(1) The late 1960s through the early 1970s was the period of major upheaval in the structure and organization of ALA. There were long and impassioned debates in Council and Membership Meetings on the Reports of ACONDA (Action Committee on New Directions for ALA) and the subsequent ANACONDA (ALA ad hoc Committee on ACONDA). The governance of ALA was altered when the position of Second Vice-President was abolished and the rules for election to Council itself were changed. The decision-making process became more democratic with the introduction of the Open Meeting policy. Policy-making was vested in the Council, but Membership retained its Constitutional powers to set aside any action of Council.

(2.a) At the 1967 Annual Conference Council voted to move ALA HQ from Chicago to Washington, DC. At the Membership meeting petitions were circulated and the required 200 signatures obtained to call for a mail ballot on this issue. Close to 35,000 ballots were sent out and 16,778 votes cast which resulted in the Council vote being set aside by 9,781 votes to 6,997. (These figures mirrored those of 1957 when a previous Membership ballot set aside the Council vote to move HQ from Chicago to Washington, DC, by 5,749 votes to 2,199 from a membership of close to 20,000.)

(2.b) It was 17 years before another attempt was made by Membership to set aside an action of Council. This was in 1984 and it failed - see paragraph seven below.

(3) In 1969-71 the Council and Membership meetings focussed on discussions of the reports of ACONDA and ANACONDA. Membership meetings were long, well attended. and held at "no conflict" times. There were close links between the meetings of Council and Membership. For example, at the 1970 Annual Conference Membership Meeting I was scheduled for Wednesday 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. with the Program Note that "The Council will stand ready to reconvene following the Membership Meeting to receive any new business referred to it by Membership." In similar vein, with Council II scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on Friday, the Program Note read Membership II meets from 12.30 p.m. to 1 p.m. "To ratify Bylaw amendments from Council II."

(4) The practice of scheduling Membership meetings as "No Conflict" sessions was generally maintained through the early 1990s, but the Association has grown in size - 1971: 29,740 members, 1981: 37,954, 1991: 52,893, 2001: 63,424 - the number of committees and meetings has increased markedly and pressure has been exerted by members to "streamline" the Annual conference for financial reasons, all of which have contributed to eliminating "No Conflict" sessions.

(5) The 1970 Annual Conference Membership Meeting passed a Resolution calling for Membership to meet at the 1971 ALA Midwinter. This was approved by Council (143-33) and three Membership sessions were held at Midwinter 1971. One of the items discussed by Council was a report from the Constitution and Bylaws Committee to set a quorum for mail ballots, not then addressed in the Bylaws. Council's vote was ratified at the Midwinter Membership meeting. At Annual 1971 four membership meetings were held to continue discussion of ACONDA/ANACONDA Reports.

(6.a) At Annual 1974 the Constitution and Bylaws Committee was asked by Council to prepare a constitutional amendment clearly stating the right of Membership to make decisions that do not constitute policy. Reporting back at Midwinter 1975 the Committee reported its opinion that any constitutional change which would specifically add governing authority to Membership could only be accomplished by removing that authority from Council. President Edward G. Holley noted that Membership has its rights to raise questions and to override any decision of Council but Membership has given Council the right to govern the Association. " Determining what is Policy is being worked out by Council which is its function."

(6.b) President Holley established an Ad Hoc Committee to Study the Relationship Between Council and Membership, chaired by Jane Anne Hannigan. The Hannigan Committee recommended and Council agreed that while Council was the policy making body of the Association, "the Membership assembled at a meeting is empowered to take action on resolutions of a non-policy nature and recommend to Council resolutions of a policy nature." The Resolutions Committee was directed to indicate whether or not a Membership resolution was or was not policy, subject to final determination being made by the Council. The Hannigan Committee further recommended the appointment of another Ad Hoc Committee to re-organize the existing ALA Position Statements and Policies and Procedures Manual - it was this Committee chaired by Alice Ihrig which led to the present-day Policy Manual and the creation of the Policy Monitoring Committee.

