Annual
Meeting
Meeting Rooms and Food Functions
Headquarters will contact each SIS chair about
SIS requirements for meetings and/or food functions.
Meeting scheduling forms are mailed out in the
fall and due back by November 1.
Sections may choose to provide food and/or beverages
at any of their meetings; forms are sent in February
and are due back by May 15. The cost of the service
will be charged against the Section's account.
Sections wishing to hold meal functions, for which
members are to register and pay with their registration
for the AALL Annual Meeting and Conference, must
contact the Meeting Coordinator at AALL Headquarters
in early November.
The Annual Meeting Program Committee is responsible
for scheduling its Annual Meeting (Charge to the
AMPC). There are certain no-conflict times that
must be observed. There is no charge for the use
of meeting rooms.
SIS officers are sent copies of hotel menus for
planning food events. Each SIS is expected to
pay all charges for food/beverage service prior
to the end of the Annual Meeting. Payment is usually
made by a charge against the Section's account
or by turning in funds collected from members
for any large food function.
Audio-Visual Equipment for Non-Program Events
Prior to the annual meeting, each SIS chair is
sent necessary forms for ordering audio-visual
equipment to be used during their business/continuing
education meetings.
The SIS pays for any equipment used. (This does
not include AALL Annual Meeting Program Selection
Committee approved programs held during the annual
conference.)
The hotel usually provides one free microphone
per business meeting room.
Payment is usually made by a charge against a
section's account. (AALL Minutes 633)
Educational Programs
The SISs began taking an active part in the AALL
annual meeting programs in 1980 with the approval
of the AALL Executive Board. (AALL Minutes 652).
In the spring, program forms for the subsequent
year may be requested on AALLNET .
SIS sponsorship of programs at the AALL Annual
Meeting is important to the SISs and to the overall
educational programming of the Association. Sections
are encouraged to submit program proposals to
the Annual Meeting Program Selection Committee
by its deadline, which is typically early to mid-August
SIS Education Committees should follow the Program
Planning Handbook, distributed in spring each
year, for complete information on planning programs
for the following year's annual meeting. It includes
blank forms as well as sample completed forms.
If a program or workshop is selected for presentation,
the Annual Meeting Program Committee liaison notifies
the SIS member who has been designated program
or workshop coordinator and together they work
out details concerning speakers and costs.
The AALL Program Coordinator for Meetings &
Special Events maintains a database of speakers
who have received good reviews for past performance
at AALL conventions. Program planners are encouraged
to contact the office for assistance in identifying
excellent speakers.
These programs are funded by AALL as part of the
annual meeting's expenses.
The coordinator must operate within the budget
agreed upon with the Annual Meeting Program Committee.
The Program Committee reviews program proposals
based on the strength and content of the proposals.
Multi-sponsorship by SISs of program proposals
does not ensure acceptance of the proposals, but
it does indicate that the proposal has appeal
to different types of audiences.
SIS-Sponsored Educational Programs in Conjunction
with Business Meetings
Some SISs present educational programs in conjunction
with their business meetings.
The sections, using either money from their treasuries
or fees charged to attending members, must fund
these programs.
Registration to these programs must be made available
to all AALL members.
SIS Exhibits
The exhibit area at the AALL annual meeting includes
a "Special Activities Area" for displaying
materials illustrative of the work of the Association's
SISs, Chapters, and Committees.
AALL Headquarters mails a form to each SIS Chair
regarding their participation. If not returned,
no table will be reserved for the SIS.
All SISs are encouraged to submit items such as
brochures, section publications, reports of projects,
and posters, etc. for the exhibit.
Materials can usually be mailed to the exhibit
hall in advance of the conference, or materials
can be brought to the hall the day before the
exhibit hall opens. Mailing instructions are sent
to SIS Chairs. All materials that are not removed
at the close of the exhibit hall (5:00pm on Tuesday)
will be discarded.
The SISs are responsible for staffing their display
during the convention.
Merchandise Sales at the Annual Meeting
At the request of several SISs, the AALL Executive
Board approved a policy that will allow SISs to
sell merchandise at the AALL annual meetings.
