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Bylaws of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC
2020 Edition
I. The name of this organization shall be The Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC.
II. The mission of the Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC is to:
A. Provide opportunities for DC-Metro area professionals involved in a variety of disciplines in the field of children’s literature – including authors, illustrators, librarians, literacy and literature specialists, publishers, editors, booksellers, scholars, non-profit organizations, and others – to gather throughout the year to share and exchange information, ideas, and experiences about the creative process, issues of publishing and promotion, writing trends, literacy, and to learn from visiting colleagues in the field.
B. Encourage and promote inclusivity, diversity, and equity in the field of children’s literature.
C. Encourage and promote literacy for young readers in the DC-Metro area, through member and organizational outreach, and through initiatives such as the CBG DC-Metro Youth Literacy Grants.
D. Encourage and promote high standards of literary quality in the field of children’s literature.
E. Recognize quality children’s literature on a national level by selecting and honoring a recipient for the Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, given annually to a writer for the body of her, their, or his work, in the writing of nonfiction for young readers.
III. Officers shall consist of a President, Vice President/President-elect, Program Chairs, Recording Secretaries, Treasurer, Membership Chairs and two Members-at-Large, all elected annually.
A. The President shall:
Preside at monthly meetings and Executive Committee meetings. The Executive Committee typically meets in the summer, winter and at the annual business meeting.
Help secure venues and sign contracts for monthly meetings and the Nonfiction Award Luncheon.
Help coordinate with the monthly meeting venue contact regarding logistics, such as room set-up and service.
Appoint individuals for the following positions after the annual business meeting:• Lecture Series Administrators (Registrar/Chair and on-site members)• Nonfiction Award Selection Committee Chair (with the Chair, appoint two other members for this Committee, one of whom will be designated as Chair for the following year)• Nominating Committee (two members)• Nonfiction Award Event Committee (Chair and publicist)• Social Media Coordinators (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)• Guild Historian• Newsletter Chair• Annual Holiday Event Chair
Call for and collect votes on new members and bylaws, as needed, via email.
Coordinate public announcement of Nonfiction Award winner with Nonfiction Award Committee.
Preside at the Nonfiction Award event and represent CBG at other events, as needed.
Support individual members’ events, such as book signings, when possible.
Coordinate with Vice President to transition to the next year's leadership.
B. The Vice President/President-Elect shall:
Assist the President in all duties and serve in their place as needed.
C. The Program Chairs shall:
Arrange programs for meetings, in consultation with the Executive Committee.
Preside at meetings in the absence of the President or Vice-President/President-elect.
D. The Recording Secretaries shall:
Keep simple minutes of all regular Guild meetings.
Keep simple minutes of all Executive Committee meetings.
Prepare a synopsis of regular Guild meeting programs for the monthly newsletter.
E. The Treasurer shall:
Collect dues and payments for luncheons.
Keep accounts of all expenditures.
Maintain the Guild’s bank account and sign Guild checks, as appropriate.
File Form 990-N (e-postcard) with IRS at end of fiscal year to maintain our 501(c) (6) tax-exempt designation.
F. The Co-Treasurer shall:
Assist in the Treasurer’s duties and prepare to become Treasurer at the end of the Treasurer’s term in office.
G. The Membership Chair or Chairs shall:
Appoint a Roster Chair.
Provide information to Roster Chair for preparation and distribution of roster.
Send out membership renewal notices, track changes in membership status, and forward corrections to the Roster Chair.
Receive applications for new members, announce new members in the newsletter and present them to the membership at large.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee shall consist of the following members: President, Vice President/President Elect, Past President, Program Chairs, Recording Secretaries, Treasurer, Membership Chair/s and two Members-at-Large.
The Executive Committee shall meet at least three times a year to transact necessary business. Five members shall constitute a quorum. The specific duties of the Executive Committee are:
A. Approve the slate of candidates drawn up by the Nominating Committee for the annual election of officers.
B. Consult with the Program Chair on suggested programs.
C. Consider special projects before their presentation to the membership.
D. Elect new members as proposed by the Membership Committee.
E. Fill any vacancy on the Executive Committee occurring during the year.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Election of officers shall be held at the annual business meeting. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall present nominations. Additional nominations may be made from the floor.
