Nominations for candidates to serve on the Standing Committees for the period from August 2017 to August 2021

DEADLINE: 08 February 2017

See also:

How do I nominate?

Attached to the letter mailed out to IFLA Members you will find a Nomination form which bears the name of you or your organisation.

  1. Make copies of the nomination form if you want to nominate candidates for the Standing Committees of more than one Section. DO NOT use a nomination form supplied by any other IFLA Member and do not make copies of your nomination form for use by other Members.
  2. Obtain the consent of your nominee, using the Nominee consent form, together with confirmation that the nominee meets the language and attendance requirements, and a brief statement of the nominee’s career and present position.
  3. Complete the nomination form. For Association, Institutional Members, Institutional and Association Affiliates: make sure that it is signed by the authorised signatory. One nominator is sufficient. It does not have to be seconded.
  4. Send it to IFLA Headquarters by email, fax or post; only signed forms are valid. A confirmation of receipt will be sent only if requested.

What is the deadline?

Nomination forms must reach IFLA Headquarters on or before 08 February 2017, no late nominations will be accepted. Nominations must be accompanied by or match the nominee consent form (which can be returned separately, but must also reach IFLA Headquarters on or before the deadline).

How can I select a good nominee?

IFLA’s Section Standing Committees drive forward and carry out IFLA’s professional activities.

Each individual member of a Standing Committees is expected to contribute time and energy towards achieving the goals set out in the Action Plan for that Section. They are expected to attend all meetings of the Standing Committee without cost to IFLA, and to contribute to the work and virtual communication of the Committee.

A nominee for a Standing Committee position should therefore ideally:

  • have expertise and interest in the field of the Section;
  • contribute actively to projects, which might include planning events, revising guidelines or standards, preparing translations, assisting in the production of advocacy materials or other documents;
  • be able to communicate in the main language used by the Section’s Standing Committee in order to be able to contribute to work and discussions;
  • be able to communicate on behalf of the Section, whether that is by contributing to, or managing, social media, mailing lists, web pages, etc;
  • contribute ideas and leadership for the direction of the Section’s work;
  • have working time set aside (if possible) to perform their IFLA commitments;
  • have financial support and time allowance to attend physical meetings of the Standing Committee (see immediately below)
  • act with respect, trust, confidentiality and transparency within the Committee and recognise the need to protect personal and privileged information. When considering Committee matters, Standing Committee members must declare any conflicts of interest and abstain from discussions where they have a conflict or potential conflict of interest.

You may nominate yourself, a member of your staff, or a person in another organisation or another country who is known to have the required qualifications and interest in serving.

A candidate does not have to be a member of IFLA (or be employed by or be affiliated with a Member of IFLA).

Nominating a candidate does not require you to take any responsibility for that candidate, whether elected or not. However, if you are the employer of that candidate you should discuss with the candidate how time and financial support (if any) will be provided to enable full participation in the Standing Committee.

You are invited to contact the current Chair of the Section if you would like to enquire about the appropriateness of a nominee for a position on the Standing Committee.

Participating in meetings of the standing committee

Standing Committee members must have a reasonable expectation of being able to attend meetings of the Standing Committee at no expense to IFLA.

The business meetings usually take place around the time of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress. Standing Committee members are expected to attend meetings each year from the moment of their election up to and including the next four years, which means they should attend five Congresses in total. Congresses take place in August each year in different locations around the world (Poland in 2017, Malaysia in 2018 and future years still to be determined). The business meetings for the Standing Committee members begin on Saturday before the official start of the Congress and usually go on until Thursday of the Congress week.

In between these meetings, Standing Committee business is conducted by email and other virtual means and Standing Committee members should have time, either during their working time, or voluntarily during their own time, to contribute regularly to these discussions.

Some Standing Committees hold mid-year meetings by agreement of the Committee members. Standing Committee members must be able to arrange their own travel plans accordingly.

Because most Standing Committees conduct business meetings and online communication in English, a command of English is extremely helpful, but it is not an absolute requirement. The working languages of IFLA are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

What benefit is there for a nominee and their employer?

Serving on a Standing Committee provides opportunities for an individual’s professional development, networking with colleagues from many different countries, and helping to advance the profession in specific areas of practice.

