Article I: Membership Section 1. Any person or institution interested in furthering the objects of the Association for the Bibliography of History shall become a member upon submitting application and paying the dues specified. Section 2. The following are the classes of membership in the Association: Regular, Student, Life, Emeritus, and Institutional. The specific qualifications of each class of membership and dues shall be established by the Council. Section 3. All members shall have the right to attend, participate in, and vote in all of the meetings and elections. Each member shall receive without charge each issue of any newsletter and where required a copy of the by-laws, and shall have such other privileges as may be prescribed by the Council. Section 4. Any member whose dues become six months in arrears shall be automatically suspended. Section 5. New membership shall be considered effective at the beginning of the calendar year in which dues are paid or, at the applicant's discretion, at the beginning of the following year. Article II: Officers, Elections, and Terms of Office Section 1. Officers shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, and an Executive Secretary-Treasurer. Section 2. The President and Vice-President shall be elected for terms of one year each, beginning on January 1. The Vice-President shall be a nominee for the office of President although contesting nominees may be offered in accordance with provisions of the By-Laws. Section 3. The Executive Secretary-Treasurer shall be appointed by the Council to serve at the pleasure of the Council. Section 4. The Vice President is also the President-Elect and shall succeed to the presidency in the term following his or her tenure as Vice-President.The Vice-President will become the President for a vacancy occasioned by death, resignation, or disability of the President. If the office is again vacated before the end of that term, the Council, by majority vote, shall designate an interim President. An elected Vice-President who becomes President under the provisions of this section will still serve the following full presidential term. Council may, by majority vote, declare disability of an incumbent President or Vice-President. Section 5. (a) Elections shall be held annually by mail ballot. The candidate for each office who receives the highest number of votes is elcted. (b) The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of one or more candidates for each of the following offices: Vice-President, Members of Council, and members of the Nominating Committee. (c) Additional nominees for any office shall be placed on the ballot by petition signed by fifteen members. Such additional nominations must reach the Chairman of the Nominating Committee before September 1. (d) The Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall certify the names to be placed on the ballot to the Executive Secretary-Treasurer by September 1. The Executive Secretary-Treasurer shall mail the ballot for write-in votes for each position. Fifteen write-in votes for one person shall constitute a write-in nomination to be reported in the election results. Members shall be notified of the election results. Article III: Powers and Duties Section 1. The President shall formulate policies for presentation to the Council and execute its decisions. He or she shall appoint the members of non-elected committees, commissions, and boards, subject to the approval of the Council, and shall sign all documents requiring official certification. The President shall be an ex-officio voting member of the Council and shall preside at all meetings at which he or she is present. A retiring President shall retain voting membership on the Council for three years after the expiration of his or her term as President and shall be a permanent non-voting member thereafter. Section 2. The Vice-President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and shall perform other duties as assigned by the Council. The Vice-President shall be an ex-officio member of the Council. The Vice-President shall succeed to the presidency upon the completion of the current President's term. The Vice-President shall be responsible for planning and developing the annual meeting program for the year in which he or she will be president. Section 3. The Executive Secretary-Treasurer shall give notice of Membership and Council Meetings. He or she shall keep minutes of all such meetings, using recording devices when deemed necessary, pay bills, and shall keep a roll of the members. He or she shall submit all mail ballots, for possible inspection, for a period of one month. Under the direction of the Council, he or she shall submit bills for dues to the members and deliver an itemized financial report annually to the membership, shall have custody of all records and documents pertaining to the Association and be responsible for their preservation, and shall prepare an annual budget for approval by the Council. The Executive Secretary-Treasurer's accounts shall be audited when desired by the Council. The Executive Secretary-Treasurer shall be an ex-officio member of the Council, with voting rights on all matters except those affecting his or her tenure as Executive Secretary-Treasurer. Article IV: The Council Section 1. The Council shall consist of (a) those officers or former officers who, in accordance with Article III, serve ex-officio and (b) six elected members. After the initial creation of a Council with staggered terms (two persons for three years, two persons for two years, two persons for one year), all future members of the Council shall be elected for three years. A vacancy on the Council caused by death or resignation shall be filled at the next annual election. Section 2. The Council may employ and pay necessary staff members; accept and oversee funds donated for any of the objects of the Association stated in the Certificate of Incorporation; appoint the Executive Secretary-Treasurer; arrange for meetings of the Association; create additional standing or ad hoc committees to fulfill its responsibilities; and transact other necessary business normally assigned to such a body, including the establishment of any newsletter or journals. Section 3. The Council may reach decisions either at meetings or through mail ballots filed with the Executive Secretary-Treasurer. Decisions by mail ballots require the approval of a majority of the Council. Section 4. Council should convene at least once annually. Article V: Committees Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members who hold no elective office and shall be elected for a term of three years, except that members of the first Nominating Committee shall be elected to terms of one, two, and three years respectively. The Chair shall be the member with the longest years of service, except that when two or more members have equal seniority the President shall designate which of them shall preside. If a vacancy occurs on the Nominating Committee the President shall appoint a member to fill the post until the next annual election, when a replacement shall be chosen for the unexpired term. Section 2. The Membership Committee shall be appointed by the President with the consent of Council. Section 3. The Vice-President shall appoint for a two-year term a Program Committee to plan and develop the annual meeting program for the year when he or she succeeds to the presidency. Section 4. The Publications Committee shall consist of the President, Executive-Seecretary Tresurer, newsletter editor(s), and an additional member of the Council. The Committee shall coordinate the publications of the Association. Article VI: Amendments Section 1. Amendments to the By-Laws may be proposed by fifteen members in good standing or by the Council. Section 2. They must be approved by a majority vote of Council and a majority vote of those participating in the mail ballot. Article VII: Meetings Section 1. There shall be an Annual Meeting open to all members which shall be in geographically convenient areas related to the meeting place of historical, library, and information sciences, and related groups. The Council shall set and publish the tentative date and place one year in advance of the meeting. Notice of the final time, place, and agenda shall be mailed by the Executive Secretary-Treasurer to each member of the Association at least thirty days prior to that meeting. Other meetings may also be scheduled. Section 2. Resolutions may be approved by the Annual Meeting. They may be submitted to the membership by mail ballot. Section 3. The Constituting meeting shall elect the first President, Vice-President, Council members, and Nominating Committee.