Officers shall be elected by a majority of active members present. Except for the office of Treasurer, officers may not serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. After one year out of office, members shall be eligible for reelection.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Children's Book Guild shall be open to writers and illustrators of children's books, specialists in children's literature, and organizations dedicated to the goals of the Guild. There shall be two categories of membership: Active (voting) and Nonresident (nonvoting).
A. Active Members
Authors, illustrators, librarians, literacy and literature specialists, publishers, editors, booksellers, scholars, non-profit organizations, and others, with the specialists constituting no more than one-fifth of the total active individual memberships. Exceptions may be made by a simple majority of the Executive Committee if recommended by the President and/or Membership Chair.
Guild Presidents who are organizational members shall have the option of joining the Guild as individual members.
Guild members who are representing organizations are allowed to become individual members if their organizations cease being members of the Guild or if they retire from their organizations.
Institutions and organizations related to the field of children's literature should designate one person and an alternate to represent it at the Guild meetings during each year.
B. Nonresident Members
Persons qualifying for Active who reside beyond the Washington Metropolitan Area may request Nonresident membership, which carries no voting privileges. No member will be granted Nonresident status, however, if the member was not first an Active participating member of the Guild.
ELECTION OF NEW MEMBERS
The Membership Committee may be represented by one or more Chairs, or one Chair and up to two other members appointed by the Membership Chair.
Procedures for electing new members:
A. A candidate interested in joining the Guild will fill out a form available through the website with her, his, or their qualifications.
B. In the case of authors and/or illustrators, their works should include at least one published book by a traditional publisher and a second book either published or under contract by a traditional publisher. Traditional publisher will be defined as a publisher who assumes the cost of publication and marketing. Self-published works do not meet the requirements.
In the case of persons working in other media, the original work presented, broadcast, or televised must constitute, in the opinion of the Membership Committee, the equivalent of two books by writers and illustrators. At least fifty percent of this material must have been presented, televised, or broadcast within the past five years. The Membership Committee should be supplied with reviews of these presentations, if available, or videotapes, as well as information about current viewing and/or broadcasts.
C. A candidate as a literature specialist should present his or her curriculum vitae describing his/her career as an editor, agent, librarian, or other specialty that qualifies the person for membership as a "specialist in children's literature." Candidates for membership from an organization must submit background information about that organization and its relevance to the Guild and its ability to contribute to the mission of the Guild.
D. The Membership Committee shall review the data and works submitted and shall prepare short evaluations of each proposed candidate and submit them to the Executive Committee. If a candidate's work is deemed to be of sufficiently high quality, he/she shall be considered for membership.
E. A summary of each proposed candidate's background shall be published in the newsletter for comment. No sooner than two weeks after the distribution of the newsletter the Executive Committee and the Membership Committee will vote on the nominees, taking into consideration the comments received from Guild members. He/she/they must receive the approval of no less than two-thirds of the combined Executive and Membership Committee members in order to be elected to membership.
DUES
Dues shall be determined by the Executive Committee and shall be payable in June. Members who fail to pay their dues shall be dropped from the membership roster if they have not paid for two years. By special vote of the Executive Committee, individual members may be exempted from payment of dues. Also, upon request, scholarships will be made available to members for whom the payment of dues may pose a financial hardship.
MEETINGS
Guests are welcome at all in-person meetings except that portion of the annual business meeting devoted to the election of officers and other organizational matters. When the annual business meeting is held in-person at a public space, such as a public library, the program portion of the meeting shall be open to both guests and members of the public.
AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Guild by two-thirds vote of the Active members present, provided they shall have been informed of the proposed amendments at least a week in advance OR by email, with two-thirds affirmative vote of the Active members replying.
These bylaws have been revised in 1979, 1985, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, and 2020.