NASIG Newsletter

2008 ELECTION SLATE
Gail Julian, Chair

The NASIG Nominations & Elections Committee is pleased to announce the finalized slate of candidates for the upcoming election.

Vice President/President-Elect/Past President (3-year term beginning 2008/09)
Rick Anderson
Meg Mering

Member-at-Large (3 positions to fill; 2-year terms beginning 2008/09)
Bob Boissy
June Garner
Kay Johnson
Jonathan Makepeace (petition candidate)
Virginia Taffurelli
Sarah George Wessel
Paoshan Yue

Ballots will be available online on February 25 with voting to be completed by midnight (EST) March 25. Results will be announced on March 31, 2008. An email message with voting instructions and a link to candidate profiles will be emailed to members on or before February 25.

Again, a big thank you to the Nominations & Elections Committee members who have done a wonderful job all year!

Kathy Brannon, Co-Chair
Christie Degener
Sarah Gardner
Tim Hagan
Susan Markley
Jenni Wilson

DECIDING TO RUN FOR THE NASIG BOARD AS A PETITION CANDIDATE
Jill Emery, NASIG Vice President/President-Elect

Petition candidacy is a relatively new development in NASIG and not many have taken advantage of running for the NASIG board using this mechanism. However, petition candidates who have run using this method have been elected in the past two elections, including myself.

In 2006, I used the petition process to get my name on the ballot for the NASIG vice president/president-elect position. For the 2006 election, I had been nominated and gone through the usual vetting process by the Nominations & Elections Committee but did not make the final ballot. Since my board term as member-at-large was up and my other national and state commitments were ending shortly, I decided to go ahead and attempt to petition onto the ballot. I was able to obtain the needed signatures and did end up on the ballot but lost the election.

For the 2007 election, the Nominations & Elections Committee approached me to run for the NASIG vice president/president-elect position. However, I had recently changed jobs and had quite a bit on my plate in regards to the job I had moved into at the University of Texas at Austin Libraries. There was also the consideration that, in the short term, my job position might change to take on even more responsibility. Therefore, I ended up declining the opportunity to go through the normal vetting process for the vice president/president-elect position given the uncertainty of my job status. After the ballot came out, I was contacted by a few NASIG colleagues about their concern that there was only one name appearing on the ballot for the position of NASIG vice president/president-elect.

During the ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle, Washington, I heard further comments in this regard and was encouraged by numerous NASIG members to consider running as a petition candidate again. At this point, the changes I had anticipated with my job had occurred and I had a much better idea of the demands the job would have on my professional involvement. Given the encouragement I was receiving and knowing that most of my current professional commitments would all be ending in the summer of 2007, I agreed to run as a petition candidate so that there would be a choice for the NASIG membership to make. Once again, the required signatures were obtained and submitted and I ended up again on the ballot. To be perfectly honest, I thought this election would go much like the one from the previous year and was completely shocked to receive the call stating I had won the general membership vote.

Therefore, I encourage NASIG members to consider the petition process as a way to get onto the ballot for any of the NASIG board positions being sought. Also, I highly recommend obtaining signatures during the ALA Midwinter Conference since many of your colleagues will be in attendance there and can be found readily to sign your petition. It helps to have one colleague take on the signature gathering for you as well so that they can, in effect, campaign on your behalf. In the end, the petition process has been successful for at least a couple of candidates and has become a viable option for being elected to the NASIG board.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Gail Julian, Chair, Nominations & Elections Committee

The Nominations & Elections Committee invites nominations for Vice President/President-Elect and three Member-at-Large positions.   Please place your nominations either through the green form distributed in the Louisville conference packet or online at http://www.nasig.org/members/forms/nomform.html.

The deadline for nominations is October 12, 2007. 

All current NASIG members are eligible except current members of the Nominations & Elections Committee.   For additional information about the N&E process, please see information in the NASIG Newsletter at http://nasignews.wordpress.com/2007/06/10/223-200709-nasig-nominations-elections-process-detailed/.

