IAALD Constitution and Rules of Procedure
IAALD Constitution
1. Name- The name of the Association shall be the "International Association of Agricultural
Information Specialists" ("the Association"), formerly the International Association of Agricultural
Librarians and Documentalists, and the Association shall retain the letters IAALD as its
acronym.
2. Headquarters Office- The Headquarters Office of the Association shall be considered to be
situated in the offices of the Secretary/Treasurer for his/her term of office.
3. Definition- The word "Agricultural" shall include but shall not be limited to agriculture,
forestry, agricultural engineering, fisheries, food and nutrition, agricultural industries, veterinary
science, biotechnology and rural development.
4. The objects of the Association- The objects of the Association shall be to promote and
advance public education and information transfer in agricultural development and production.
In furtherance of this object the Association may:
4.1 Promote the agricultural information profession.
4.2 Encourage close collaboration among agricultural information resource centres.
4.3 Co-ordinate activities and projects dealing with agricultural databases.
4.4 Co-operate and affiliate with institutions, official bodies and associations in the field of
agriculture and other related subjects.
4.5 Educate and train agricultural information specialists.
4.6 Promote new technologies in agricultural information transfer.
4.7 Promote research in the field of agricultural information.
4.8 Carry out all such other lawful activities as shall further the above objects.
5. Membership- The Association shall have the following categories of membership:
5.1 Individual Members.
5.2 Institutional Members including but not limited to national and international associations of
agricultural information specialists, libraries, documentation centres, research and educational
institutions and official bodies.
5.3 Honorary Members, being persons who have rendered notable services to agricultural
information science or who have strongly supported the Association in achieving its objects.
Honorary Members shall be appointed by the Executive Committee subject only to formal
ratification by the next following General Assembly.
6. Administration of the Association6.1 There shall be a General Assembly which shall meet not less than once in each period of
five years.
6.2 There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of a President, two Vice Presidents, a
Secretary/Treasurer and an Editor and at least six but not more than ten other members.
6.3 A single nominated representative of a national or international association of agricultural
information specialists may be invited by the Executive Committee to be an ex officio non-voting
member of the Executive Committee.
6.4 The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the day- to-day administration of the
business of the Association during intervals between sessions of the General Assembly.
6.5 The President and the Secretary/Treasurer shall manage the day-to-day business of the
Association together and in close consultation with the members of the Executive Committee.
7. Working Committees7.1 The General Assembly may establish standing or ad hoc working committees to deal with
specific matters. Members of working committees shall be appointed by the Executive
Committee and may be chosen from any category of membership.
7.2 Experts, not being members of the Association, may be coopted to working committees by
the Executive Committee.
7.3 The Executive Committee shall be entitled, if circumstances so require, to establish ad hoc
working committees at its own discretion at any time between sessions of the General
Assembly.
8. Languages- While the language of the Association shall primarily be English, the Executive
Committee shall make every effort to encourage the use of other languages as funds and
expertise allow.
9. Dues- The level of dues payable by members of the Association shall be determined by the
Executive Committee from time to time in accordance with guidelines established by the
General Assembly.
10. Amendments to the Constitution- Amendments to the Constitution may be adopted only
in a session of the General Assembly by a two- thirds majority of the members present and
entitled to vote at the session.
11. Dissolution- The Association may be dissolved only by a two-thirds majority of the votes
cast at a meeting of the General Assembly.
12. Distribution of Assets on Dissolution- In the event of the dissolution of the Association any
assets remaining after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to
such charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to those of the Association as the
Executive Committee shall determine and if and insofar as effect cannot be given to this
provision then to some other charitable purpose.
13. Rules of Procedure- The application of this Constitution shall be determined by the Rules
of Procedure.
Rules of Procedure
1. Membership1.1 Each Individual Member shall be entitled to attend and vote at sessions of the General
Assembly.
1.2 Each Institutional Member shall be entitled to appoint a nominated representative who shall
be entitled to attend and cast a single vote at sessions of the General Assembly.
1.3 The vote of an Individual Member or the representative of an Institutional Member may be
cast either in person or by proxy which must be certified in writing. Proxies must be received by
the Secretary/Treasurer not less than 7 days prior to the relevant session of the General
Assembly.
1.4 A nominated representative of an Institutional Member or alternate is entitled to become an
Individual Member upon payment of the appropriate dues is entitled to vote accordingly.
2. Cessation of Membership2.1 The membership of an Individual Member shall cease:
2.1.1 On the death of an individual.
2.1.2 Upon receipt by the Secretary/Treasurer of written notice of resignation.
2.1.3 By service on the member by the Executive Committee of a notice in writing terminating
membership on the grounds that the member has acted contrary to the best interests of the
Association.
2.1.4 At the discretion of the Executive Committee if the member's dues remain unpaid after two
written applications for payments have been made by the Secretary/Treasurer.
