Notice to GODORT Membership

Vote to Amend the GODORT Bylaws

General Membership Meeting, ALA Midwinter Meeting

Sunday, January 22, 2017

At the GODORT General Membership meeting at the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting, the membership will be asked to vote on the following proposed amendment to the current GODORT Bylaws. The underlined text will be added to Article IV (Officers), Section 8:

Article IV. Officers

Section 8.

The following special officers shall serve the Chair and the Steering Committee:

c. Virtual Meetings Coordinator. The GODORT Virtual Meetings Coordinator provides support for GODORT virtual meetings by coordinating the usage of GODORT’s virtual meeting space. The Virtual Meetings Coordinator is a non-voting member of the GODORT Steering Committee, appointed by the GODORT Chair. The Coordinator serves until either party terminates the term of office.

RATIONALE: The GODORT Bylaws [Article IV, Section 8] provides for “Special Officers,” who serve the GODORT Chair and Steering Committee. Special Officers are appointed by the GODORT Chair (with the approval of the Steering Committee). They are non-voting members of the Steering Committee during the entire term of their appointed service.

As part of an initiative to provide more opportunity for GODORT units (Task Forces, Committees, and Discussion Groups) to hold virtual meetings in lieu of meeting face-to-face, the GODORT Chair and Steering Committee propose to amend the Bylaws to include a “Virtual Meetings Coordinator,” as a Special Officer, to facilitate meetings by virtual means.

The Virtual Meetings Coordinator will support GODORT virtual meetings by coordinating the usage of GODORT’s virtual meeting space. This individual may be asked to be available for GODORT meetings held on this platform. More specifically, the Coordinator will create and administer accounts, troubleshoot technical issues with the platform, serve as a resource for members of GODORT, who wish to take advantage of the features offered by GODORT’s virtual meeting space, and provide training or guidance for meeting coordinators.