IFLA Professional Board

Professional Board Guidelines for Officers

No. 5: Calendar of Action Items for Officers and Staff of IFLA (1995)

Introduction

The aim of the calendar is to facilitate the work of officers of IFLA's Divisions, Sections and Round Tables, by summing up the regular action dates during the year. A few items are also included for action by Core Programme staff and Regional Office managers.

Much of the process of internal communication (within or between IFLA groups) is at the discretion of members themselves. Standing Committees need to work out their own timetable for such activities as:

• organisation of mid-year meetings;
• reporting to members (via minutes and the section Newsletter);
• obtaining and reviewing papers for conference sessions, and sending them to Headquarters;
• collaboration with other Sections, etc. and with Core Programme offices on joint projects.

The Professional Coordinator at HQ can give advice on all of these questions.

Officers should also consult the series of "PB Guidelines" brochures, which are revised from time to time. The list is currently:

No. 1: Brief guide to the preparation and presentation of IFLA conference papers. (1993)

No. 2: Budgeting for IFLA Professional Activities. (revised 1994)

No. 3: Publication guidelines for IFLA professional groups. (1991)

No. 4: Guidelines for planning and reporting on professional programmes. (1991)

No. 5: Calendar of action items for officers and staff of IFLA. (revised 1995)

No. 6: Guide to the organisation of official Pre-Session Seminars. (1991)*
Supplement: Checklist for organisers. (1994)*

No. 7: [deleted]

No. 8: Guidelines for IFLA workshops and satellite meetings. (1991) Supplement: Checklist for organisers. (1995)

No. 9: Professional resolutions. (1991)

No. 10 IFLA publications policy and manual of procedures. (1994)

* No. 6 and Supplement are usually required only by the organisers of the official Pre-Session Seminar.

Officers should bear in mind 2 important general points:

• The IFLA financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December; however, for practical reasons, financial reporting on professional activities begins immediately following the annual conference in August. This is explained in detail in PB Guidelines no. 2.

• Planning for activities at each annual conference needs to begin 2 years in advance.

Officers wishing to send reports of activities to Headquarters for publication in the IFLA Journal should note that the copy dates for each issue are:

• for no. 1 (February): 1 December
• for no. 2 (May): 1 March
• for no. 3 (August): 1 June
• for no. 4 (November): 1 September

Officers wishing to propose a document for publication by IFLA can write at any time to the Professional Coordinator. The proposal must be accompanied by a completed "promotion plan" form (see PB Guidelines No. 10), copies of which are available on request from IFLA HQ.

Abbreviations used:

     HQ   IFLA Headquarters
     EB   Executive Board
     PB   Professional Board
     PC   Professional Coordinator
     CB   Coordinating Board of a Division
     SC   Standing Committee of a Section
     RT   Round Table

Quick reminder: in case of questions, contact IFLA Headquarters in The Hague on fax +(31-70) 383-4827 or by e-mail on IFLA@ifla.org.

CALENDAR OF ACTION ITEMS 1995

January:

[Start of the new financial year.]

HQ staff prepare statements of Divisions, Sections and Round Tables' budgets for professional activities for the new year, and begin mailing these to officers.

HQ staff begin paying administrative funds to Divisions, Sections and Round Tables, and funds for approved CB projects.

HQ receives financial reports from Regional Offices, and pays out budgets for the current year.

The first pre-conference issue of IFLA Express is published by the conference Organising Committee.

HQ mails 'Form B' to officers for final confirmation of plans for meetings at the conference. (Deadline for return to HQ: 1 April.)

(Note: about this time officers of groups planning satellite meetings should check that local arrangements are proceeding according to plan.)

31: Deadline for receipt of Core Programme's financial statements at HQ (for the auditors and for publication in IFLA Journal no. 2).

February:

The IFLA auditors check and close the accounts of the previous year to December.

HQ begins paying out other approved project funds (subject to confirmation from the officers of Sections/RTs concerned).

HQ begins updating files of annual MTP workplans with revised data sent in by Sections, Round Tables and Core Programmes.

28: Final deadline for applications to hold workshops at the conference, to HQ for circulation to the PB.

28: Annual reports of Core Programmes are due at HQ, for IFLA Journal no. 2.

March:

1: Deadline for nomination forms for Standing Committees to be returned to HQ.

30: Deadline for receipt of draft contributed papers at HQ, for the Professional Board.

30: Deadline for applications to present poster sessions at the conference, for the PB.

April:

The EB and PB meet at IFLA HQ.

15: Section/RT officers should receive their group's conference papers from authors by this date, and send them for translation.

15: the PC advises winners of the contributed papers competition, and those selected to present poster sessions at the conference.

HQ circulates the list of newly nominated SC members, and arranges postal ballots if necessary.

May:

15: Deadline for receipt of all approved conference papers at HQ, for inclusion in the pre-print booklets.

HQ finalises the conference programme and list of papers and sends them to the Organising Committee and to the officers.

IFLA Journal publishes the "call for [contributed] papers" and "call for poster sessions" for the next annual conference.

The second pre-conference issue of IFLA Express is published.

June:

July:

15: Deadline for Core Programmes' draft budgets and workplans, to HQ for the Boards.

HQ prepares financial reports for the Boards.

31: Deadline for translations of conference papers, to HQ.

August:

SCs discuss their financial affairs and professional work, re- evaluate their medium-term programme, update their annual work- plans, and draft financial statements and project reports (or new project applications).

Officers can arrange meetings with the PC to discuss their Section's work.

In particular, officers planning to hold workshops and satellite meetings in 1996 should make contacts with colleagues from China to discuss local administration of these events.

September:

Officers must send confirmation of full addresses (etc.) to HQ for the new Directory.

Treasurers of Sections compile financial and project reports, budgets and new project proposals and send them to Financial Officers of Divisions for checking and signature.

Former officers transfer their Division/Section/RT archive to their successors.

Newly elected treasurers open bank accounts and inform HQ (of: bank address, account number, sorting code, etc.).

HQ mails 'Form A' to officers, to ask for information on plans for the next annual conference. [Return to HQ by 1 December]

Officers propose conference papers for publication in IFLA Journal.

October:

Secretaries of groups send HQ the minutes of their SCs and CBs at the conference.

November:

The PC compiles for the PB draft budgets for Divisions, Sections and RTs for 1996, on the basis of financial documentation received. (PB policy is: no documentation = no budget.)

15: Deadline for applications to hold workshops and satellite meetings at the next conference. (The PC compiles these for approval by the PB.)

December:

1: Deadline for receipt of applications to present contributed papers at the Beijing conference - to the PC for the PB. (NB: refers to the international 'contributed paper competition', not to the preparation of Sections/RTs' own papers.)

The EB and PB meet at HQ. Draft budgets for the following year are approved.

Officers (including Core Programme officers) send annual reports of activities to HQ, for publication in the IFLA Annual. (NB: these are narrative reports, not the same as the financial and project reports submitted earlier).

31: HQ notifies authors and officers of the papers to be published in IFLA Journal during 1996.