This year’s N&E Committee members are:
Gail Julian, Chair
Kathy Brannon, Vice-Chair
Christie Degener
Sarah Gardner
Susan Markley
Jenni Wilson
Tim Hagan
Denise Novak, Board Liaison

NASIG NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS PROCESS DETAILED

In the fall of 2006, the Executive Board formed a working group to write a document that would provide a clear explanation of NASIG’s nominations and elections process to the membership.  The working group consisted of the current chair of the Nominations & Elections Committee, David Burke, and three former N&E members, Anne McKee, Christine Stamison, and Kathryn Wesley.  The resulting document, revised in June 2007 to reflect changes to NASIG’s bylaws affecting the election process, follows.

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NASIG NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS PROCEDURE

Nominations and elections are governed by NASIG Bylaws, Article VII (http://www.nasig.org/public/bylaws.html) and are carried out by the Nominations & Elections Committee. 

COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE

The Nominations & Elections Committee is appointed by the incoming president in the spring of each year. The number of members on the committee may vary, but there should be an odd number.  The term of service is one year.  Members may be reappointed for one succeeding term.  The chair may serve only one term as chair.  At least one half of the committee each year should consist of new appointees.  The past president serves as the committee’s board liaison.  Previous past presidents may serve as members of, or consultants to, the committee.  Committee members are not eligible to be nominated for office during their terms of service.

COMMITTEE CHARGE

The Nominations & Elections Committee will solicit nominations of vice president/president elect, secretary, treasurer and board members, review proposed candidates’ qualifications, prepare a slate of candidates, prepare the ballot, carry out the election, report the results to the NASIG membership and review any challenges to the election. The committee’s deliberations will be strictly confidential. The committee will adopt all necessary and proper precautions to ensure the conduct of a trustworthy election.

THE NOMINATION PROCESS

A vice president/president-elect and three members-at-large are elected each year.  Nominations for secretary and treasurer are solicited when appropriate.  The term of office for the secretary is three years.  The treasurer is elected during the second year of the sitting treasurer’s term, and serves for an ex officio training period of one year followed by a three year official term, for a total commitment of four years.

Nominations may be made by committee, by petition, or by write-in.

Nomination by Committee
The committee solicits nominations from the membership in a number of ways.  A printed call for nominations form is included in the conference packet distributed at the annual conference.  Following the conference, the forms are turned over to the incoming chair of the Nominations & Elections Committee.  An electronic form is made available on NASIGWeb, with submissions directed to the chair of the committee.  Nominations may also be made by email, in writing, or by phone to any member of the committee.  The chair of N&E issues one or more reminders on NASIG-L to encourage members to submit nominations.  Members do not have to secure the permission of nominees before submitting their names, as the committee will contact them to determine if they wish to proceed with the process.

Nominee Requirements
Nominees must be members in good standing for the year of the election in order to be considered by the committee, i.e., dues must be paid for the next year’s membership before the committee may vet the nominee.  The chair confirms membership status of nominees with the treasurer.  No NASIG member may be denied a place on the ballot due to race, color, creed, sex, etc., in accordance with federal equal opportunity laws.

Nominee Profiles
When the deadline for nominations has passed, the committee contacts all nominees to determine their interest in running for office and to secure their permission to consider them for the ballot.  All nominees who agree to be considered by the committee receive a nominee profile form.  The form solicits information on their activities within NASIG, their relevant professional activities outside of NASIG, and a position statement regarding their potential contribution as a NASIG board member.  The committee also sends the nominee a link to a NASIG web page with a job description of the position for which he or she has been nominated, and gives a deadline for submitting the forms to the committee.

Nominee References
The nominee profile form also asks for the name of three references who can comment knowledgeably on the nominee’s previous work in NASIG.  For members who have served on committees, at least one of the three references should be the relevant committee chair(s).  For current or past committee chairs or co-chairs, two of the three references should be the appointing president and relevant committee liaison(s).  Current or past board members must include the presidents they served under as references.

