Constitution -
As of October 2007. May be revised
See also: Before current revision, pre-March 2007
Proposed revision 2006
1988/1998, proposed changes March 2003, and revised as of April 2003

The Committee on South Asian Libraries and Documentation is organized as a committee of the South Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc.

The primary objective of the Committee is the development of North American library resources on South Asia. The Committee shall facilitate library cooperation, collection development, bibliographic control, access and preservation to benefit the use of South Asian research and teaching materials.

Membership on the Committee is open to all who are concerned with South Asian library resources and who are members of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc. To officially become a voting member of the Committee, one must submit a request to join to the Committee Chair and must be listed in the Committees directory. Membership and eligibility will be verified annually before the spring (typically AAS) meeting.

An Executive Board of the Committee shall consist of four librarians elected by the membership-at-large, three faculty members appointed by the South Asian Council and three ex-officio librarian members. The ten member Executive Board shall manage the activities of the Committee.

Officers of the Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and a Secretary. The Chairperson shall submit an annual report to AAS the Association for Asian Studies, shall call meetings and normally preside at meetings. The Secretary will record minutes of meetings and assist in preparing agendas, announcements and other records. The seven members-at-large shall assist actively in CONSALD activities. The ex-officio librarian members shall be the editor of the Committee's newsletter, a representative of the Center for Research Libraries, and a representative of the Library of Congress.

The Executive Board shall elect from among its own ten members a Chairperson and Secretary for one-year term with the possibility of only one successive re-election.

One librarian shall be normally elected at each annual election for a three-year term. (If an outgoing Executive Board member was chair in their third year, they would serve a fourth year as ex-officio.) Two faculty members shall be appointed by the South Asia Council for two-year staggered terms. If any vacancy shall occur, a special election, or appointment in the case of a faculty member, shall be held to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. At the end their three year appointment, librarian members are eligible to stand for re-election.

The Committee shall hold an annual meeting concurrent with the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies. Additional meetings shall be held at the discretion of the Executive Board. Planning and agendas shall be the responsibility of the Executive Board, and meeting announcements shall appear in AAS publications.

Subcommittees as needed will be formed on the recommendation of the Executive Board. The Chairperson shall select persons to head these special committees and they, in turn, shall recruit the members of their committees. Subcommittees shall be reviewed every two years by the Executive Board.

Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the Executive Board or by a member of the Committee at regular meetings provided that written notice of the proposed amendment(s) is included in the announcement for that meeting.

These Bylaws revised and approved by CONSALD meeting on March 2007 in Boston, and are subject to approval by the AAS South Asia Council.