2.2 The membership of an Institutional Member shall cease in the event that the institution is
wound up or dissolved or in any of the circumstances referred to in Rules 2.1.2 to 2.1.4.
3. Executive Committee3.1 The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the day- to-day management of the
Association at all times in the best interests of the Association and, to that end, shall promulgate
its own rules of procedure subject only to these Rules of Procedure and having due regard to
the ability of the respective members of the Committee to communicate with each other
worldwide.
3.2 The Executive Committee shall decide upon all matters affecting the Association except
those expressly reserved to the General Assembly in accordance with Rule ll.
3.3 The President and the Secretary/Treasurer shall manage the day-to-day affairs of the
Association and the President shall be the official representative of the Association in all matters
involving the Association.
3.4 The President shall convene and act as Chair at meetings of the Executive Committee and
shall be Chair of sessions of the General Assembly. The Chair shall prepare agendas for
meetings of the Executive Committee.
3.5 In the absence of the President at meetings of the Executive Committee one of the VicePresidents shall act as Chair and in their absence the Chair will be appointed by the members
present and entitled to vote.
3.6 All formal statements issued or agreements entered into on behalf of the Executive
Committee and/or the General Assembly must be signed by the President, one of the Vice
Presidents and the Secretary/Treasurer before publication.
3.7 The Secretary/Treasurer shall, on receipt of a requisition stating the objects of the meeting
signed by not less than five voting members of the Executive Committee, duly proceed within 14
days from the deposit with him/her of the requisition to convene an extraordinary meeting of the
Executive Committee and in default the requisitionists may themselves convene a meeting. The
requisition may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more
requisitionists.
4. Financial Administration4.1 No payment shall be made on behalf of the Association unless the same is jointly authorized
by the President and the Secretary/ Treasurer.
4.2 The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration and investment of all
income and assets belonging to the Association and shall keep proper books of account and
records relating to all receipts and payments of the Association.
4.3 The Secretary/Treasurer shall procure that accounts for each financial year of the
Association, being the calendar year, shall be prepared and audited in accordance with
internationally recognised accounting principles and presented to the Executive Committee.
4.4 The Secretary/Treasurer shall place before each session of the General Assembly copies of
the audited accounts and a financial statement in respect of the period since the previous
General Assembly.
4.5 The Executive Committee shall be entitled to pay an honorarium to the Secretary/Treasurer
and the Editor subject only to ratification by the General Assembly.
5. Decisions of the Executive Committee5.1 Formal business requiring a decision by the Executive Committee shall be presented at
meetings of the Executive Committee only through the Chair of the meeting or in writing.
5.2 A quorum for meetings of the Executive Committee shall be not less than five members
entitled to vote.
5.3 Decisions of the Executive Committee shall be taken by means of a simple majority of the
votes cast and in the event of an equality of votes, the President, or in his absence, the Chair of
the meeting, shall have a casting vote.
5.4 The Executive Committee shall take due note at its meetings of any written submissions
from members unable to attend the meeting.
6. Notice of Executive Committee Meetings6.1 Not less than three months notice in writing shall be given to members of meetings of the
Executive Committee and the Secretary/Treasurer shall send with notice of the meeting an
agenda for the meeting and shall prepare and send with the notice a copy of the draft Minutes of
the previous Executive Committee meeting.
6.2 Where matters of particular importance are considered at a meeting of the Executive
Committee the members may require the Secretary/Treasurer to prepare and send to the
members draft minutes of the meeting within one month of the meeting.
6.3 The Executive Committee shall meet not less than once in each year and also immediately
before and after a session the General Assembly.
7. Travel and SubsistenceThe President or acting President, Secretary/Treasurer and Editor shall be entitled to claim
reasonable travel and subsistence allowances in respect of expenses reasonably and properly
incurred in connection with the business of the Association upon producing to the Executive
Committee satisfactory evidence of expenditure claimed.
8. Elections-
8.2 The procedures for election of members of the Executive Committee shall be as
follows:
8.2.1 Not less than one year prior to the election a Nominations Committee shall be
appointed by the Executive Committee which shall also appoint two scrutineers, who
shall not be members of the Nominations Committee. Both members of the
Nominations Committee and scrutineers shall be paid-up members of the Association.
Neither the members of the Nominations Committee nor the scrutineers can be
nominated candidates for the Executive Committee.
8.2.2The Nominations Committee shall give not less than nine months notice of the
forthcoming elections to paid-up members of the Association and shall advise members
of the closing date for receipt of the nominations by the Secretary of the Nominations
Committee. Candidates shall be paid-up members of the Association.
8.2.2.1 Although nothing in the Constitution prohibits self nominations, candidates are
encouraged to have at least two nominators who are members in good standing.
