paid its membership fees in full for 2006 and not be in arrears.

How many candidates may I nominate and for which Standing Committees?

You may nominate ONE candidate for the Standing Committee of EACH Section for which your organisation is registered. For example, if your organisation has registered for three Sections, you may nominate three candidates, one for each Section.

IFLA Sections for which you are registered are listed on the mailed nomination form. Furthermore, you can check the membership directory on IFLANET at http://www.ifla.org/database/directy.htm.

Who may be Nominated?

A candidate does not have to be a member of IFLA (or be employed by or be affiliated to a Member of IFLA) to be nominated. The important thing is what that person can contribute. Candidates should:

  • have appropriate knowledge and experience to contribute to the Section
  • be keen to be involved in IFLA
  • have a working knowledge of at least one of the IFLA languages. Because most business meetings are conducted in English, a command of English is helpful, but it is not an absolute requirement. The working languages of IFLA are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.
  • be able to participate in the work of the Standing Committees at no expense to IFLA. This means that they have to attend meetings. Standing Committees meet before and after each annual IFLA World Library and Information Congress: on the Saturday before the Congress starts and on the Friday after it closes. Standing Committee members will be expected to attend 5 Congresses, beginning in 2007 ( Durban ) to and including 2011 (location to be determined). Congresses take place in August each year. In between these meetings, business is conducted by email and post. Some Standing Committees hold mid-year meetings by agreement of the Committee. Standing Committee members must be able to arrange their travel plans accordingly.

You may nominate yourself, a member of your staff or a person in another organisation or even another country who is known to have the required qualifications and interest in serving.

Who may not be Nominated?

The following may not be nominated for the period 2007-2011:

  • persons who are currently serving on a Standing Committee for the period 2005-2009
  • persons who are currently serving their second term on a Standing Committee for the period 2003-2007.

Individuals completing their second term on a committee who are interested in serving a term on a different Standing Committee should make their desire known to a member eligible to make a nomination.

No one may at the same time be a member of more than one Standing Committee. The only exception is that a person may be a member of the Standing Committee of a regional section (Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean ) in addition to one other Standing Committee.

To see who are currently serving on the Standing Committees of the various Sections, look in the IFLA Directory 2005-2007 or at the Sections' web pages on IFLANET: http://www.ifla.org/act-serv.htm#Sections

How do I Nominate?

Attached to the letter we sent by mail, you will find a nomination form which bears the name of your organisation. If you want to nominate candidates for the Standing Committee of more than one Section, you will need to make one or more photocopies of the nomination form that was sent to you. Do NOT use a nomination form supplied to any other IFLA Member and do not make copies of your nomination form for use by other Members. This leads to much confusion and wastes a lot of time when the IFLA Secretariat checks the nominations to see whether they are valid.

Obtain the consent of your nominee, using the attached Consent Form, together with confirmation that the nominee meets the language and attendance requirements, and a brief statement of the nominee's career and present position.

Complete the nomination form. Make sure that is signed by the authorised signatory of the IFLA member. One nomination is sufficient. It does not have to be seconded.

Send it to IFLA Headquarters by post or fax or as an e-mail attachment (but it must be signed).

What is the Deadline?

The completed nominations must reach IFLA Headquarters ON or BEFORE 7 February 2007 . No late nominations can be accepted. To avoid disappointment please do not wait until the last moment.

Frequently asked questions and answers

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED?

A confirmation of receipt of the nomination(s) will be sent to you if you request it.

Each Section may have up to 20 people serving on its Standing Committee. If the number of candidates for any Section exceeds the number of vacancies, a postal ballot will be held after the close of nominations. The postal ballot will be sent out in March 2007. If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of vacancies, then there will not be an election and eligible nominees are automatically appointed to the Section Standing Committee.

Once the election is complete, a list of the new standing committee members of the Sections will be sent to all Section Chairs so they can communicate with their new members.

I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE A CANDIDATE, BUT MY ORGANISATION IS NOT A MEMBER OF THAT SECTION

You may have a colleague in your organisation or know a colleague who could make a great contribution to a Section, but your organisation is not a member of that Section. There are two possible solutions:

1. Register your organisation for the Section

You may choose to replace one of your current section registrations, or you may add the section to your existing total. There is no charge to replace one section with another. For registration in an additional section, there is a charge of EUR 48 for each extra section. This amount must be paid before the nomination deadline in order for the nomination to be valid.

2. Identify another Member who is registered for the Section

Check on IFLANET to see which organisations are Members of that Section, and tell a Member that you know of a good potential candidate. You can also contact the Chair or Secretary of the Section concerned and suggest that they look for a Member to nominate the person you have in mind. Sections, particularly smaller ones, are often anxious to identify potential candidates and will be grateful for your suggestion.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST ...

The Standing Committees form the backbone of IFLA's professional work. IFLA needs its Standing Committees to be widely representative geographically and in terms of language, age, gender, institutional background, etc. Please take some time to persuade suitable candidates to accept nomination. The work is rewarding; it presents possibilities for sharing knowledge and expertise with like-minded professionals in different parts of the world - and it helps IFLA achieve worthwhile developments on behalf of our profession.

Peter Johan Lor
Secretary General