Standing Rules

Society of American Archivists
Preservation Section

STANDING RULES

I.          Name

Society of American Archivists (SAA) Preservation Section

II.        Purpose

The SAA Preservation Section is a national organization in the United States which is concerned with issues relating to the preservation of archival materials.  Our mission is to raise awareness of and disseminate information about the preservation of archival materials, including materials in analog and digital formats as well as special media. The section offers access to its resources, not only to the membership of the Society of American Archivists, but to anyone interested in archival preservation.

III.       Membership

The SAA Preservation Section is open to any member of SAA in good standing, who has an interest in the preservation of archival materials.

IV. Governance

These standing rules of the Preservation Section shall serve as a supplement to the SAA Section Bylaws, which govern all SAA sections. Please refer to Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual for information on membership, section election procedures, reporting requirements, and more. 

V.       Officers

The Section leadership includes four positions elected by the membership. These are two elected officers, the Chair and Vice Chair/Chair Elect, and two elected steering committee members-at-large. In addition, there are five standing committees: education, nominating (the chair of which is the Immediate Past Section Chair), outreach/communications, program, and National Disaster Recovery Funding for Archives.  The elected officers, two elected members-at-large, and addtional committee chairs comprise the steering committee.  All terms begin at the conclusion of the annual meeting, and run for two years unless otherwise specified.  If there is an SAA Preservation Officer at headquarters, (s)he serves as an ex-officio member of the Steering Committee.

A. Chair

The leader of the section will be the Chair, who becomes Chair after election by the membership as Vice Chair/Chair Elect, and service of a one-year term in that position.  The term of the Chair is one year. The responsibilities of the Chair are as follows:

  • Appoint committee chairs, and appoint committee members in consultation with the committee chair, with the exception of the nominating committee.  (The chair of the nominating committee is the Immediate Past Chair, and the members of the nominating committee are elected by the section membership.)
  • Monitor the work of the Section’s committees.
  • Provide material for dissemination to the membership, including regular progress reports.
  • Collaborate with the steering committee to monitor ongoing progress toward meeting the section’s goals and objectives.
  • Convene the steering committee annually; collaborate and consult with the steering committee at other times to forward the work of the section and its committees.
  • Preside over the section business meeting at the SAA Annual Meeting.
  • Serve on the Program Committee and collaborate with the section Program Chair to develop a program for the section business meeting, including speakers on a topic approved by the steering committee.
  • In conjunction with the Vice Chair/Chair Elect, and the steering committee, provide final written approval for new section projects and the dissemination of project-related publications, reports, and other products.
  • Serve on the Preservation Awards Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists Awards Committee.
  • In collaboration with the officers and steering committee, review the Preservation Section standing rules every two years, starting in 2013.

B. Vice Chair/Chair Elect

The Vice Chair/Chair Elect is elected by the membership through a balloting process and holds the position for one year, becoming Chair the following year.  The responsibilities of the Vice Chair/Chair Elect are as follows:

  • Assist the Chair in carrying out the work of the section.
  • Preside over the section business meeting at the SAA Annual Meeting in the absence of the Chair.
  • Assist Section Chair in scheduling meetings and maintaining section documentation.
  • Prepare minutes of the section business meeting and steering committee meetings, and submit these for review to the Steering Committee, then post them in the Steering Committee's cloud storage location for reference and dissemination.
  • Serve on the Education, Communications, or Program subcommittee and assist the subcommittee chair with the work of the committee.

C. Immediate Past Chair

The Immediate Past Chair serves on the Steering Committee for a one year term.  The responsibilities of the Immediate Past Chair are as follows:

  • Serve as Chair of the nominating committee.
  • Assist the Section Chair, as requested.
  • Assist Section Chair in maintaining Section documentation.

D.        Steering Committee

The steering committee shall consist of the elected officers (Chair, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, and the Immediate Past Chair) and two other members-at-large elected by the section; these two members will be elected by the Section memberships through a balloting process, and they will serve two years in staggered terms. In addition, committee chairs for Education, Nomination, Outreach/Communications, Program, and National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives Committees shall serve on the steering committee. The responsibilities of the steering committee members are as follows:

  • Support the Section Chair in providing overall direction to the section.
  • Ensure coordination among section committees and between the section and SAA as a whole.
  • Review the status of section projects according to established schedule, and review and approve completed work prior to its distribution to section members.
  • Meet at least once annually, generally at SAA’s annual meeting, and communicate and meet virtually throughout the year as needed.
  • Undertake special tasks as requested.

VI.      Elections

Elections shall be conducted online with the assistance of the SAA staff and in accordance with guidelines for section elections as specified in Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual. Availability of the online ballot and deadline for voting shall be announced by the Chair to all section members via the section’s official email discussion list and website.

VII.  Committee Chairs

Committee chairs are appointed by the Section Chair for two-year terms, unless otherwise noted via email, and may be reappointed for a second term. In addition to their responsibilities as members of the steering committee as outlined above, the responsibilities of the committee chairs are as follows:

  • Lead the members of their committee in advancing the section, as related to the responsibilities of their section.
  • Coordinate the activities of their committee with other section committees.
  • Regularly brief the Section Chair on their committee’s activities at steering committee meetings or via email.
  • Serve as final decision-maker in the event of a voting tie.
  • Submit to the Section Chair an annual report on committee progress and accomplishments for inclusion in the annual report.
  • Hold formal committee meetings, either in person or virtually, with committee members throughout the year, as needed, in order to maintain progress toward goals.
  • Maintain committee documentation.

A. Education Committee

Chair:  Appointed by the Preservation Section Chair; may be reappointed for a second term. 