8.2.3 All nominations received shall be scrutinized by the Nominations Committee and
submitted to the Executive Committee.
8.2.4 The Nominations Committee shall be responsible for the organization and conduct
of the postal ballot.
8.2.5 The individual members of the Executive Committee being the President, the two
Vice Presidents, the Secretary/Treasurer, the Editor and the other voting members shall
be elected in separate ballots if necessary.
8.2.6 Where there is more than one candidate for any office or appointment the
candidate receiving the majority of votes shall be elected.
8.2.7 In case of a tie between two or more candidates a new postal ballot shall be
conducted.
8.2.8 Should a new tie result the election will be decided by lots.
8.3 Members of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to serve for a continuous
period not exceeding 10 years following the General Assembly at which they are
elected or at which their election is ratified save that a member of the Executive
Committee who has already served 10 years shall be President for a further 10 years.
8.4 In the event of the resignation or death of a sitting Executive Committee member,
the Board, at its discretion, shall name a replacement member. The years of
appointment shall be considered in calculating the total number of years served.
9. General Assembly9.1 The Executive Committee shall procure that sessions of the General Assembly are
convened by the President not less than once in every five years, the date, place and agenda
for the General Assembly to be determined by the Executive Committee and communicated to
all members of the Association not less than six months before the session.
9.2 The Executive Committee shall determine the agenda for sessions of the General Assembly
and shall pay due note to matters submitted for inclusions on the agenda by members of the
Association.
9.3 Special sessions of the General Assembly may be convened at any time either at the
request of the Executive Committee or upon written requisition signed by not less than twothirds of the members of the Association and stating the purpose of the special session served
on the Secretary/Treasurer, who shall within 14 days of receipt thereof duly proceed to convene
a special session of the General Assembly and in default the requisitionists may themselves
convene a special session. The requisition may consist of several documents in like form each
signed by one or more of the requisitionists.
10. Presidency10.1 The Chair of the General Assembly shall be the President for the time being of the
Association or, in his absence, one of the Vice Presidents.
10.2 In the absence of the President and both Vice Presidents at a session of the General
Assembly the members of the Association attending and entitled to vote at the General
Assembly shall elect one of their number to be the Chair of the session.
11. Tasks- The tasks of the General Assembly shall include but not be limited to:
11.1 Approval of reports on the work of the Executive Committee and of working committees
and the financial statement.
11.2 Ratification of the election of members of the Executive Committee.
11.3 Appointment of an auditor.
11.4 Establishment of the framework and level of membership dues.
11.5 Amendments to the Constitution and Rules of Procedure.
11.6 Establishment of the Association's working objectives.
11.7 Production of financial budgets for the Association.
11.8 Establishment and dissolution of working committees.
12. Ballots12.1 Subject to any provision to the contrary in these Rules all matters on the General Assembly
agenda shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast by members attending or
represented at the session and entitled to vote.
12.2 In the event of a tie the Chair shall have a casting vote.
12.3 Each member attending the session of the General Assembly shall be entitled to a single
vote.
12.4 A member shall be entitled to appoint a proxy to vote provided that the proxy is in writing
and specifies the matter on the agenda for which the proxy is given.
12.5 Matters not included on the agenda of a session of the General Assembly shall, if
supported by a two-thirds majority of the members present and entitled to vote, be included for
discussion in the session. A member or members failing to obtain the support of two-thirds of
the members failing to obtain the support of two-thirds of the members present and entitled to
vote shall be enlitled to require the matter to be referred in writing to all members of the
Association and to require the Executive Committee to carry out a postal ballot. If simple
majority of the members voting on a postal ballot supports thc member, the Executive
Committee shall consider the matter at its next meeting and shall report the outcome in writing
to the member.
13. Working Committees13.1 Each working committee shall elect a Chair who shall be responsible for the maintenance
of contact with the Executive Committee and for the preparation of any report required to be
produced by members of the working committee.
13.2 The Executive Committee may at its absolute discretion make available financial support
for the work of working committees.
14. Communications- The Association shall issue:
14.1 A quarterly bulletin.
14.2 A copy of the audited Accounts of the Association as soon as is reasonably practicable in
each year.
14.3 Such other publications including newsletters, directories and membership lists, as the
Executive Committee shall determine.
15. Liabilities- No member of the Executive Committee shall be liable for any loss to the
property of the Association arising by reason of any improper investment made in good faith (so
long as he/she shall have sought professional advice before making such investment) or for the
negligence or fraud of any agent employed by him/her or by any other member of the Executive
Committee in good faith (provided that reasonable supervision shall have been exercised)
although the employment of such agent was strictly not necessary or by reason of any mistake
or omission made in good faith by any member of the Executive Committee or by reason of any
other matter or thing other than willful and individual fraud, wrongdoing or wrongful omission on
the part of the member of the Executive Committee who is sought to be made liable