Standing Committee members will often develop skills in:

  • strategy, planning and management
  • leadership
  • knowledge sharing
  • research skills
  • advocacy
  • communication
  • ethics, diplomacy and respect for cultural differences
  • networking and partnership development.

The individual will be able to bring ideas and examples of best practice in their field back to the workplace, and will develop a network of contacts for widening their horizon.

Through an employee’s participation in an IFLA Standing Committee, the employer can influence the direction of worldwide activity in that area of library and information work, contributing to the thoughts and ideas that will influence decision makers within and outside the profession.

Who can nominate a candidate?

IFLA’s professional programme consists mainly of Sections. Each Section’s activity is governed and carried out by a democratically elected Standing Committee.

The following IFLA Members may nominate a candidate for election to the Standing Committee of each Section for which the Member is registered:

  • The authorised signatory (see NOTE below) of an Association or Institutional Member
  • Institutional Affiliate
  • Individual Affiliate
  • Association Affiliate
  • Honorary Fellows

NOTE: the authorised signatory is the individual who is listed in IFLA’s records as the organisation’s highest official and whose name appears on the nomination form. Please contact us if this is incorrect so we can re-issue the form.

The nominating Member must have paid all membership fees in full for 2016 and not be in arrears, with the exception of Honorary Fellows.

Those elected to a Standing Committee serve in a personal capacity. A candidate does not have to be a member of IFLA (or be employed by or be affiliated with a Member of IFLA).  Members may self-nominate.

How many candidates may I nominate and for which standing committees?

You may nominate ONE candidate for the Standing Committee of EACH Section for which you are registered. IFLA Sections for which you are registered are listed on the attached nomination form.

I have been approached to ask if I will nominate someone

Nominating someone implies no commitment to support that candidate in any way and you do not have to know the candidate personally. You will need to communicate with the candidate in order to complete the nomination forms but your relationship with them can end there.

We suggest you first investigate whether the candidate would be a good nominee (see above) before agreeing to nominate them.

From time to time, the Chair of a Section may become aware of a good, potential candidate who does not have a nominator and may ask if you are willing to nominate them. Doing so will help support the current Chair in building a strong Standing Committee.

Nominating a candidate does not require you to take any responsibility for that candidate, whether elected or not.

Who may not be nominated

The following persons may NOT be nominated for the period 2017-2021:

  • persons who are currently serving on a Standing Committee for the period 2015-2019
  • persons who are currently serving their second consecutive (and final) Term on a Standing Committee for the period 2013-2017.

No one may be a member of more than one Standing Committee at the same time except a member of the Standing Committee of a regional section (Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America & the Caribbean) who may be a member of one other Standing Committee.

To see those currently serving on the Standing Committees of the various Sections please look at the Activities and Groups webpage.

Individuals completing their second term on a committee who are interested in serving a term on a different Standing Committee should make their desire known to a member eligible to make a nomination.

What happens after the nominations have been received?

Each Section may have up to 20 persons serving on its Standing Committee. If the number of candidates for any Section exceeds the number of vacancies, a postal ballot will be held after the close of nominations. The postal ballot will be sent out in March 2017. If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of vacancies, then there will not be an election and eligible nominees are automatically appointed to the Section Standing Committee. These nominees will receive a letter confirming their appointment and election.

How do I nominate a candidate for a section of which I’m not a member?

You may have a colleague in your organisation or know a colleague who could make a great contribution to a Section, but you or your organisation is not a member of that Section. There are two possible solutions:

  1. Register yourself or your organisation for the Section
    You may choose to replace one of your current section registrations, or you may add the section to your existing total. For registration in an additional section, there is a charge of EUR 58 for 2016 and EUR 59 in 2017 for each extra section. This amount must be paid (and received by IFLA HQ) before the nomination deadline in order for the nomination to be valid.
  2. Identify another Member who is registered for the Section.
    You can contact the Chair or Secretary of the Section concerned and suggest that they look for a Member to nominate the person you have in mind. Sections, particularly smaller ones, are often anxious to identify potential candidates and will be grateful for your suggestions.

Please be aware that IFLA, in accordance with the Dutch Law on Personal Data Protection, is not allowed to publish member contact details without the prior consent of the member concerned.

Gerald Leitner
Secretary General