At its March 29, 1996 Executive Board Meeting,
the following FLRP Financial Policy Addition to
FLRP III, Section E6 passed unanimously:
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"All product sales by Association entities at the Annual Meeting shall take place only in the AALL sales outlet. The Association will retain a portion of the gross sales in order to cover some of the overhead costs. The overhead rate will be discounted form the Association full overhead rate normally attributed to Association activities and will be set annually as part of the budget. The distribution of earnings to the participating groups will take place prior to the conclusion of the Association's Fiscal Year" (AALL Minutes 2219).
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Scheduling of SIS Business Meetings and Educational
Programs
Each SIS conducts at least one business meeting
at the AALL annual convention, and several SISs
present educational sessions outside the official
annual meeting program. The following AALL Executive
Board recommendations address the scheduling of
SIS business meetings:
The minutes (p. 1376) record that "it was
noted that these recommendations will serve as
a guideline but not as a restriction on the scheduling
decisions for future Annual Meeting planners."
At the November 3, 1990 meeting (AALL Minutes
1590) the Board approved revisions in the
original recommendations to allow for greater
flexibility and convenience. Summarized here are
the recommendations pertaining specifically to
SISs.
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Recommendation
#2: The three largest SISs (Private
Law Libraries, Academic, and State/Court/County)
shall be scheduled to meet on Sunday morning,
no other SISs shall be scheduled to meet
on Sunday morning, no other SISs shall be
scheduled during this time slot. These SISs
shall make every effort to complete their
programming by Noon; any of them unable
to do so will be asked to schedule elements
deemed to be of greatest interest to the
most members (either business meeting or
substantive program) prior to Noon to avoid
conflicts with other SIS activities in the
afternoon.
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Recommendation
#3: The remaining primary time slots
for SISs are Sunday from noon to 1:30 p.m.
and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday from 4:30
to 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 7 to 8:30
a.m. may also be used, but since committees
also use these time slots, it is suggested
that SIS's use them only for sub-committees
or boards rather than general meetings.
Every effort shall be made to accommodate
special needs.
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Note however that in recent years, more time has been made available for
SIS meetings, including times on Monday and Wednesday.
At the November 2, 2002 meeting the Board approved
“directing all future AMPC - beginning with
the 2004 Annual Meeting - to provide membership
entities with more flexibility for holding small
meetings during educational programs, and to accommodate
the needs of membership entities as much as possible,
while respecting the AALL no-conflict hours, and
to develop and communicate new scheduling guidelines
for all entities well in advance of the 2004 Boston
Annual Meeting."
SIS-Sponsored Workshops
When the AALL Annual Meeting Program Committee
and Professional Development Committee approve
an SIS-sponsored workshop for presentation at
an AALL annual conference, the designated co-directors
must prepare a budget and set a registration fee,
which will cover all expenses for speakers, materials,
lunch, refreshments, etc.
At its March 29, 1996 meeting the Executive Board
unanimously adopted the following motion: AALL
assumes all financial risk for potential losses
form Institutes and Workshops. It retains net
revenues generated from Institutes and Workshops
(AALL Minutes 2217).
A FEW IMPORTANT DEADLINES FOR SPONSORED AND TICKETED
EVENTS
October is an important month for the SIS Chairs
to plan their meetings, meals, receptions, and
other social events to be held at the Annual Meeting.
Preliminary Scheduling Forms are mailed to SIS
Chairs by October 15th.
On November 1st all Preliminary Scheduling Forms
are due to the Meeting Manager at headquarters.
On December 1st, the text and registration forms
for the Annual Meeting Preliminary Program are
completed. All SIS meals and social events that
are sponsored, wholly or in part by a donor, should
be confirmed before December 1st in order to establish
meal ticket prices and to give donors recognition
in the Preliminary Program.
On May 1st, the text for the Annual Meeting Final
Program and the Awards and Acknowledgements Brochure
(distributed to all registrants) is completed
and it includes an acknowledgement of all sponsorships,
even those received between December 1 and May
1, the deadline for the Final Program.
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