nominations for the positions of President-elect and Members of the Governing Board of IFLA, for the term of August 2011 to August 2013

DEADLINE: 9 February 2011

The Governing Board, in accordance with the Statutes, consists of the following members elected through this nomination and postal ballot process:

  • The President-elect
  • Ten members elected by the membership at large and
  • Six members of the Professional Committee, consisting of a chair and one officer from each of the five Divisions of the Federation who will be elected through a separate process by Section Officers.

Global representation and participation

As a truly representative global organisation, representing the interests of library and information services, and their users, worldwide, IFLA needs energetic, committed and capable people from a great variety of cultural and linguistic contexts to serve on its Governing Board. Business is conducted generally in English so competence in English is necessary to enable participation, but it is also important for the Board to have a good representation of the IFLA working languages.

Being a member of the Governing Board can be time-consuming and challenging work as the Board strives to advance the cause of library and information services and to improve the practice of the profession. It is also rewarding, providing the stimulating opportunity to work with colleagues from different types of library and information environments and from different cultures.

THE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENT-ELECT

The President leads the Federation and is its chief representative. The President represents IFLA and the world’s library and information profession internationally to key government and allied industry, international and national organisations and bodies. The President chairs the Governing Board and presides over General Assembly meetings which are held at the annual IFLA Congress. The Presidency involves a significant amount of travelling (some 50 days a year) for meetings, making keynote speeches and generally representing IFLA and the library and information profession. As only limited IFLA funding is available to assist some of this travel, the President must have strong employer and other support. The President works closely with the Secretary General.

The President-elect serves in that role for two years, followed by two years as President. The term of office, as President-elect, provides an opportunity to identify priorities to be pursued on assuming the presidency. The President-elect works closely with the President and Secretary General and deputises for the President as required, for example, to represent the Federation or chair meetings.

Consequently, this post also involves a significant amount of travelling, speaking commitments and representation and therefore demands strong employer and other support. The President-elect is a full member of the Governing Board and the Executive and Professional Committees.

A candidate for the position of President-elect does not have to be a member. Each candidate must have ten valid nominations by IFLA Members.
All the present Governing Board members are eligible for nomination, except the current President and the current President-elect.
The successful candidate will serve for two years as President-elect (2011-2013), followed by two years as President (2013-2015).

GOVERNING BOARD

The IFLA Governing Board is responsible for the strategic and professional direction of the Federation, within guidelines approved by the General Assembly (IFLA Statutes Articles 13 and 14). It establishes priorities, has oversight of IFLA’s activities and approves budgets and the annual accounts. It is focused on strategic issues and provides guidance to the President, Secretary General and other officers.

The elected members of the Governing Board serve for an initial term of two years and may stand for a further consecutive term of two years.
One of the members of the Governing Board is elected to be the Treasurer of IFLA and other Governing Board members are elected to be members of committees or working groups. Members of the Governing Board are sometimes asked to represent IFLA at key conferences or other meetings, to ensure that the Federation’s voice is heard.

Members of the Governing Board are expected to make themselves available, usually at no cost to the Federation, to fulfil these responsibilities which include the requirement to meet on three occasions each year. At the IFLA Congress there are two meetings: one on the day before the Congress starts and one on the day after the Congress ends. The Governing Board and its committees and working groups also meet in December and April at IFLA Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Business may be conducted in between meetings by email and teleconference.

A candidate for one of the ten elected places on the Governing Board does not have to be a member. Each candidate must have five valid nominations by IFLA members.
The current President, who will complete her term of office in August 2011, the President-elect who will begin her term of office as President in August 2011 and any GB members currently in their 2nd term as a Governing Board member are not eligible for nomination. The successful candidates for these places on the Governing Board will serve for two years (2011-2013). Those elected for the first time will then be eligible for election for a final, second term of two years (2013-2015.)

WHO MAY BE NOMINATED?

  • A candidate for President-elect or Governing Board Member does not have to be a member of IFLA (or be employed by or be affiliated to a Member of IFLA) to be nominated.
  • Candidates should have a working knowledge of at least one of the working languages of IFLA (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian and Spanish). Since the business meetings of IFLA are generally conducted in English, reasonable fluency in this language is highly desirable.
  • Candidates should have a reasonable expectation of employer and other support to fulfill the official duties and representational and financial demands of office. The Governing Board is expected to meet during three periods each year. At the IFLA Congress there are two meetings: one on the day before the Congress starts and one on the day after the Congress ends. Forthcoming congresses will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico (2011) and Helsinki, Finland (2012). The Governing Board also meets in December and April at IFLA Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.

HOW DO I NOMINATE A CANDIDATE?

To nominate a candidate for election to the post of President-elect or Governing Board member:

  • You must be the authorised signatory of an Association Member or an Institutional Member of IFLA. The authorised signatory is the individual who is listed in IFLA’s records as the organization’s highest official and whose name appears on the attached nomination form. This form may be photocopied, but please note that the nomination form cannot be used by anyone other than the authorised signatory of the member concerned.
  • Honorary Fellows may nominate a candidate and vote in the elections.
  • Institutional Affiliates (School libraries, One-person library centres, Institutional sub-units) and Individual Affiliates (Personal/Student) may also nominate candidates for these positions, but may not vote in the elections.

Please note:

  • There is no restriction on the number of candidates you may nominate for these positions.
  • You should ensure that your nominee is willing to stand. We shall seek formal confirmation from each candidate, together with a statement, once we have received sufficient nominations for that candidate.
  • In accordance with the Statutes, the elections will be conducted by postal ballot. Only qualified Voting Members will be entitled to vote. Institutional & Individual Affiliates are not entitled to vote in these elections.
  • It is expected that the ballot will take place during March and April 2011, with eight weeks between the dispatch of ballot papers and the closing date for their return.
  • The results will be announced on IFLA’s Website in June 2011.

The following table sets out who may nominate and who may vote in the ensuing election.

 
nominating and voting in elections

* Only if they have paid their membership fees in full for 2010 and are not in arrears

DEADLINE

Nominations must reach IFLA Headquarters ON or BEFORE Wednesday, 9 February 2011. No late nominations will be accepted. To avoid disappointment please do no wait until the last day.

These elections are extremely important for the future governance of IFLA. Please consider whether you wish to nominate candidates for these positions on the Governing Board.

Yours sincerely

Jennefer Nicholson
Secretary General