CoSA, NAGARA, and SAA component groups (i.e., boards, committees, sections, roundtables, working groups, and other groups) are invited to endorse up to two session proposals per Annual Meeting. Individual session proposers are responsible for requesting endorsement directly from the component group by October 11, 2013 (deadline extended from October 4). Be sure to check with the component groups as the deadline set by the group may differ from the suggested deadline.
Component groups review endorsement requests using whatever procedure they may have developed, select a maximum of two sessions to endorse, and send their endorsements to the Program Committee co-chairs (at conference@archivists.org) no later than October 16, 2013 (deadline extended from October 11). Endorsements received after this date cannot be considered. Endorsements are one factor in the Program Committee’s deliberations. They are not required and do not guarantee acceptance.
The component group endorsement process is outlined in the Program Committee description in the SAA Governance Manual. The deadline for component groups to submit endorsements to the 2014 Program Committee co-chairs (via conference@archivists.org) is October 16, 2013 (deadline extended from October 11).
H. The Program Committee engages members in the proposal process by inviting [CoSA, NAGARA, and SAA component groups (i.e., boards, committees, sections, roundtables, working groups, and other groups)] to provide endorsements of Annual Meeting program proposals. Endorsements by these groups are one factor among many that the Program Committee considers during the process of developing a balanced, diverse program. An endorsement by a group is not a guarantee that a proposal will be accepted. The following procedures (adopted by the Council in August 2005 and revised in August 2013) apply when component groups provide endorsements.
- Proposers must submit proposals directly to the Program Committee to be considered. If a session proposer wishes to seek endorsement from one or more SAA component groups (section, roundtable, committee, working group), the proposer should send additional copies of the proposal to the group. The “official copy” of the proposal is held by the Program Committee. Proposals that were not sent directly to the Program Committee by the proposer will not be considered.
- Groups may not endorse more than two program proposals. Endorsements should be sent directly to the Program Committee. Deadlines for endorsements occur slightly later than those for the proposal process. They are published on the SAA website.
- Group leaders must send their endorsements of a maximum of two proposals to the Program Committee chair by the published deadline. The Program Committee will not accept group endorsements from session proposers; endorsements must be sent by a representative of the endorsing SAA group (usually the chair). This communication may be as simple as a list of endorsed session proposals or may be a more detailed statement of why the group thinks that the session is of particular value to the broader Annual Meeting audience (because of the topics, speakers, or some other factor).
- The Program Committee will give appropriate weight to single and multiple groups’ endorsements when selecting proposals that support the meeting’s theme or the broader goal of providing a diverse program that meets the needs of members. Endorsement(s) of a session do(es) not, however, guarantee that the Committee will accept a proposal.
(Source: SAA Governance Manual Section VII: Committees and Boards, Program Committee. To view the full Program Committee charge, click here.)