Section Bylaws, rev. March 2016

CHILIS Bylaws

Article I.   Name
This organization shall be known as The Children’s Librarians of New Hampshire, hereafter known as CHILIS.

Article II.   Affiliation
CHILIS shall be a section within the New Hampshire Library Association, hereafter known as NHLA.

Article III.   Objective
It shall be the objective of this organization to support and promote library services for children throughout the state.  CHILIS realizes that only the best is good enough for children.  Laughter and the free exchange of ideas should be the basic ingredients of any CHILIS meeting.

Article IV.   Membership
Anyone who is a member of NHLA can become a member of CHILIS upon payment of dues as assessed by the CHILIS Executive Board.  Each member shall have one vote.

Article V.   Executive Board

Section 1.   The Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice-President/President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past-President.

Section 2.   Officers shall be elected from the general membership of CHILIS at its fall meeting.  New officers shall assume their duties immediately upon adjournment of this meeting.

Section 3.   The Executive Board shall be empowered to transact any business as shall be necessary between membership meetings.

Section 4.   If any member of the Board cannot serve after being elected, the President may appoint a member in good standing to serve in that capacity until the next membership meeting.  At that time a special election will be held.  Members will be notified of the special election in advance.

Section 5.   A majority of the voting board (3) shall constitute a quorum.

Article VI.   Committees and Delegates

Section 1.   Standing committees may include but are not limited to:

  • Great Stone Face Award
  • Summer Reading Program
  • Intellectual Freedom
  • Isinglass Teen Read Award

Committee Chairs for standing committees are decided upon by that committee.

Section 2.   The Board shall appoint:

  • Membership chair
  • Conference chair
  • Fundraising chair

Additional appointed delegates may include but are not limited to:

  • New England Round Table of Children’s Librarians (NERTCL Representative)
  • New Hampshire School Library Media Association (NHSLMA Liaison)

Appointed positions are two (2) year terms and may be reappointed by the Board.

Section 3.   Committee chairs and delegates shall attend Board meetings as non voting members.  Each committee shall plan and execute its activities with the approval of the Board.

Article VII.   Duties of Officers

Section 1.   The President shall preside at all meetings, shall attend full Board meetings of NHLA, and shall present a written report at the NHLA Annual meeting.

Section 2.   The Vice-President/President-Elect shall assist the President, and in the event of absence, shall assume all duties of the President.  This person shall also serve as the CHILIS representative to NHLA Spring Conference Committee meetings.  It is recommended that the person nominated for the Vice-President/President-Elect position shall have served on a CHILIS committee or Board for at least one year.

Section 3.   The Secretary shall keep all minutes of membership and Board meetings and shall conduct correspondence.

Section 4.   The Treasurer shall submit all CHILIS funds according to NHLA Treasury procedures, and shall submit requests for disbursements and reimbursements in the same manner.  This person will submit a CHILIS Treasury report at each CHILIS meeting.

Section 5.   The Immediate Past-President shall present the nominees for the open positions at the September CHILIS Board meeting.

Section 6.   The President, Vice-President/President-Elect and Immediate Past President shall each serve one-year terms.  The Secretary and the Treasurer shall each serve two-year terms.

Article VIII.   Meeting

Section 1.   CHILIS shall meet at least twice a year, fall and spring.  Workshops and other group activities may be held at any time.  The Executive Board shall meet as needed, but no less than six times a year.  Committees may meet as necessary to accomplish their goals.

Section 2.   A Quorum for the transaction of business at the CHILIS membership meetings shall be one-third of the current membership.

Section 3.   CHILIS members may submit any recommendations for nominations for the CHILIS Executive Board to the immediate Past-President for consideration prior to the September CHILIS Board meeting.

Section 4. The Immediate Past President will announce open Board and Chair positions and invite nominations at the Spring Conference.

Section 5. The Immediate Past President shall present a slate of officers at the fall membership meeting. At this time, the Immediate Past President will also accept nominations from the floor. A vote will be conducted by a show of hands. A contested race will be voted on by paper ballot. In the event fall conference attendance numbers do not allow for a quorum to be reached, an online vote following the conference will take the place of a show of hands. Write-ins will be part of the online ballot and will take the place of nominations from the floor. In the event a fall conference is not held in a particular year, an online vote will be conducted and completed in time for results to be announced at the end of October.

Article IX.   Bylaw Changes
Changes to these Bylaws may be made at a CHILIS membership meeting by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of members present.  Members must be notified of proposed changes prior to the meeting.

Article X.   Dissolution
CHILIS may be voluntarily dissolved upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members.  Immediately upon dissolution, all CHILIS funds in custody of NHLA shall be put into the NHLA general fund.  Voting shall take place at a CHILIS membership meeting.

Revised October 18, 2012

Revised October 19, 2006

Revised March 17, 2016