Ranking Nominees
Each committee member reviews the nominee profile forms and rates nominees.  The nominee profile forms assign specific weights for the committee members to rate nominees on NASIG activities, other professional activities, and the position statement.  For vice president/president-elect, secretary, and treasurer, these are respectively 50% for NASIG activities, 25% for other professional activities, and 25% for the position statement.  For members-at-large, the weights are distributed evenly at 33 1/3 % for each category.  The chair and committee have leeway in deciding exactly how the review process is carried out.  The chair compiles results and the committee decides who the strongest contenders are among the nominees. 

Contacting References
References are asked a list of standard questions soliciting information on the nominee’s reliability, enthusiasm, and creativity.  If current board members are running for reelection or for other office, the chair contacts those references.  References remain confidential between the contacting member and the chair, though the chair may give a general summary of the tenor of the reference to the committee in the course of their deliberations.  If the chair contacts references, he or she will share the results of those contacts with one other committee member in order to ensure that the gist of those references is fairly conveyed.

All information regarding nominees, committee deliberations, and especially information obtained from references, is to be kept absolutely confidential within the committee.

Preparing and Announcing the Slate

Based on the nominees’ rankings and references, the committee prepares a slate of candidates.  They endeavor to choose at least two nominees for each open position.  In the event of a shortage of nominees who are willing to run for an office, the committee may solicit potential candidates.  The chair informs the president of the final ballot as soon as it is completed.  This notification is for courtesy purposes only.  The board does not approve the slate.  The board accepts the slate of candidates as named by the committee.  Before announcing the slate of candidates to the membership, nominees are notified regarding whether they made it onto the ballot.  The chair then announces the slate of candidates to the membership on NASIG-L.

Nomination by Petition
After announcing the slate of candidates nominated by the committee, the chair issues a call for nominations by petition on NASIG-L.  Petition nominees must agree in writing to run for the office nominated and must be members in good standing as described above.  The chair must receive petitions in support of the nominee from at least ten members in good standing.  Petitions may be handled by paper or by email.  Petitioners may sign or add their email to a single document, or they may submit individual messages to the chair as long as they clearly state their names, the name of the petition candidate, and the specific office for which the candidate is being nominated.  Successful petition candidates must fill out a nominee profile form, and will be included on the official ballot.  The chair must receive nominations, supporting petitions, and nominee profile forms within fifteen days of the call for nominations by petition.  Petition candidates will be designated as such on the ballot.

Nomination by Write-in
The ballot will include spaces under each office for write-in candidates.

BALLOTING

Ballots are distributed at least 60 days prior to the annual conference.  Names appear in alphabetical order on the ballot.  Nominee profiles with position statements for each candidate are made available to the membership.  Completed ballots will be accepted for 30 days after distribution.  Ballots returned after 30 days will not be counted.

COUNTING THE BALLOTS AND REPORTING THE RESULTS

The chair counts the ballots.  The ballot count is confirmed by another committee member or by a disinterested third party.  In case of a tie for any position, the committee decides the winner by blind lot.

When the count is complete and confirmed, the chair notifies the president, including vote totals.  The candidates are notified by phone.  The president communicates the election results, including vote totals, to the Executive Board, and the chair does the same with the committee.  All candidates must be notified by phone before results are communicated to the membership.  Phone calls should be followed up by notification in writing.  The results of the election are then announced on NASIG-L.  They are also posted on NASIGWeb, and announced in the next issue of the NASIG Newsletter.

RETENTION OF BALLOTS AND CHALLENGES TO THE ELECTION

All ballots are retained for 120 days following the close of the election in the event that a challenge is made.  Also, intra-committee correspondence throughout the year should be sent through the committee email list so that it can be archived.  Challenges to the election must be made in writing to the president within 10 days of the first publication of the results.  The Board will evaluate the merits of the challenge.  If it is determined that the challenge has merit, the Board will appoint two non-NASIG members to do a recount.

N&E Document Working Group
David Burke
Anne McKee
Christine Stamison
Kathryn Wesley, chair
Fall 2006; revised June 2007

2007 ELECTION RESULTS
David Burke, Chair, Nominations & Elections Committee

The 2006/2007 Nominations & Elections Committee is pleased to announce the results of the 2007 elections.

