On the WSAP website (www.wsap.us), you will find the current list of WSAP officers, committee chairmen, units (with meeting and contact information), events and deadlines. The home page has a link near the bottom to the current bylaws and standing rules.
If you log in and are a member of NAP, a Members-Only page is accessible, where you can view and print forms (nominating, unit roster, unit officer, voucher), budget, and newsletters. The bylaws, forms, budget and newsletters are in PDF format. If your computer doesn't already have the free program that displays PDF files, you can install it using the link on the WSAP website.
On the NAP website (www.parliamentarians.org), log in as a member and you’ll have access to an online membership directory. You can list all members in Washington state, just for your unit, or search by name. Some members have opted out of being listed in the online directory, but this is a great service for finding contact information for those listed.
The NAP site's member-only section also gives you access to:
the president's newsletters, with some great educational material in each one;
NAP's tips for electronic meetings;
online forms for units and associations to report new officers and bylaws.
NAP's unrestricted site has a section for prospective members, including the application form and the membership exam's bank of 300 questions (with answers and RONR page numbers). Print the questions and quiz yourself to see if you know more than you think you know. The unrestricted site also has useful pointers on parliamentary procedure, a calendar of events, and an online form to request an email list of all the practicing PRPs in a state.
On the RONR website (www.robertsrules.com), you can find helpful “frequently asked questions,” official interpretations, and a forum where you can ask questions about RONR.
Many of our WSAP units have websites (see links from the WSAP website). Several units now use Google's free Googlepages (www.googlepages.com) to create their websites.
It really is easy to create and maintain a website with Googlepages. Some units spend $10 per year to have their own web address, such as www.ATRPLU.org or www.PointOfOrder.org, but use Googlepages to host the website for free. (Telling your friends your web address is www.PointOfOrder.org is a bit nicer than saying it's http://ptoforder.googlepages.com.)
You can also do some parliamentary education and research online. Amazon.com and books.google.com have some books online where you can actually read many of the pages.
Quite a few parliamentarians have useful websites, too. For example:
Shane Dunbar (WA), MEd, PRP - http://www.northwest.net/parli-pro
Paul McClintock (WA), PRP, CP - www.paulmcclintock.com
Robert McConnell Productions (WA) - www.parli.com
Jim Slaughter (NC), JD, PRP, CPP-T - www.jimslaughter.com
Stan Trout (VA), PRP - www.newkent.net/rulesoforder.html
The American Institute of Parliamentarians (www.AIPparl.org) has a useful list of parliamentary articles (Click on Education, then Articles of Interest), e.g.:
Steps for Proposing and Handling Motions
Rights of Membership
Electronic Meetings
Shift Meetings
And if you'd like to have Google alert you daily with an email list of new websites, blogs, or news stories mentioning "Robert's Rules of Order" or "National Association of Parliamentarians," just sign up at www.google.com/alerts.
Members of NAP and/or AIP can also join an exclusive email discussion group for serious parliamentarians, at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/parliamentary.
— Paul McClintock, PRP, CP, a WSAP website editor
Washington State Parliamentarian, July 2008