Steps for Forming a New Round Table

  1. Assemble a core group - You need at least two people, one who will serve as President, and one who will serve as Treasurer. However, to strengthen your petition, we highly suggest having a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary listed in your petition. Ideally, you should have enough people to populate a board for the group, including someone who is committed to serving as President in year two.
  2. Craft a statement of purpose - What is the goal/mission statement for the group? Be specific!
  3. Circulate a Round Table Formation Petition - You need to collect 25 signatures from current NYLA members – if you have a slate of officers that should be included on your petition. Please use this form. Please note: you may utilize an electronic signature form such as Google Forms to collect signatures - but please submit the following form above when you submit your petition to the email listed below. 
  4. Submit your petition, along with your statement of purpose and slate of officers to the NYLA Council for approval via email to [email protected].

Once approved by NYLA Council you will need to:

  1. Have each officer and all petition signers join the new Round Table at $10 each.
  2. Have your first Executive Board Meeting as a Round Table.
  3. Submit to the Director of Communications and Member Engagement your Round Tables' meeting schedule for the year.
  4. Schedule a meeting with the Director of Communications and Member Engagement with your Board to review your Round Table first-year goals within the first three months of being a Round Table.
  5. Submit to the Director of Communications and Member Engagement your Round Tables General Meeting schedule for the year.
  6. Complete and submit by-laws for your new Round Table (within one year) to the Director of Communications and Member Engagement. A sample of these by-laws will be shared during your meeting with the Director of Communications and Member Engagement.
  7. Submit a yearly report to the Director of Communications and Member Engagement on what your Round Table accomplished in the first year, any meeting minutes, and your next year's core goals a month before your Round Tables' year anniversary date.

The following actions by NYLA are completed upon approval by Council:

  1. Establishment of a financial account for the Round Table
  2. Addition of the new Round Table to membership forms, both in print and online
  3. Set up a Round Table webpage on the NYLA website
  4. Set up a listserv to serve the Round Table members
  5. The new Round Table will be eligible to sponsor programming at the current year's NYLA Annual Conference provided that the group is approved prior to February 1st.

Any proposed new roundtable cannot impede the purpose of any existing section or roundtable.  NYLA can help promote and circulate your petition.

Description of Core Board Roles

President:

Shall preside at all Executive Board and general membership meetings; shall serve as ex-officio member of all committees; shall appoint the chairperson of each committee; shall provide copies of a written agenda for each general membership meeting; and shall act as a liaison between the Round Table and other organizations. 

Vice-President/President Elect:

In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President. The Vice-President shall also assist the President and perform such other duties and have such other powers as prescribed in the Bylaws and as from time to time may be prescribed by the Executive Board.

Treasurer:

Shall be responsible for all Round Table funds and shall submit all receipts/records of disbursements to NYLA for accounting purposes. The Treasurer shall deposit or cause to be deposited all monies or other valuable effects in the name of the Round Table with NYLA, in compliance with NYLA regulations. The Treasurer shall maintain all accounting statements received from NYLA.

Secretary:

Shall be responsible for the minutes of both the Executive Board and general membership meetings (said minutes shall be readily available to all members at each meeting); shall conduct correspondence; and shall preserve all of the round table’s records in a permanent file.

Any questions about the Round Table formation process can be emailed to the Director of Communications and Member Engagement at [email protected].