(7) In 1984 Membership was presented with a motion by John N. Berry to set aside an action of Council under Article VI Section 4 (c). Earlier Council had discussed a Resolution from the California Library Association concerning the case of Glenda Merwine vs. the Mississippi State University. The ALA Executive Board acting on strong advice from its legal counsel and Executive Director, Robert Wedgeworth, had decided not to enter the case as "a friend of the court." In view of the complicated legal issues Council had agreed the matter should continue to be handled by the Board. Berry wished to have this referral set aside by Membership thereby returning the matter to the Council agenda. To quote from "Library Journal" - "Such action requires a two-thirds vote, but Berry's motion didn't even attract a majority."

(For background to the Merwine case - see Edward G.Holley "The Merwine Case and the MLS: Where was ALA ?" in 'American Libraries",May 1984, 327-329; and for more details including the Council/Membership discussion see 'American Libraries" July-August 1984, 444-445, 492-493.)

(8) After the intensity of ACONDA and ANACONDA - apart from the Merwine case (see above)- Membership meetings proceeded in quieter fashion. Gradually more and more ceremonial features were added to the Agenda such as Awards being presented at Membership I. This led to Policy 7.4.7 being amended in 1986 by the inclusion of the words "Agendas of membership meetings shall provide priority to discussion of membership resolutions." This had little effect as attendance continued to decline. A Township Meeting format was introduced and further discussions took place in Council on improved scheduling for Membership meetings but again with little impact.

(9.a) A flurry of changes affecting Membership participation in the Association took place in the early 1990s. Three directly involved Membership meetings. As discussed in BACKGROUND BASICS (http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/quorum/background.shtml), first, the quorum for Membership meetings was set at one per cent of the personal members (Bylaw Article II Section 6), and second, the number of signatures required to petition for a mail vote to set aside an action of Council was also set at one per cent of the personal members (Constitution Article VI Section 4(c). As Constitutional and Bylaws amendments both of these actions were voted on and approved by Membership in mail ballots. The third change was in ALA Policy and thus only needed Council approval. Acting upon a recommendation from OSSC (ALA Organizational Self-Study Committee) Council voted "If a quorum is not present for a called Membership Meeting, those members who are present may convene themselves into a Membership Forum for the purpose of discussing matters of concern. The person who would have presided at the Membership Meeting may appoint a member to preside at the Membership Forum. Those members attending the Membership Forum shall determine their own agenda of matters to be discussed." (Policy 7.4.7). At the first Forums the President did appoint a member to preside but in recent years the President has presided.

(9.b) Only two Membership meetings have been held since the one per cent quorum requirement was introduced. Membership I in 1995 was the first and in the words of "Library Journal" this was "perhaps due to the new time slot, before the Opening General Session and after the exhibits closed at 4 p.m." The Report of the ALA Organizational Self-Study Committee was the main agenda item but two Membership resolutions were presented. In 2001 Membership obtained a quorum to hear reports on CIPA but no Membership resolutions were offered.

(10.a) In addition to the above three changes in the conduct of Membership meetings themselves the Organizational Self-Study Committee also recommended that Membership initiatives be introduced into the Association. Council voted and Membership approved by mail ballot the following wording: -By petition of one percent of the personal voting membership, as certified by the Executive Director, membership referenda shall be placed on the annual ballot for a vote by mail. A petition for a membership referenda (sic) must be filed with the Executive Director at least four months before the annual conference." (Bylaw Article II Section 5. Votes by Mail. (a)) No such request for a membership referendum has yet been submitted.

(10.b) Council has also revised its policy to allow for members to participate in information sessions, as follows:- At each Midwinter Meeting, there shall be at least one session of Council with the executive Board for information only, to be held prior to other meetings of Council. Any member of the Association may participate in the information session. At each annual Conference, there shall be at least one joint session of Membership and Council wih the Executive Board, for information only, to be held prior to other meetings of Council and Membership. (Policy 5.5.2)