Members: Appointed annually by the Section Chair on the recommendation of the Education Chair; may be reappointed for a second term.

Charge:  Develop educational initiatives (such as workshops) to meet the needs of SAA members, especially those of the section members.

Practices:

  • Maintain ongoing awareness of members’ educational needs, including the use (when warranted) of formal assessment tools.
  • Solicit ideas and involvement of other Section members.
  • Communicate educational needs to SAA staff.
  • Recommend workshops and pre-conferences for SAA sponsorship, including those not held at the annual meeting.
  • Collaborate with the Section's Program Committee on annual program theme.
  • Submit pertinent information to the chair of the Outreach/Communications Committee, for timely inclusion on the section's website.

B. Nominating Committee

Chair:  Immediate Past Chair of Section.

Members:  Two members appointed by the Section Chair at the conclusion of the annual meeting to serve one-year terms; may be reappointed.

Charge:  Present candidates for section office, when required.

Practices:

  • Solicit nominations at the SAA Annual Meeting and through the section’s other venues
  • Whenever possible, present at least two nominees for each vacant position.
  • Provide biographical information about each candidate to membership.
  • Submit pertinent information to the chair of the Outreach/Communications Committee for timely inclusion on the section's website befor ethe annual election according to the timeline set by SAA. 
  • Hold elections in accordance with SAA guidelines. 
  • Announce election results at the section's annual meeting and disseminate the results electronically to the section immediately after the annual meeting. 

C. Outreach/Communications Committee

Chair:  Appointed by the Preservation Section Chair; may be reappointed for a second term. Co-chairs may serve if interest exists and if there are enough members on the Steering Committee.

Members: Appointed annually by the Section Chair on the recommendation of the committee chair(s); may be reappointed for a second term.

Charge: Responsible for facilitating communication of preservation issues to the section members, and between the section steering committee and members, including editing and updating the SAA Preservation Section website.

Practices:

  • Maintain liaison and coordination with other sections and appropriate groups within SAA to develop and carry out cooperative projects on preservation within SAA.
  • Monitor and bring to the attention of the steering committee major concerns and issues on which SAA or Preservation Section action is needed.
  • Update section website to include current steering committee members and any other information deemed important by the steering committee. Post steering committee minutes, Program information, and NDRFA silent auction announcements to the section website as needed.
  • Negotiate all Web matters with the SAA office as appropriate.
  • Maintain active social media accounts for the section.

D. Program Committee

Chair: Appointed by the Preservation Section Chair; may be reappointed for a second term. Serve for one year, following a one-year term as Vice Chair.

Vice Chair: Appointed by the Preservation Section Chair; may be reappointed for a second term. Serves for one year to be followed by a one-year term as chair. 

Members: Appointed annually by the Section Chair on the recommendation of the Program Chair(s); may be reappointed for a second term.

Charge: Plan the annual section meeting and program to be held at the SAA Annual Meeting.

Practices:

  • Develop sessions in co-sponsorship with other SAA sections and committees, when feasible.
  • Assist members of the steering committee and the section in putting together session proposals.
  • Solicit ideas from and involvement of section members and members of other SAA units.
  • In collaboration with the Section Chair, develop and implement a program with speakers on a topic approved by the steering committee for the section business meeting.
  • Submit pertinent information to the chair of the Outreach/Communications Committee, for timely inclusion on the section's website

E. National Disaster Recovery FUnd for Archives (NDRFA) Committee

Chair: Appointed by the Preservation Section Chair; may be reappointed for a second term. 

Members: Appointed annually by the Section Chair on the recommendation of the Program Chair(s); may be reappointed for a second term. 

Charge: Plan the annual section silent auction to support the NDRFA fund to be held at the SAA Annual Meeting. Promote the NDRFA fund to SAA membership. 

Practices:

  • Assist SAA and the NDRFA Grant Review Committee in disseminating information about the grant. 
  • Plan and manage the annual silent auction in coordination with SAA according to best practice guidlelines maintained by the committee. Disseminate information about the auction, including results, to section membership. 
  • Solicit donations from section members and members of other SAA units. 
  • Submit pertinent information to the chair of the Outreach/Communications Committee for timely inclusion on the section's website. 
  • Coordinate with the Section Chair to appoint a steering committee member to serve on the NDRFA Grant Review Committee for three-year terms, every three years (as needed) beginning in 2017. 

VIII.     Meetings

The Preservation Section will meet once a year in conjunction with the annual meeting of SAA and will hold a Business meeting which will also include a program that will address timely issues relative to the preservation of archival materials.  The time of and agenda for this meeting will be announced on the listserv, in the annual meeting program, and on the section website immediately preceding the meeting. The steering committee will also meet during the annual meeting.

IX. Amendments

To ensure alignment with SAA’s governance documents, any amendments to the section’s standing rules should be reviewed by the executive director (or her/his designee) and the section’s Council liaison by May 1, before they are put forward in a referendum for vote by the section membership. Proposed amendments to the section’s standing rules will appear on the section’s annual election ballot for a final approval by a simple majority of the section’s membership. Any adopted amendments should be posted promptly to the section’s official microsite and be noted in the section’s next annual report to the Council. Any revisions to the section’s name or mission/description must be submitted to the Council for final approval. For more information on amendment procedures, see Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual.

 

Revised: April 28, 2011. Updated per the member affinity group transition approved by the Council, August 2016. Additional revisions approved: July 2019. 

AttachmentSize
SAA Preservation Section-BylawsNEW_2011.pdf117.72 KB
SAA Preservation Section-Bylaws Changes_2011.pdf186.3 KB