Vice President/President-Elect
(Three year term: Vice President/President Elect 2007/2008; President 2008/2009; Past President 2009/2010)
Jill Emery
University of Texas

Treasurer
(One training year: 2007/2008; Three year term: 2008/2009-2010/2011)
Peter Whiting
University of Southern Indiana

Member-at-Large
(Two year term: 2007/2008-2008/2009)
Anna Creech
Central Washington University

Kimberly Maxwell
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jeff Slagell
Delta State University

These officers will assume their positions immediately after the conclusion of the NASIG Annual Conference in Louisville, May 31-June 3.

The Nominations & Elections Committee thanks all the candidates who demonstrated their devotion and dedication to NASIG by standing for office.

[Ed. note: Excerpted from the January committee report to the Executive Board]

NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
David Burke, Chair

Through 30 submitted nomination forms, the Committee received 16 nominations for Vice-President/President (8 different people), 9 nominations for Treasurer (8 different people), and 54 nominations for Member-at-Large (35 different people).  All are active NASIG members.  Following an intra-committee conference call on September 11, each member of the Committee called six to seven nominees for permission to forward their names through the nominee-review process.  Unfortunately, only 14 Member-at-Large nominees, 1 Treasurer nominee, and none for Vice-President/President opted to continue.  The Committee has contacted 10 other NASIG members to broaden the pool and will contact others.  So far, this new pool has yielded 1 additional Member-at-Large prospect, 2 additional Treasurer prospects, and 1 Vice-President/President prospect.  Some of these nominees removed themselves prior to the deadline for submitting a completed profile form.  Unfortunately, despite calling several other experienced NASIG members, no additional Vice-President/President nominees agreed to pursue the position.

A second intra-committee conference call was held on December 7 to choose the most appropriate candidates for the ballot (after overcoming some technical difficulties with Netspoke).   The Committee then contacted those candidates’ references; no information emerged to eliminate any of the names previously selected.  So the Committee will announce this ballot on January 15, along with a call for petition candidates:

Vice President/President Elect:
Meg Mering Treasurer:
David Bynog, Peter WhitingMember-at-Large:
Carol Ann Borchert, Abigail Bordeaux, Anna Creech, Sandra Hurd, Kim Maxwell, Jeff Slagell, Sarah Sutton 

Petitions are due February 1, with the final ballot then announced to the membership.  Ballots will be sent out on February 15 with a March 15 deadline for completion.  Ballots will be counted and the winners announced immediately afterward.   

SLATE FOR 2007 ELECTIONS
David Burke, Chair, Nominations & Election Committee 

On behalf of the Nominations & Elections Committee, I would like to send you the final ballot information for the 2006 NASIG Executive Board election. 

Per the N&E Committee guidelines, I am informing the membership of the final slate including the addition of one petition candidate. While I’ve listed them alphabetically below, actual listing of their names on the ballot will be determined by a blind draw for each office. 

VICE-PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT (1 to be elected) 

Jill Emery-Petition Candidate
Meg Mering 

TREASURER (1 to be elected) 

David Bynog
Peter Whiting 

MEMBER-AT-LARGE (3 to be elected) 

Abigail Bordeaux
Carol Ann Borchert
Anna Creech
Sandra Hurd
Kimberly Maxwell
Jeff Slagell
Sarah Sutton 

The profiles and position statements of the candidates are available online at http://www.nasig.org/members/timedated/2007election.html. 

PLEASE NOTE that the ballots will be mailed in mid-February and returns must be postmarked NO LATER than March 15th for your vote to count. Please do remember that the voice of every member is heard via the voting process. Don’t forget to vote!

NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
David Burke and Gail Julian, Co-Chairs 

Do you know fellow NASIGers who are brilliant, inspiring, or just all-round good people?  Why not nominate them for the NASIG Executive Board? 

The offices up for election this year are President/Vice-President, Treasurer, and three Member-at-Large slots.  All current NASIG members are eligible (except current members of the Nominations & Elections Committee).  Simply fill out the form found here: http://www.nasig.org/members/forms/nomform.html. 

There has been much talk lately regarding the future of NASIG. Nominating someone for its leadership is a great way you can help shape that future.