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The Library of Congress > Cataloging, Acquisitions > PCC > Guidelines/Responsibilities of the Standing Committee Chairs

Approved by the PCC Policy Committee, November 2002; last revised April 11, 2022

These guidelines supplement the information provided in the PCC Governance Document.

  1. Appointment of Standing Committee Members
    • Standing committee chairs appoint members to standing committees in consultation with the PCC Chair. Appointments are made with a view to limiting the number of members on each committee to roughly ten and to maintaining the diversity of the committee's membership. A majority of the members must belong to PCC member institutions.
      • Standing committee chairs announce new committee members to the Policy Committee as a courtesy (it is not necessary to secure approval).
      • Standing committee chairs send roster updates to the PCC Secretariat (include name, institution, job title, and e-mail address) for posting to the website and updating standing committee discussion lists.
      • Standing committee chairs monitor the term expirations and term limits of existing members and ensure that terms are staggered appropriately to maintain committee continuity.
      • Standing committee chairs may appoint one or more interns to their committees. Interns will serve a one-year term, with an optional one-year renewal. Applications will be accepted from librarians who self-identify as new (~5 or fewer years) to the profession, new to cataloging/metadata, new to the PCC, or new to PCC committee work. Applicants should be employed at a PCC institution or be part of a PCC funnel. At the end of their term(s), interns will be eligible to serve as full members of the committee for up to two three-year terms.
      • Standing committee chairs may appoint additional persons to serve as consultants to their committees, especially if existing members lack significant expertise in particular topics.
  1. Formation of Task Groups (cf. Guidelines/Responsibilities of PCC Task Groups)
    • Standing committee chairs may propose new task groups. However, all task groups must be approved by the Policy Committee.
      • The standing committee chair sends a message to the Policy Committee with the proposed task group’s name, charge, timeline, reporting body, and (if known) the names of its chair and members. Task group members need not belong to a PCC institution, but its chair must belong to a PCC institution in good standing.
      • Upon approval, the standing committee chair sends the finalized task group information to the PCC Secretariat for posting to the website.
      • The standing committee chair maintains an overview of the work of the task group and monitors its status for regular reporting to the Steering Committee or Policy Committee as needed.
  1. Succession of Standing Committee Chairs
    • The Steering Committee appoints the chairs of standing committees.
      • Each standing committee chair sends a list of potential successors to the PCC Chair before ALA Annual in the final year of tenure. The list may optionally include a recommendation for a successor. Potential successors need not be members of the standing committee but must be from PCC member institutions in good standing.
      • The PCC Chair works with the Steering Committee to make the final selection. The Steering Committee is not bound by the submitted list, or by any recommendations, and it may solicit other names from the Policy Committee. Co-chairs may be appointed instead of a single chair. After the Steering Committee has selected a successor, it notifies the Policy Committee.
      • The successor sends contact information to the PCC Secretariat (include name, institution, job title, and e-mail address) for updating the roster on the committee website and subscribing the successor to the Policy Committee and standing committee discussion lists.
  1. Review of Standing Committee Charges
    • Standing committee charges are evaluated once every three years, on a rotating basis, by the Policy Committee.
      • If a standing committee's charge is up for review, the standing committee chair leads the committee in an internal review of its charge. A member of the Policy Committee should be invited to assist with the review to help provide a outside perspective.
      • The standing committee chair drafts a report based on the committee's internal review of its charge. The report may include recommendations for revision of the charge.
      • The standing committee chair sends the report to the PCC Chair for distribution to the Policy Committee in advance of its annual November meeting.
      • After the Policy Committee meeting, the standing committee chair sends any approved revisions of the charge to the PCC Secretariat for posting to the committee's website and updating the Governance Document.
  1. Meetings
    • Standing committee chairs attend and chair the meetings of their respective committees twice a year: In January/February and June/July (around the time of the ALA Annual Conference).
      • Duties include preparing the agenda, guiding the discussions, and ensuring that meeting notes documenting decisions, action items, deadlines, etc., are circulated to members after the meeting.
    • Standing committee chairs attend the annual meetings of the PCC Operations Committee (May) and the PCC Policy Committee (November).
      • Duties include contributing to the agenda, participating in discussions, familiarity with the documents, and preparing standing committee reports. Chairs are expected to represent the point of view of their respective standing committees and to contribute to the discussion based on their expertise and experience.
      • Travel expenses: PCC subsidizes the attendance of standing committee chairs at the two meetings (cf. PCC funding structure). If a standing committee has co-chairs, the co-chairs may alternate use of the funding or may split the funding.
      • Voting: When the PCC Chair calls on the voting members of the Policy Committee for approval of appointments or decisions, each standing committee chair has one vote. If a standing committee has co-chairs, only one of the co-chairs may vote.
    • Standing committee chairs attend any conference calls or online meetings of the Policy Committee scheduled by the PCC Chair.
  1. Communication
    • Standing committee chairs communicate regularly with the members of their committees, their task groups, the PCC Chair, the PCC Secretariat, the Policy Committee, the other standing committee chairs, bibliographic utilities, vendors, and other parties as needed.
    • Reports: Standing committee chairs submit reports prior to each Operations Committee meeting and each Policy Committee meeting.
      • Reports include such information as:
        • updates on standing committee activities
        • status of existing task groups and need for new task groups
        • steps needed to implement task group recommendations
        • future responsibilities to anticipate 
        • status of assigned items from the PCC strategic plan
        • agenda items for upcoming PCC meetings
      • Reports are sent to the PCC Secretariat for inclusion in the meeting agendas and posting on the website.
    • Email: Standing committee chairs generally communicate via email. For informational purposes, archiving, and continuity, it is recommended that communication by other means (e.g., phone calls, web-based conference calls, etc.) be followed by email messages confirming decisions, deadlines, action items, etc. The standing committee email discussion lists established by the PCC Secretariat should be used for committee communications.
    • Standing committee chairs may ask the PCC Secretariat to funnel cataloging concerns to LC's Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division and other relevant LC units, represent the standing committees at Steering Committee meetings, post documents to the PCC website, update standing committee websites and rosters, and subscribe standing committee members to PCC discussion lists.

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