Standing Rules

Society of American Archivists
Security Section

STANDING RULES

I. NAME. The name of the section shall be the Security Section.

II. MISSION.  The Security Section of the Society of American Archivists was founded in 1997 as a forum to focus on issues relating to the prevention of theft in archival and manuscript repositories. The mission of the section is to combat theft, mutilation, forgery, hacking, and other acts that compromise the integrity of the historical record and deny access to users.

We do this by: 

• facilitating the sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities between archivists, our partners in allied professions, and our institutions;
• calling for attention to and understanding of the unique security challenges associated with archival collections through advocacy efforts within the profession as well as society at large;
• exploring best practices currently employed by archival institutions as well as those utilized in other environments;
• recommending sound policies to the Society of American Archivists and our members through the development of new guidelines, endorsement of external actions, and careful examination of existing standards;
• evaluating new technologies and strategies for potential application in archival security programs;
• offering opportunities for education, discussion, and collaboration;
• collecting and analyzing data in an effort to better understand and address factors contributing to security incidents;
• formalizing established partnerships and developing new ones with entities across a wide spectrum of security and cultural heritage organizations;
• soliciting expert presentations for the annual Security Section meeting;
• encouraging a culture of transparency when dealing with the aftermath of a security incident;
• supporting the efforts of law enforcement officers investigating allegations of archival crimes;
• creating, revising, and/or endorsing proposals for security-related sessions, pre-conference workshops, publications, and continuing education programming of the Society of American Archivists.

III. MEMBERS. Membership in the section shall be determined according to the guidelines established in Section IX. of the SAA Governance Manual.

IV. GOVERNANCE. 

A.    Bylaws and Standing Rules. These standing rules of the Security 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. 

B. Officers. The officers of the section shall be a Senior Co-chair, a Junior Co-chair, and a Secretary. The Junior Co-chair shall be elected annually for a two-year term, serving in year one as Junior Co-chair and in year two as Senior Co-chair.  The Secretary is elected annually and may not serve more than three successive years.

C.     Duties of Officers. Officers shall fulfill those responsibilities specified in Section IX. of the SAA Governance Manual.

D.    Nominations. The Chair shall issue a call for nominations, including self-nominations, for the positions of Junior Co-chair and Secretary every May to all section members via the section’s official email discussion list and website. A slate of candidates shall be established by the officers and announced to section members no later than June 15.

E.    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. 

F.     Appointments. Section members may be appointed to additional leadership roles (e.g., Newsletter Editor, Web Liaison, etc.) by the Chair.

V.  MEETINGS. The section shall hold a meeting in conjunction with the SAA Annual Meeting and may meet at other times as deemed appropriate by the officers. The time and agenda shall be communicated in advance via the section’s official email discussion list and website.

VI. 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 final approval by a simple majority of voters. 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.

Adopted by the Security Roundtable membership on 7/16/2013; approved by the SAA Council on 9/30/2013. Updated per the member affinity group transition approved by the Council, August 2016. 

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