*Note that Bylaws articles are numbered to correspond with parallel articles in the SEMLA Constitution, so not all numbers are present.

Article I: NAME


The region covered by the Southeast Chapter shall include the U.S. states Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Article III: MEMBERSHIP

  1. The annual dues shall be $15.00 for Regular members, $5.00 for Student/Retired members, and $20.00 for Institutional/Corporate members.
  2. The dues shall be paid to the Secretary-Treasurer by July 1 of each year. Checks shall be made payable to SEMLA.
  3. The membership year shall be July 1 to June 30.
  4. New members who join the chapter after January 1 will have their dues applied to the next fiscal year. They will be considered members in good standing from the date they joined the chapter.
  5. Members in good standing, i.e. Regular and Student/Retired members with current dues paid, shall be entitled to vote at Chapter meetings or by mailed ballot and to receive any publications of the Chapter.
  6. If a member's dues remain unpaid for a period of one year, the membership shall be considered terminated.
  7. Application for membership shall be addressed to the Secretary-Treasurer.

Article IV: OFFICERS


A. Nomination and Election Procedures

  1. The Chairperson shall appoint a Nominating Committee comprised of three members, only one of whom may be member of the Executive Board. The person serving his/her second year as Member-at-Large shall be the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee for that year.
  2. Not later than sixty (60) days before the fall meeting the Nominating Committee shall submit to the Chapter Chairperson the names of two nominees for each office, together with a written statement from each nominee informing the committee that he/she will serve if elected.
  3. Candidates for office must be members in good standing of the Southeast Chapter. Candidates for the Offices of Vice Chair-Chair Elect and Secretary-Treasurer must be members of MLA, Inc.
  4. Not later than thirty (30) days before the fall meeting, the Chairperson shall submit the names of all properly nominated candidates to the Chapter members. If possible, the ballot should be sent out with other information about the meeting. Ballots may be returned by mail or at the business meeting. A blank space for a write-in vote shall be provided on the ballot.
  5. At the annual business meeting the candidate receiving the majority of the total votes cast, both by physical and/or digital ballots, will be considered elected to the office for which that candidate was nominated. If no majority is reached on the first ballot, balloting shall be continued among the members present until the final decision is reached. The votes shall be counted by members of the Nominating Committee and reported to the membership at the meeting.

B. Term of Office and Succession

  1. The Vice Chair-Chair Elect shall spend one year in that office, two years as Chair, and one year as Past Chair. The Secretary-Treasurer shall spend two years in that office, and act as Past Secretary-Treasurer for six months or until the conclusion of the upcoming national MLA meeting, whichever is first. All other terms of office shall be for two years. All other officers may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms in the same office.
  2. All officers shall begin to serve upon the adjournment of the meeting at which they are elected.
  3. Vacancies shall be filled as follows:
    • a. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chair, the Vice Chair-Chair Elect or Past Chair shall serve as Chair. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice Chair-Chair Elect, a special election will be called, no later than one month from the date of the vacancy unless it occurs within sixty days prior to the date of the next scheduled election.
    • b. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Secretary-Treasurer or of Member-at-large, the Chairperson shall appoint someone to the office for the remainder of the term.

C. Duties of the Officers

  1. The Chair shall preside at all meetings; appoint committee chairs and members of standing to ad hoc committees; call meetings of the Chapter or Executive Board as required; and perform duties customary to this office. The Chairperson shall file a report annually with the Music Library Association Chapters Liaison Officer outlining the Chapter activities and listing the officers of the Chapter and the Music Library Association. For one year following his/her term of office the Chairperson shall continue to serve as a voting member of the Executive Board.
  2. The Vice Chair-Chair Elect shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair; oversee committees and special projects of the Chapter; and assist the Chair as assigned.
  3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall record the minutes of the Business meetings and Executive Board meetings and preserve all records and reports of the Chapter; collect dues and make authorized expenditures; prepare the financial report for the business meetings; conduct correspondence relating to finances and other correspondence as directed by the Chair. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also keep all membership records, provide and receive all mail ballots and shall make the mailing list available to the Program Committee.
  4. The two Members-at-large shall act as voting members of the Executive Board. Special assignments may be given to either in the areas of publication or other appropriate activities. Such assignments shall be made by the Chapter Chairperson.
  5. The Chapter Archivist collects and maintains all relevant chapter-related material.

Article VI: COMMITTEES

  1. The Chapter Chairperson shall appoint members of standing committees.
  2. The Chapter Chairperson shall appoint the chairs of special committees; at the discretion of the Chapter Chairperson other committee members may be appointed either by the Chapter Chairperson or the appointed chair of the committee.
  3. The person serving his/her first year as Member-at-Large shall be the Chairperson of the Program Committee for that year. The Program Committee shall consist of at least two persons: one (the Program Chairperson) to arrange program contents and one in charge of the Local Arrangements Committee. The two shall work together with their respective committees to plan the events of the meeting for which they are appointed and shall conduct all business concerning the program.
  4. The Nominating Committee, to consist of three persons, shall nominate the officers designated in Article IV in the manner specified in the By-Laws to Article IV.
  5. The Chairperson of each committee, whether standing or special, shall be responsible for carrying out the duties of the committee and shall report of the activities of the committee at each regular business meeting.
  6. Committee membership shall be open to all members of the Chapter, but committee chairs must be Regular members and chairpersons may be reappointed except when otherwise specified. The term of office for special committees shall be set by the Executive Board.



By-laws amended and approved 19 October 1996, Oxford, MS
Article III amended and approved 23 October 1999, Murfreesboro, TN
By-laws amended and approved 9 October 2004, Atlanta, GA
By-laws amended and approved 20 May 2005
By-laws amended and approved 12 October 2013, Nashville, TN
By-laws amended and approved 16 October 2020, via Zoom
By-laws amended and approved 15 October 2021, via Zoom