By Suzana Sukovic
The LARK Committee is excited to invite expressions of interest from colleagues interested in joining our group in various roles. While we always welcome participants from our events, we also recognise the importance of outreach. Over twelve years of LARK, we have learned that some people invest significant effort in participating in research events. They travel from afar and juggle time zones, work, and family commitments because they want to connect with like-minded colleagues. Research captivates their imagination and ignites their thinking, ultimately becoming their professional passion. Although this group of colleagues is small and dispersed, holding positions at all levels, they are influential in practice-based research. So, we call on those whose thoughts and curiosity often gravitate toward research. Whether you have done research work or are just starting and want to explore promoting research in practice, students, professionals, and academics are all welcome to express interest in joining LARK. We are a small group of library and information professionals and academics, but we also welcome newcomers from related fields.
What is required? Our meetings and communication are online. We typically meet a few times a year to plan events or discuss issues. We are a small, informal group that does everything at LARK. With new requirements for ALIA Groups, we have a range of administrative tasks in addition to our regular planning, organising events, research promotion and advocacy, social media activity, and website development and maintenance. We distribute work based on members’ interests, skills, and availability. Current members have been on the LARK Committee for several years, so we are all able and happy to mentor newcomers.
We’re currently seeking expressions of interest for the following LARK Committee roles:
- Member
- Office bearers (Treasurer, Secretary, Co-Convenor)
Members don’t need to be ALIA members. Office bearers need to be personal members or work in an organisation with institutional ALIA membership. Further details are available in the ALIA Groups Handbook on the ALIA intranet. Below are the relevant role descriptions.
Convenor / Co-convenor role
Each Group requires a Convenor. As the Convenor for the Group your responsibility is to serve as the point of contact for Group members and ALIA. The other roles can be divided between the office holders or other members of the Group, for example creating your annual report, keeping your website up-to-date, and organising networking events. Many Groups choose to share this role between two people (Co-convenors) to split the workload and ensure commitments are met and to safeguard Group continuity and stability if a Convenor is on leave or departs.
Convenors lead the Executive Committee to ensure the Group:
• Conducts a range of networking, social, and professional development activities or events throughout the year.
• Keeps the webpage on the ALIA website up-to-date.
• Has a current Terms of Reference.
• Fulfills the requirements as set out in the Groups Handbook and ALIA By-laws.
• Maintains currency of all social media and web presence with Group branding and closes unused accounts.
• Advises the ALIA Office of new committee members, departing members, and changes to Group structure and office bearers.
• Advises ALIA Office of changes from General to Financial Group status.
Secretary role
Each Group requires a Secretary on its Executive Committee and responsibilities may include:
• Meeting agendas, calendar invites, and minutes.
• Administering Group communication channels.
• Working on budgets with Group Treasurer (if Financial Group).
• Working on event recaps, quarterly reports, and annual report with Group Convenor.
• Helping to plan events or activities.
Treasurer role
For Financial Groups the Treasurer is responsible for your Group’s financial administration and serves as the point of contact for financial matters.
The Treasurer is responsible for:
• Providing individual event budgets as well as the annual budget.
• Banking cash received.
• Organising event sponsorship.
• Approving Group expenditure and serving as one of the two signatories necessary for Group
expenditure.
To apply, please submit a brief statement (up to 200 words) explaining your interest in joining the Committee, along with your CV.Expressions of interest are open until 16 December.
Applications will be reviewed by the LARK Committee.
Contact and inquiries: lark.kollektive@gmail.com
We are looking forward to welcoming new members.
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