Basic Guide to the ALA Council and Resources

The Council of the American Library Association shall be the policy-making body of the Association. The Council shall have the authority to monitor and enforce adherence to all Association policies. The Council shall delegate to the Association authority to plan and carry out programs and activities within assigned fields of responsibility. The Council shall have the authority to establish a division, round table, or any other unit needed to accomplish the work of the Association and to dissolve units authorized under its authority.

To annually elect a Council Committee on Committees (COC) upon nomination by the President-Elect and Committee on Committees (floor nominations are also accepted). The COC works with the president-elect to appoint members to Council and ALA committees and develop slates of Council nominees for the Executive Board, COO, PBA, etc. (For detailed information on Committees, please see Bylaws, Article VIII).
To review the actions of the Executive Board; receive the minutes of all Executive Board meetings; receive reports from the President for the Executive Board, from the Executive Director for the Headquarters staff and from the Treasurer, the division presidents, and BARC on the projected budget for the ensuing year. By directive also receive at each Midwinter and Annual meeting a report from the Freedom to Read Foundation, the Endowment Trustees and the Policy Monitoring Committee.
To receive the views of the Resolutions Committee about all resolutions presented to Council from Councilors, ALA units, and the Membership.
To originate and act on all proposed amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws before these are submitted to the membership for vote.
To establish dues for chapter, organization and corporate ALA members upon recommendation of the Executive Board.
To receive the report of the ALA Nominating Committee and Committee on Committees.
To act on petitions from national organizations requesting affiliation with the Association.
To act on resolutions referred by the Membership.
To review at each meeting the information on implementation of actions from previous meetings.
To establish state, provincial, regional and territorial library associations as ALA chapters as provided in the Bylaws.
To establish a division or discontinue divisions or round tables.
To establish or discontinue committees and to determine their composition, function and size as the Association's needs require.
To determine all Association policies; may delegate responsibility to speak for the Association within assigned fields of responsibility in accordance with general Council policies.
To authorize changes, additions, and deletions in the ALA Policy Manual upon recommendation of the Policy Monitoring Committee following.

ALA’s governance activities are shaped and guided by a series of governance and policy documents.

The Association’s first official document was the Charter of 1897, which was revised in 1942.

ALA’s Constitution and Bylaws are approved by the ALA Council and voted by the membership.

The ALA Constitution is a brief but basic ALA governance document: Article VI defines the roles and responsibilities of Council; Article VII relates to the Executive Board; and Article VIII deals with the ALA Officers and Committees:

Section VI, Council. Section 1.a.-b. of the ALA Constitution relating to Council reads:

The Council of the American Library Association shall be the governing body of the Association. The Council shall delegate to the several divisions of the Association authority to plan and carry out programs and activities within assigned fields of responsibility and in accord with general Council policy.
The Council shall determine all policies of the Association, and its decisions shall be binding upon the Association, except as provided in Section 4.c. of this Article.

The twelve articles of the ALA By-Laws cover these areas: Membership; Meeting; Nominations and Elections; Council; Chapters; Divisions; Round Tables; Committees; Finances; Notices by Mail; Voting by Mail; and Parliamentary Authority.

The ALA Policy Manual provides statements of policies, arranged by topic, adopted by the ALA Council:

The ALA Policy Reference File (PRF) contains the full text of policies deemed too long to be in the Policy Manual. The Policy Reference File contains interpretations, process documents, the original Council Document that presented the Policy, and other policy-related miscellany. Many policies in the Policy Manual contain explicit reference to material in the Policy Reference File, but many do not. The digitalization of the paper Policy Reference File was completed by ALA staff in the spring of 2009. Here is the link to the Policy Reference File at the ALA Institutional Repository.

Basic Guide to the ALA Council and Resources

About ALA

Council Duties

ALA Governance and Policy Documents on the ALA Website

ALA Executive Office and Office of ALA Governance

Some Committees with Charges Directly Related to ALA Governance and Council

Webinars and Resources

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion-Supplemental Resources

Tune in Tuesdays-Council Orientation Recorded Sessions