ILLINOIS STATE LIBRARY

Talking Book and Braille Advisory Committee

Statement of Purpose

The Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Advisory Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Illinois State Library. Its primary purpose is to aid in the improvement of library services offered through the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service (ISLTBBS), a division of the State Library, by:

• Increasing the potential for greater services and for services to the unserved.
• Helping the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille service and the State Library sort out priorities for future expansion of services.
• Helping to formulate proposals to take to the Illinois State Library’s parent body, the Office of the Secretary of State.
• Assisting in lobbying for funds needed to support any expansion or improvement of services.

Officers

• Officers of the Advisory Committee shall be Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.
• Officers’ terms shall run one year from January through December.
• Election of officers takes place at the last meeting of each calendar year to select officers for the following year.
• No officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office.

Officer Vacancies

• A vacancy during the year in the office of Chairperson is filled immediately by the Vice-Chairperson.
• A new Vice Chairperson is elected at the next meeting of the full Advisory Committee.
• A vacancy during the year in the office of Vice-Chairperson is filled by an election at the next meeting of the full Advisory Committee.

Membership

• The Advisory Committee consists of nine members of which at least a majority are active end users of ISLTBBS.
• One third of the membership turns over every year.
• Representatives serve three year terms and consist of individuals from all regions of the state representing the skills, ages, interests, and concerns of ISLTBBS library users.

Criteria for Membership

• New members and replacements are both selected from the nomination forms.
• Members must be residents of the State of Illinois for at least one year.
• Members must be 18 years of age or older.
• Members must have an interest in ISLTBBS and possess a willingness to serve.
• Attendance is expected at every meeting. After two consecutive absences the position on the Advisory Committee is considered vacant.
• Length of office shall be for one term of three years. Two consecutive three year terms are possible. A committee member can return to the committee after a hiatus of three years after a six year term.

Nomination Process

Deadlines: The deadline to submit nominations will be determined prior to the last meeting of the calendar year. During the last meeting of the Advisory Committee in the calendar year, the Nomination Committee will present its recommendations for the new Advisory Committee members to the entire group. At the first meeting in the following calendar year the new members will take office.

Nominations will be solicited every year for vacancies on the Committee; no nominees considered for one year will be carried over to the next unless renominated.

Vacancies

Vacancies on the Advisory Committee will be filled by the Chairperson (or the Vice-Chairperson if the Chairperson is the one to resign.) Advisory committee members, filling the unexpired term of a member who had resigned, will be able to serve a second term, if the unexpired portion of the second term is less than one-half of a full term.

Committees

• There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and the Chairperson of each of the standing committees.
• Members of standing committees shall select their own chairpersons, when terms expire or vacancies occur.
• The nominating Committee shall be a standing committee.
• Committee Chairs may be appointed by the Chairperson as needed.
• Staff representatives will be the Regional Librarian of the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service, the director of the State Library, and a liaison to the Secretary of State and other governmental agencies as appropriate.

Meetings

• There shall be at least four meetings a year of the Advisory Committee. Generally, these meetings will normally be held by telephone conference call.
• The agenda for each meeting shall be transmitted in appropriate format to Advisory Committee members in advance of each meeting.
• Fifty percent of the current group plus one member shall constitute a quorum.

Policies and Procedures

• Proposed revisions of these policies and procedures shall be submitted to the membership two weeks prior to a meeting, provided a quorum is present.
• These policies and procedures shall be revised in accordance with the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
• These policies and procedures shall be sent to all Advisory Committee members as part of their orientation packets.

*During the initial three years of the committee, terms will be varied from 1 to 3 years so that a rotation of members can be put into place. One third of the members will leave committee each year. Names will be drawn to determine initial length of term.

Approved 11/20/03, corrected 1/30/04, revised 9/30/05, revised 6/16/06.